Instead of heading home after the final bell rings, senior Madeline Ischo makes her way to the B-building, preparing to meet with her tutee. Ischo has been a tutor for the Study Buddy program since her sophomore year, helping students in various subjects, such as Spanish and Biology.
Study Buddies is a program open to all MVHS students, providing them with opportunities to teach or learn from other students. According to Study Buddies coordinator Afreen Malim, the application process to become a tutor begins by filling out a form of basic logistical information, and then they are paired with a tutee based on the subject and availability. Tutors also receive a form with interview questions about professionalism, how to help students, how to work with tutees and the importance of confidentiality to determine whether they would be a good fit for the Study Buddies program.
According to Ischo, she and other tutors were inclined to join because they enjoy helping students and making new friends. Additionally, receiving volunteer hours for her time at Study Buddies was another motivating factor for Ischo as well as being able to revisit subjects and refresh her memory.
“It’s great for me because it’s good to repeat stuff you learn anyway,” Ischo said. “So if I tutor Spanish, it just makes my Spanish stronger. It was super helpful when I tutored biology while taking regular bio and AP Bio because I was able to maintain my knowledge. And then also it helped me because when you teach, you notice gaps in things that you’ve learned and so I had to fill those since someone else must understand.”
Similarly, junior and Study Buddies tutor Evan Hong chose to be part of the program because tutoring not only benefits his tutees but also benefits him by encouraging him to revise concepts that he might not have otherwise revisited. He also understands that he is able to help people who may not have the resources, such as money or time, to access tutoring services from outside of school.
According to Ischo, getting tutees to engage in the session can be challenging at first, since they may not be super enthusiastic about being there since sometimes it can be a school-mandated program. She focuses on making sure she is being the best tutor she can be and tries to implement different study methods depending on what is most beneficial for each tutee making sure they are getting the most from each session. She has noticed that with time, her tutees recognize her effort and begin to warm up to her as well — by the end of the year both of her tutees were participating.
“I enjoy getting to teach, because I want to be a teacher, and I enjoy teaching biology,” Ischo said. “But sometimes tutees aren’t super enthusiastic about being there because it’s a school-mandated program, so it’s difficult. I have to just acknowledge that it’s not me, it’s not my problem, that they’re not gonna really want to listen to me, so I’m just gonna teach them as well as I can, and if they don’t want to respond, it’s their decision.”
Hong appreciates that tutees show some enthusiasm about working with him. At first, he and his tutee didn’t converse as much, but after some time they became more comfortable with each other, making it easier for him to help his tutee fill in the gaps in their knowledge. He says he can form a relationship with his tutee where he can guide them through their academic struggles. He also recognizes and appreciates their efforts to learn and improve as they show up and put in the work.
“It’s sweet to watch because you could just see the tutors taking on the role of more than just tutors,” Malim said. “They kind of become mentors. So tutors orient them to the school and to different types of study skills and provide a lot of positive reinforcement. It’s really sweet to see that positive peer relationships develop between them.”
