THE STUDENT VOICE
New tutors assist classesWednesday, April 04, 2012 By Rocelyn Samano
The school hired nine new tutors from New Jersey City University on January 11 to help aid the math and English teachers in their classes. If a certain group of students is confused about the current topic in a class, the tutors can aid the students and the teacher can move to the next topic, according to Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction Todd St. Laurent. The tutors assist the teachers through presenting instruction in a different way, in hopes of helping the students understand the subject or lesson currently taught. The goal is to aid the teacher by grouping the students based on needs and interests. The tutors help out the students within the group and lower the student-to-teacher ratio, according to St Laurent. English tutor Charles Doell said he responds differently depending on what class he sits in. Doell said that the tutors mostly help students with organization, getting them on task to do what they are suppose to do and helping them focus. English teacher Michael Collins said he finds the newly hired tutors to be helpful in keeping students focused during the lesson. “I encourage [the tutors] to help the students when they get confused or lose focus,” Collins said. The tutors give attention to specific students and Collins lets them know about the lesson plans of the day. “They help the class as a whole,” Collins said. “They’ll add to the lessons I teach.” Mathematics teacher Edwin Howard said that having the tutors help is a good idea. “They give a student another approach to solving a problem,” Howard said. “They look around to see if a student is confused and work with them during a lesson.” Junior Darryl Mahoney said he finds the tutors helpful. “When I don’t understand anything and the teacher’s busy, they give me examples and explain the subject when the teacher cannot,” Mahoney said. The tutors provide one-on-one help that the teachers cannot always give, according to sophomore Amanda Rivera. Senior Alexis Pharmes said that the tutors help to a certain extent. “Some would just sit and observe the class,” Pharmes said. “[Sometimes] the tutors would explain something the teacher would say when we do not understand it.” Tutors might be hired for other subjects in the future, according to St. Laurent. |