Have you ever sat with a teacher for a long time, yet no matter how much time you spent, you just couldn’t grasp the concepts? Hayfield has a tutoring program where students help each other out. Hayfield offers student tutoring after school, during soar, and on Saturdays in the library or teachers’ classrooms. The tutors are qualified members from various honors societies.

Lucy Freeland is a senior and student tutor at Hayfield. She is a member of many honors societies and has a lot of experience in tutoring.

Teachers try their best to meet the needs of their students, but it’s not always enough. Student tutors will collaborate with teachers to figure out what it is an individual needs to succeed. In some cases, it may be motivation, and students need help answering questions. No matter what is holding them back from achieving their academic goals. The student tutoring program makes an effort to help.

“When you’re taught by a teacher, you’re taught the curriculum they’re sent. Sometimes, the way teachers teach isn’t always the way students learn,” Freeland said.

Tutors, oftentimes, are required to think outside of the box and get creative with their teaching styles. These can differ from the traditional methods used by their teachers.

“One of my friends in Algebra 2 honors works really hard for his grades, but it doesn’t always reflect. He really wasn’t understanding what his teacher was saying, so I tried to explain it in a different way. He’s a basketball player, so I explained it in terms of that. I explained how the slope of a basketball, when you throw it, is like concave up. Him asking me that showed me he was invested,” Freeland said.

Students may find it intimidating to confess to a teacher that they don’t understand what they’re trying to teach them. Lots of students will tell teachers they understand something, just to be able to leave class or end the conversation. Student tutoring lets students be more honest about what they don’t understand. Having a peer as a tutor can be more engaging and relatable, because they’re on the same level. It’s like having a conversation, rather than being lectured.

Overall, Hayfield’s student tutoring program has helped a lot of students work through problems and stay motivated. If you or anyone else is interested in receiving tutoring, just reach out to one of the various teacher sponsors such as Howard Paul, Sharon Paul, Wendy Feilen, Pamela Cook, and John Mika.