College Students Add Their Skills to Math Tutoring Program

by Mavis Clark and Sue Kropp
AUGUST 21, 2002--While their classmates were swimming at Splash Zone and hanging out with their friends this summer, 20 local high school students dutifully spent two hours a day perfecting their math skill at Oberlin's Community Services Center (OCS). The center's tutoring program, staffed by 13 Oberlin College volunteers, helps local school children unravel the mysteries of mathematics and study for Ohio's obligatory proficiency tests.

The summer program, now in its 11th year, is an opportunity for one-on-one coaching that is rarely available during the school year, and provides college students with hands-on teaching experience. Most of them quickly discover that building confidence is as important as teaching specific math skills.

"By sharing my own early difficulties with math, I feel closer to my students," says Rosa Hyde '03, who has been a math tutor for the past four years. "By showing them that challenges are conquerable, I can also help them with their math self-esteem. The kids are more likely to enjoy what we are doing and not feel as afraid of math as they once were."

Annie Schnarr '02 has also found that building confidence is really her main task as a tutor.

"The student I'm working with knows what she needs to know to pass the proficiency exam," says Schnarr. "But she needs encouragement to work hard and develop her concentration skills and self-confidence."

Elias Suarez '03 agrees. He has spent the last three summers tutoring high school students through OCS, and knows how hard it is to keep them motivated during the summer months.

"Kids don't want to be here during summer vacation, but they know that they have to pass the math proficiency exam to graduate," Suarez says. "It's very important to encourage them to show up on time and do all their work--at the center and at home."

The tutors go the extra mile for their students, often experiencing just as much anxiety about the outcome of the proficiency tests as the high school students themselves.

"A lot of tutors show up at the center the day the test is given to cheer on the students or offer last-minute advice," says Suarez. "We're just as nervous as the students are, because we've invested so much into them and understand how important this test is to them."

In another week, the students will find out how they did on this summer's exam. Until then, tutors and tutees will keep their fingers crossed and hope their hard work has paid off.

"Everyone wants them to do well," Suarez says. "We're behind them 100 percent."

Copyright 2002 Oberlin College. Article courtesy oberlin.edu.

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