Tutorial Services Combat the Overcrowded College Classroom
More and more schools are moving in the direction of Mount San Antonio College, offering individualized tutoring for free.

BY AMANDA BARTLEY
Sometimes we forget that not everyone learns in the same way or at the same speed. Every student is different. These concepts, although straightforward, are often taken for granted and forgotten even in the educational system. This is why Mount San Antonio College has a tutoring center. And it is this “complimentary” approach to learning that ranks California’s state school system among the top in the nation.

Overall, the school employs about sixty tutors at any given time that either specialize in one area or service a broad range of subjects. I’ve been a writing tutor at Mount San Antonio College for roughly a year and a half and I’ve had the opportunity to tutor an incredibly broad range of students, enabling me to be of assistance not only to my community but enabling me to learn in leaps and bounds along the way.

Lester Lawenko, Tutorial Services Specialist, agrees with me and says that in tutoring, the goal is to “provide services to students who truly want to get help” and that it has been a great joy, “seeing them move beyond basic classes, through college level classes, to eventually transfer into some of California’s top four year universities.”

Assisting as a tutor, I’ve often heard other tutors comment that tutoring is a valuable “tool.” As tutors, it is not our mission to evaluate and “fix” students’ papers; instead, we are there to help students gain the required knowledge necessary to be more academically efficient. This sometimes means pointing out to a student what they are doing wrong and then showing them the correct way. Other times, it could mean giving students a foundation, an avenue through which they can grow.

Many times I have seen students come in for tutoring because they just can’t get started. They tell me, “I don’t know what to write about.” So, we talk about the prompt, and, usually, by the time we’re done the student has already come up with several promising ideas. Sometimes it’s nice just to have some reassurance. College can be frightening, and the tutors are really good at giving students the confidence they need to succeed.

I’ve even taken advantage of tutoring myself. While taking a College Algebra course, I spent quite a few hours receiving math tutoring. I believe it helped, too. I got a good grade in the class, and the tutors made graphing, which was my weakness, much easier. I was less scared of Math because I knew I wasn’t alone. Someone was there to help me.

It’s so rewarding to see students grow over the semesters. I have tutored some of the same students and have watched them progress, moving up from English 68 (Introductory English) to English 1C (Argumentation & Rhetoric), for example. I think I’m almost as excited as they are when they return and tell me they received an ‘A.’ It’s the best part of the educational system—watching students get excited about learning.

Any students who are experiencing trouble with their work should look for a helping hand. It is a trend that is catching on in more and more schools, as classrooms become overcrowded and professors can spend less individualized time with their students. A little guidance makes a big difference.
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