Summer tutoring at the Study Hut is a great idea for any elementary aged student. Many people assume that tutoring is only for struggling students who need remediation. While tutoring is great for these students and will help them get back on their feet grade-wise, tutoring is also beneficial for students who are doing great in class, especially over the summer. The summer vacation is three months long, a very long time to have to remember everything you learned last year. And most teachers like to jump right in when class starts, as they have enough material to cover in a year without including weeks of review. The new Common Core standards emphasize coherence in mathematics, so students need to be prepared to build on the previous year’s learning. Here is the link for more info:
So, how do you make sure you are ready for these new standards? Practice! Tutoring is the perfect way to keep your brain active over the summer. Just like you have to work out to keep your muscles in shape, you have to keep your brain working to keep it in “school shape”. Tutoring will keep your study skills sharp and have you ready to go as soon as class starts. No more wasting the first week of school trying to switch your brain back into “school mode.” Was there a subject last year you kind of learned, but were never clear on? Maybe something that is going to make another appearance this year? (Long division? Fractions?) Tutoring will clear that up without the added stress of homework and other subjects and tests. Confidence is a key to success in school, and confidence comes from practice. With a little bit of tutoring in the off months, the next year will be a breeze.
In almost two full years of working at the Study Hut, I’ve been able to see just how important supplemental education (in many forms) is for today’s young students. It’s nuanced at times, but there are myriad ways that seemingly inconsequential aspects of learning can change everything. Some of these things are just natural aspects of putting college students and grads in a room together and telling them to talk about academics, but in my tenure here I’ve watched the company grow and I’ve grown as a tutor and a person along with it. A particular session comes to mind here, and not because of how unique it was, but because it was extremely typical.
One of my weekly students, who we’ll call John Conner, came to me earlier this year to study for a history final. We hadn’t worked much together on history to this point, and John needed to catch up on almost everything covered on this test–we had our work cut out for us.
The first thing he asked me was: “Wait, so do you have this all memorized?” It was an honest question, and legitimate. Intuitively speaking, one would probably need to know a lot about US History to prepare someone study for a final exam nearly from scratch, but because of the way we work at the Hut, the way the Hut taught me to teach, and the very nature of supplemental academia, the session wasn’t about what I knew. It was about what John needed to know. We spent that hour combing through the text and his in-class notes to piece together what we agreed were the areas of importance. We spent the time looking for the questions, not the answers.
What I mean by all of this is that knowing is never part of my job. It’s about finding out, whether that means learning the material along with the students or just learning about the students themselves. The achilles-heel of today’s schools is the inability of schools to teach on a more personal level with each student. Of course, it’s a numbers game and it would be impossible for even the greatest instructors to personally teach lessons to all of their kids. But that’s the point. Because we’re in a unique position to help bridge the gap between teacher and student, concept and practice, we can always provide an invaluable set of tools for students of all kinds.
My knee-jerk reaction to John’s opening question was to say, “No, but you will soon.” This, to me, was the job in a nutshell. We don’t have the answers to the test your student will take, but we might know where to look.
Here at the Study Hut we have a unique teaching method that seems to work very well. At the Study Hut we hope to empower students. Here’s what it says on our website:
“Our tutors are young, local, and experienced. We offer one-on-one subject tutoring, SAT test prep, and a variety of other services. Students love coming to Study Hut because it’s cool and they see results. There are many large, impersonal tutoring companies out there. Study Hut is proud to say that we’re not one of them.
Instead of using a “one-size-fits-all” method, we focus on each student’s unique learning style and teach to his or her strengths. Our tutors emphasize progress and growth for all students at all levels—no matter how unmotivated or defeated they may start out feeling.
Our highly trained tutors have all graduated from local high schools and universities. Study Hut tutors have experience teaching every subject you can think of, from elementary school through AP high school courses, we have done and seen it all.”
I am one of the tutors here at the Study Hut and proud to work for such a great company. I normally tutor elementary and middle school students and truly enjoying working with each of my students! Here’s a story about one of my personal tutoring sessions!
I tutor a little girl whose a 1st grader and together we work on her homework packet. Each week she has a different number of packets… each for a different subject including but not limited to – Math, Social Science, Literature, and English. She mostly struggles with math (subtraction)… and refers to the numbers as “big numbers” – which make her nervous. During tutoring we work on the homework packet and if she gets it done early we play Word Bingo since Bingo is her favorite game.
Some of the assignments in the packet include coloring different pictures and words – which the little girl certainly enjoys! We work on pronunciation of words, spelling words, definitions, and other fun assignments.
The little girl also has started to learn Spanish, so we work on Spanish vocabulary as well and basic phrases every week. I write the words down for her in English with the Spanish translation and she always highlights the English words with a highlighter. She studies them at home and does a great job!
Every student you tutor is different and they each work well in their own ways.
Finals are OVER! Sound the bells, raise the banner, and sing it to the heavens. That wretched time of year is gone, and shall never darken our door again! So, now you’re probably saying to yourself, “Self, you don’t need to study anymore. All the hard work is behind you, and it’s smooth sailing from here on in.” Oh, if only this was true. But, the fact of the matter is that this is when the real work begins.
Finals aren’t just an opportunity for teachers to make you nervous and lower you’re grade. (That’s only an extra perk.) Finals are also a major indicator on how well you’ve been learning throughout the first half of the year. They tell you which subjects you need to dedicate more time to, and which ones you’re clearly acing. Which means, you have a major opportunity here. An opportunity to get it all together before June comes along.
Getting a bad grade on one of these tests can be paralyzing. You see that test, and the effect is has on you’re overall average, and just assume the fight is over. Don’t give in to this feeling. Nothing’s over until you win or give up. The bad grade is in the past. There’s nothing you can do about it. But you can LEARN from it. Among the things you can do:
-Get your test from the teacher. Go through all of the wrong answers and see if you can correct them. Among other things, it makes sure you don’t make the mistakes again.
-See if there’s any relationship between the questions you got wrong. (Were they from the same chapter? Were they from a week you were absent?) Go back to the book, and relearn that material. It WILL come up later in the semester, and you don’t want to be caught twice.
-Compare what material you studied BEFORE the test, and compare it to the material that was ON the test. Did it match up?
Above all, remember this: A bad grade is not the end of the world. But it should be motivator to get your butt in gear, and make sure that the same mistakes aren’t made again. Because guess what? Finals will be back in June! The only difference is, next time you’ll know exactly what to expect, because you’ve already done it. Get mad, get mean, and get those grades up.
The first thing that struck me upon entering the Manhattan Beach Study Hut is how comfortable the students feel around their tutors! I instantly understood how valuable it is for students to be able to CONNECT with their tutor. Students are obviously at ease at the Study Hut, many make this place their second home. Being able to be open with their tutor about their struggles in school allows us as tutors to custom-make lesson plans to target problem areas. I was also very happy to see how well the tutors interacted with their kiddos. While maintaining a professional environment, the tutors were able to interact with students and make them laugh and, more importantly, make their lessons FUN!
The second thing that really surprised me about the Study Hut was how busy this place gets in the evenings! When I left on my first day, it was 8:30 in the evening, and there were still energetic students arriving to meet with their tutor, and they were in good moods! I don’t think I would have been in such a great mood to spend my evenings getting ahead, but I was nonetheless happy to see kids happy to learn.
For me, tutoring isn’t just about answering questions, it’s about getting kids to learn from me, and become motivated students. I’m very happy to see students using the Study Hut to stay on top of their learning!
