Valerie Holmes
Instructional Designer
Instructional Design and Development
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Daytona Beach, Florida
Office: (386) 226-4925
Valerie.Holmes@erau.edu
Tutoring
Seeing a student light up when they finally comprehend something they have been struggling with is one of the best feelings in the world. I began tutoring almost every afternoon and during many lunch periods as well. I quickly became close with the adviser and she asked me if I'd like to make some extra money - I was in 9th grade and wasn't getting any allowance so I jumped at the opportunity. Many parents who had children at the same high school as me or at the local junior high or elementary schools were looking for additional one on one tutoring for their children. The woman who ran the peer tutoring center would offer these jobs to exceptional peer tutors, knowing that parents would get the most out of their money that way. I tutored students from ages 10 - 17 while in high school. The most enjoyable tutoring experience for me was when I tutored a girl who was in 5th grade but was well below her grade level in math.
I tutored her for most of my senior year of high school. When we started out, she absolutely dreaded our biweekly tutoring sessions. School was always something she hated, especially math, because she never did well at it. I've always loved school (and math) and I really wanted her to see that it could be fun. Her mom talked to her teacher to get some information about where she was and where she should be. We started at around a 3rd grade math level and worked through all the topics she did not understand until she really felt like she knew what she was doing. Slowly, her attitude started improving. She was making a more than noticeable improvement in math. I realized what a significant impact one on one tutoring could have on a struggling student. Just being able to go over something she struggled with multiple times, giving different examples and explaining it in as many ways as necessary until she got it made all the difference in the world. I've kept tabs on her and she's now in High School doing extremely well in all of her classes.
I tutored all throughout high school and I really enjoyed it. I realized that the more I tutored, the more I actually understood the material I was tutoring. If I didn't have the answer to a student's question, I would look it up. This really helped me develop my research skills and also taught me the value of a good Google search. It can't be underestimated!
This Peer Tutorial program really helped develop me as a person. It made me realize the value of volunteering both for myself and for the students I tutored. It helped me understand how important it is to give back to the community. Sure, many parents can afford tutors - even more cannot. These students who come from families that aren't well off rely on programs like this to succeed in school and move on to bigger things in their lives. The woman who ran this program had a great impact on my life as well. She encouraged me to keep tutoring and to start tutoring students in classes I wasn't 100% comfortable with. Like I said before, that helped me learn the material more and in the end, both of us benefited. This is really the kind of program I would love to start at a local high school. It would truly help everyone involved - me, the students doing the tutoring, the students receiving the tutoring (and their families), and the school.
I didn't tutor much in college but after I graduated, I was searching for some work to do while living in Napa. I tutored a couple of students but it wasn't going very well. I was contacted by a family looking for a tutor for two boys that were cousins. One was in 7th grade, the other in 10th grade, both were in jeopardy of failing all of their classes. I met the families and started tutoring both kids the next day. I never thought that such an easy job would have such a big impact on my life. Joe (the 7th grader) had some learning disabilities that made it extremely difficult for him to understand what was being taught. I remembered how much it helped the girl I tutored in high school to give multiple examples and explain things in multiple ways so I stuck with that strategy while tutoring Joe. Jordan had very bad ADHD and no medications helped him focus. He was an extremely smart student and thinking back on it, I've realized that school was too easy for him. If he tried at all, he understood things almost immediately. If he struggled, I'd explain something again and he would instantly understand it. Working with Jordan was more of a challenge though. How do you get a 15 year old to focus on something that is so easy, it's boring? We went with the strategy of work hard for 20 - 30 minutes, take a snack break. We would spend 5 minutes talking about anything BUT school. After that, he was able to get back to his homework and focus again. Tutoring these two students was the best experience I have ever had as a tutor. They were sweet, willing to learn, and hard workers. Their families were extremely generous and would always pay me more than we agreed on, give me little gifts here and there, and really made it clear how much they appreciated me tutoring their sons.
This was the first time I really felt appreciated as a tutor by the students and their families. When I had to leave to pursue a career with Embry-Riddle, it was heartbreaking. I think about Joe and Jordan often, and both are doing fairly well in school. It will always be a struggle for them, but I'm glad I could make the best of the time I had with them. Tutoring them has made me realize that I would love to be a teacher some day. It's so rewarding when you see students go from absolutely hating school and never wanting to do any of their homework to enjoying school and looking forward to furthering their education.