The leader Within

Chapter 6: Peer Tutoring

My high school, Rick Hansen Secondary School had a Peer tutoring program for students who were struggling in their academics and needed extra assistance. Therefore, students with an average above 80% could sign up in counselling to earn volunteer hours if they helped the students who required extra assistance. A student who excelled in a specific course was matched with students who required extra assistance in that course. The initial meeting would be arranged by the counselor and then the time and location for subsequent sessions would be mutually decided by both the students.

In grade 10, I wanted to earn more hours, so I signed up for peer tutoring. I was responsible for helping students who required assistance in Maths, Accounting and English. I helped them finish their homework, explain a tricky question or prepare for their upcoming tests. I also gave them tips on how they could increase their percentage or do well in a course. I discussed career pathway with some students providing them with different suggestion such as whether they should take college or university courses.

I was required to be a mentor to those students. Most of the students who came to peer tutoring were quite discouraged because of their previous results. In order to motivate them for future tasks, I had to motivate them and be positive. I said things like "You can do this" or "You will do awesome on your next test, believe me" which showed those students that someone believes in them. This motivated them, and the support helped them try again for next time. This showed me that a leader needs to guide, mentor and motivate their team in order to develop them and help them do better. I had to act differently according to each student and the way they learned. For example, some students grasped a concept after a small briefing and for other students I needed to take them through each step of the question. Each technique worked differently according to the type of student and the way they learned. This taught me that a leader needs to change their attitude in different situations depending on the needs of the person in order to help them develop. I also had to demonstrate responsibility and show up on time every day, so the other student will do the same and realize the importance of our tutoring session and take them seriously. If I did not show up on time, then the other student would've started lagging too and not taken the tutoring as seriously. It showed me that a leader goes by example and how the leader acts is very important because it also influences their team to be the same way.