Peer Tutoring: Alex and Chris

Chris and Alex are both 11th graders. Chris sought out Alex several months ago to help him with his Algebra 2 class. They’ve been working together nearly every day since.  

Q: How did you come to work together? 

Chris: We met in DTS in ninth grade, and Alex has always been a really strong student. I was struggling and thought maybe if I work with Alex, some of that math genius would rub off on me (he laughs). So, I asked him to help me one day during DTS study hall, and I understood everything after he explained it.

Alex: I was interested in becoming a peer tutor because I thought I could use some of the spare time I had in order to help bring people, if not ahead, up to speed in math. It’s also helped me review for the SAT, as I’m relearning Algebra 2, which is a pretty big factor on the math portion.

Q: What have you learned from the experience?

Chris: Alex sees where and why I’m making mistakes and knows how to explain things in a way that I understand. He also takes more time one-on-one with me than my teacher can.  

Alex: The experience of peer tutoring has required me to learn a lot more patience, as I’ve suddenly been put at the pace of a different person. It’s really helped me learn to look back on something, and has helped me practice how to explain things in detail.

Q. Has the peer tutoring experience been rewarding?

Alex: The rewarding part of tutoring is being able to see when someone comprehends something that they’ve been struggling with. You can almost see the light bulb go off in Chris’ mind, and I feel rewarded when I see that something I’ve done has helped someone progress or overcome a difficulty they had in math.

Chris: Yes, I am finally understanding the material and I’m raising my grade!