The Peer Tutoring Club: An Interview By Harim Arslan

What happens when students become teachers?

I am Harim Arslan from 11-B and I interviewed the Head of the Peer Tutoring club (Nur Salman). Here are some responds to the questions:

1. What exactly is the Peer Tutoring Club, and what is its main purpose?

"The Peer Tutoring Programme is an initiative where senior pupils from grades 10 and 11 teach their fellow students concepts they may be struggling with. We are currently offering lessons for physics, chemistry, computer science, math and add math for grades 9 to 11, and literature, social studies and math for grade 8. It aims to help students improve their grades at no extra cost, so they don’t need to worry about taking tuitions, and most of all to increase their confidence when dealing with challenging topics."

2. What made you want to become the head of the Peer Tutoring Club?

"I myself faced great difficulty trying to self-study when I joined the senior school. So, I felt a personal responsibility towards making sure no one’s mental health was compromised just trying to do well in school. Peer tutoring has provided myself and all our other tutors an avenue to help others out personally, which is a highly rewarding experience!"

3. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as club head?

"It’s definitely been difficult handling all the logistics. After pitching the idea to the admins, I had to seek out all my tutors individually to tell them about the programme and work out the subjects we were going to offer, as well as create a schedule. With countless meetings and negotiations, it took almost two months to put it together, so I’m glad it’s finally starting this week!"

4. How do you think peer tutoring benefits students compared with being taught only by a teacher?

"I think that there’s naturally a gap in understanding when you have two different generations trying to get ideas across to one another. It’s also difficult for teachers to make sure everyone is following the lecture when there are upwards of twenty students in each class. That’s why I believe peer tutoring will be so effective; with smaller class sizes, there will be an opportunity for individualized attention, as well as people closer in age teaching you, so they can explain concepts in a way that relates to you better."

Nur Salman