Last year, a new club here at Jamesville-DeWitt High School was created: the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group. Mark Bratslavasky, Madie Phillips, Gabe Bagatell, and Connie Zhang have all worked very hard to run the club, in which they tutor students here at J-DHS. From helping improve students grades to making school a more enjoyable place to be at, they have it all figured out.
The questions below were answered by the leaders of the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group:
- What is the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group?
The Thinkstitue is a resource for all students who may be struggling academically.
- What is the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group’s mission statement?
The Thinkstitue’s mission statement is to help students in need, no matter the circumstances. The “club” was created in order to build relationships, improve grades, and make school a more fun and enjoyable place.
- Who are your officers?
Our officers are Connie Zhang, who is the founder and president, Madie Phillips, who is the vice president, and Mark Bratslavasky and Gabe Bagatell, who are the directors of communication.
- What does the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group do?
The Thinkstitute is a student-run resource for any student (grades 9-12) who is looking for academic help. We carefully pair interested students with a student tutor who we think will help them out best with whatever they’re having trouble with. Together, the tutee and tutor will create their own tutoring schedule and organize their own lessons however they choose. No matter what skill level a tutee initially comes to us as, our goal is to help them improve and be more confident and comfortable in the classroom.
- What kind of students does the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group target?
We target inquisitive and patient students that know subjects well enough that they can teach it to others. It can be tricky for some to explain information differently than how they learned it, but tutors may need to do that if tutees aren’t understanding the information, so being adaptive is another good trait to have. The tutors, most of all, must be interested in helping those that need the help. As for tutees, we target anybody that needs a little extra push in a subject and can improve their grades.
- Why do you think it’s important for students to get involved in the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group, both as tutors and being tutored?
It’s important for students to get involved in the Thinkstitute (as a tutor/tutee) because it’s a resource open to anyone and ultimately benefits both the tutor and tutee. The tutee naturally gets help from a peer who can give insight on the class and high school in general and the tutor can be simultaneously improving themselves while tutoring someone else.
- What are the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group’s goals for this next year?
Our goals for next year include reaching out to all the counselors, so they can contact us if they know a student that is struggling and is reaching out to find help. That should make it easier for the tutees to ask for help if they just have to ask their counselor. We also want to get more of the word out, so more students that may need help with a subject know that we’re here.
- Any other information that you feel is important to potential club members?
One important note is to know that the Thinkstitute is more of a resource than a club, any advertising we do is to attract tutees not tutors, if you’d like to become a tutor contact 23czhang@jd.cnyric.org, or talk to one of our officers. You also have to come in with an open mind that you may not get to tutor someone right away, it all depends on what subjects you decide to tutor in and what the preferences of tutees are.
Contact 23czhang@jd.cnyric.org or one of the other officers with any other questions regarding the Thinkstitute Tutoring Group.
