Asking for help can be difficult, regardless of online school. Instead of walking into a teacher’s classroom when a student needs help, now, they have to go out of their way to set up a meet or send an email to their teachers – even though it’s not a guaranteed reply.  

In order to make school a bit easier, National Honor Society members will be tutoring virtually via Google Meet, Facetime, and other apps. Students who are interested will be assigned a tutor and will be able to set up days to meet as needed. 

“Right now we are trying to look at what students need and from there it would be an independent thing – here’s the tutor, set up what you would like to do and how you’re going to meet because unfortunately, I cannot run seven different meets,” NHS Adviser Laura Penrod said. “We are trying to make it individualized, but also offer what students need most.”

For students who need help, an interest survey will be released on Sept. 29 to gauge how many people need tutoring and what subject areas they need the most help on. NHS members will then be paired up to help whenever it is needed. 

“A few complications I could see occurring are the issues with establishing a good means of communication and making sure the tutor is actively assisting the students,” NHS President George Luo said. “However, the virtual aspect has its benefits due to online connivence for tutors and students, as well as the possibility of more tutors available since the platform is virtual this year.”

Representing the two pillars of NHS, scholarship and service, members will gain a better understanding of the value in tutoring and helping others.  

“Academically achieving members dedicating their time to assist others with their individual studies is a perfect example of combining the pillars of scholarship and service,” Luo said. “I enjoy tutoring others because I like to see students grow in the process. Tutoring is not just a one time thing, but it is instead a process and an accumulation of knowledge which you share with others.”

Depending on the amount of time spent tutoring, NHS members can earn one to two hours of service per session. 

“Hopefully this is more flexible, unlike how it was in school,” Penrod said. “My goal is that students have access to some form of tutoring everyday if they need it. I would hope that because most of the students are in advanced classes, they know their process and since it is a student, I feel like there would be less intimidation.”