Teens Tutor Others Online to Fill Need During the Pandemic

 

Charvi Goyal is a high school student from Dallas, Texas who helps out other classmates by tutoring them between classes. A tutor is someone who teaches one person or a very small group of students.

When Goyal's high school moved online last spring because of the coronavirus crisis, she decided¹ to also take her teaching online.

The 17-year-old junior and three of her fellow students created TutorScope, a service that offers free tutoring services to other children, including younger ones.

TutorScope started with a small number of tutors who helped young people in their city. But it has grown into a group of 22 tutors from Texas, Arizona, and Ohio. They have helped more than 300 students, some from as far away as South Korea.

Goyal said she expected that schools would go online. She also believed online classes would face some problems. For example, she felt that communication between students – and between students and teachers – would be weakened.

TutorScope aims to give the one-on-one help that teachers have traditionally given while walking around their classrooms. But now, many teachers cannot provide that one-on-one support because they lack time or have issues with technology.

Sarah Newman said her children, 7-year-old twins, have had helpful TutorScope experiences. The service has freed up her and her 17-year-old son to pay attention to their work. "With these tutors, I realize they have time," she said. "I think they are very patient with these younger kids, which I do not even have as a mother. I have patience in other things, (but) I don't have patience" for teaching. TutorScope is not the first nonprofit to give online tutoring.

People around the world have come up with ways to educate children during the coronavirus crisis, from a teacher in Nigeria who grades homework to a so-called sidewalk school in Mexico.

What makes the TutorScope effort special is the connection between the teenage volunteers and the other students they are helping².

The group accepts donations from adults but limits volunteers to students.

Now in their third semester, TutorScope has received nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS.

The group has also gotten a software company to give them free use of a system to set up tutor meetings. Sixteen-year-old Jessica Ding runs the website with student Angelina Ehara, who works on public communication and social media. Another student, Kaustubh Sonawane, runs the signup process.

In addition to helping others, the tutors also get experience themselves that will look great on a college or job application. The service can also help them decide whether they want to teach full-time³ or run a business or an NGO someday.

New tutors get limited training from recordings⁴. Goyal's main hope from possible volunteers is that they truly want to help the kids that they tutor.

Although the pandemic has forced many students to look inward, Goyal said that working with others on a big project has permitted her to look outward.

"My confidence level has increased," Goyal said. She added that she has made friends with other students from her school. She said one of the best things about running a growing nonprofit is that it "does help with the boredom⁵" of being stuck at home.

Words in This Story

twin – n. either of two babies who are born to the same mother at the same time

patient – adj. able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing⁶ with problems or difficult people

donation – n. something (such as money, food, clothes, etc.) that you give in order to help a person or organization

status – n. the official position of a person or thing according to the law

application – n. a formal and usually written request for something (such as a job, admission to a school, a loan, etc.)

confidence – n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

boredom – n. the state of being bored (or uninterested)

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

4 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

5 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。