Quarantine tutoring: CCHS students make a tutoring website in response to online learning

BY SASHEEN JOSEPH

As the public continues to maintain social distancing and schools close their doors, students and faculty have now transitioned into online learning—what used to simply be a graduation requirement. In light of this transition, CCHS juniors have taken it upon themselves to create a free online tutoring website to help students ease themselves into this form of learning for the fourth quarter.

“We realized a lot of people are going to start struggling because they don’t know how to navigate online school and tutoring programs like National Honor Society aren’t available right now,” junior Michael Cline said. “So we figured one thing we can do to help the community is making a website where people can ask questions and tutors can answer them.”

Cline, along with junior Anand Mathi, spearheaded the project by developing the website and including a forum with channels specific to core subjects such as English, math, science and social studies. These channels are monitored by a tutoring staff made up of 10 additional CCHS juniors.

Each day there are two tutors assigned to the website, one working from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the other working from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m, so students can have a large window to ask any questions ranging from homework help to navigating Canvas. This schedule has also helped the tutors themselves adjust to online learning and the personal accountability that comes with it.

“I feel like a lot of people, including myself, don’t have motivation to do the work they’re assigned on Canvas.”

As the fourth quarter progresses and Advanced Placement exams approach, many students have expressed frustration with the new normal of online schooling. Along with this frustration, time management and motivation have also become more challenging for students.

“I feel like a lot of people, including myself, don’t have motivation to do the work they’re assigned on Canvas,” tutor Tyler Flowers said. “When you’re home in your room and you have nothing to do but the assignments, it’s kind of hard to just not lay in your bed and ignore the work you have to do so the website’s helped me with that.”

Beyond helping students with homework and troubleshooting technology, this free tutoring website can serve as a reminder for CCHS students. While students continue to learn from a distance, they can still count on support from their peers.

“I’ve seen a lot of people post on social media about how much they hate online school and how they’re struggling to learn the same way they do in a regular classroom,” tutor Rachel Goldberg said. “So I’m especially glad this website exists because a lot of my friends have already told me that they’re excited to use the website and how it will help them get their work done.”

Photo by The Lariat Photography