There are many different kinds of tutors that exist on Fairfield’s campus; however, not all peer tutors have the qualifications that you would expect to encounter at a college level.
The Peer Tutoring program describes their tutors or employees on the Fairfield website as being “students who are proficient in their major or other subjects.”
Still, there is no indication that these tutors have ever been taught how to properly tutor a student.
Michael Basta ’07 was a tutor last year for people having difficulties with calculus in what the Fairfield website boasts as “additional tutoring services” that are “available through academic departments in select subject areas.”
“I never took a class on being a tutor, but the professor who asked me to be a tutor thought I was skilled enough to teach other kids in my class,” said Basta ’07.
Another student, Alison Sikora ’06, works for another tutoring project on campus called Project Excel.
This program is intended to help students at Fairfield who are from low-income families and are also first generation to attend a four-year college or have some sort of learning disability.
Nevertheless, this program still does not offer any training for the peer tutors it offers to Fairfield students.
“I tutor mostly biology, but also religion and writing,” said Sikora ’06. “There was no training, but I don’t work directly through Fairfield.”
While some programs on campus do not have trained tutors peer teaching, one program on campus does – The Writing Center.
“Everyone who tutors in the Writing Center must have successfully completed the Writing and Responding class, which is a three credit course offered through the English department that counts toward a major/minor in English or as a free elective,” said Professor Elizabeth Boquet of the English Department.
According to Boquet, tutors are selected from the class by her and a couple of graduating senior tutors in an effort to “consider the needs of the Writing Center for the following year.”
Nora McGilvray ’08 hopes this class will help polish her skills as a writer so that she can help people who struggle with writing like she struggles with subjects like math and science.
“I believe this class will help me see different perspectives in regards to writing,” said McGilvray ’08.
“I’m only familiar with my own, subjective style,” she added. “Hopefully, this class will do as it aims and make me a more objective writer and tutor.”
For some students, professional qualifications don’t seem to matter.
“I had a really good tutor,” said Chrissy Passarella ’07. “They’re knowledgeable kids, especially if they’ve been referred by professors. I trust their abilities.”
For others at Fairfield, they would only trust those with certain qualifications.
“They should be qualified in order to be able to educate those who don’t understand the subject as well,” said Laura Hefferan ’07.
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