Achieving 'the lightbulb moment' with every student - #lakewoodnews

Years ago, Jefferson County librarian Alison McCombe remembers a young boy -- who was about 9 at the time -- coming into the Golden Library for tutoring."He was so embarrassed that his grandmother would bring him to the library for help," McCombe said.The boy would walk in reluctantly, with his head hung low, she said. But he showed up every week. And by the end of the school year, he walked into the library with his head held high, happy and ready to study."He gained confidence," McCombe said.Whether a student is struggling in a certain subject, wants to boost a learned skill, further explore a concept taught in the classroom or is simply looking for a study-buddy, tutors can provide that extra academic support.Students shouldn't feel they simply can't understand something, said Cindy Pearson, founder of Golden Tutoring & Enrichment. If they are having trouble with something, "we feel that it's our job to explain it in a way that it clicks for them. We call it the lightbulb moment."Tutoring is about supporting the student so he or she can be more successful in the classroom, said Tiffany Lehman, a tutor with Golden Tutoring & Enrichment who specializes in literacy.For years, parents and students had a hard time finding an avenue to pursue that additional support, Pearson said.But now, "between more after school support, free library tutoring and our local tutors, students and parents have many more options than they did five years ago," she said.Pearson, who taught middle school math and science for about 16 years, founded Golden Tutoring & Enrichment to help fill what she called "a void" in academic support in the Golden community.In 2000, members of the Colorado School of Mines' chapter of the Phi Gamma Delta reached out to the Golden Library to inquire about a way to fulfill the fraternity's community service requirement. Rather than having them shelve books, McCombe suggested tutoring. And in October of that year, in partnership with the fraternity, Homework Help was implemented at the Golden Library.Phi Gamma Delta brothers Jasper Dunn and Kyle Voris enjoy tutoring at the library because it provides a way for the fraternity to give back to the Golden community while meeting new people, they said."It's fun to help students learn things that I enjoyed when I was their age," said Voris, a sophomore working toward a computer science degree at Mines.Dunn, a junior studying chemical engineering, agreed."I like to hope that I give them a new outlook," he said.Sixteen-year-old Angela Maj comes to the Golden Library for help in math, a subject she doesn't mind anymore, she said, because mastering concepts motivates her to do well. And, Maj added, "it's always good to know more than one way to solve something."Maj always has a good tutoring experience at the library, she said. Because they are also students, the Mines students understand what high schoolers have to go through in terms of academics, she said."Teachers do the best they can with what they have," Lehman said. But "there's no possible way for a teacher to always meet every kid's need. The scope of the job is too big."Lehman taught in a classroom for 24 years before becoming a tutor. The beauty of tutoring, she said, is being able to pick up where the teacher left off -- in a one-on-one session.As a parent, "there's only so many ways you can think of to make studying creative and fun," said Holly Levchik, a mother of two elementary-aged boys who have sessions with Lehman."Tiffany makes it fun," Levchik said. "She always has something new and fresh."Sometimes Pearson will get a request for a tutor to help with organizational and study skills -- a key to helping a student reach his or her highest potential, Pearson said.McCombe recalls a middle school student about 10 years ago, who would come into the library for tutoring, but not because he needed help with the concepts, she said."He knew how to do his math and science homework -- he got good grades on all of it -- but he would fail every test," she said.So the Mines students worked with him on test-taking strategies and ways he could calm his pre-exam anxiety.Both of Barbara Goldman's daughters have always been good at math, she said. But Goldman, who has a computer science degree, worries about young female students losing interest in math and science. And when she noticed her oldest daughter, now a freshman in high school, losing interest in the subject in the sixth grade, she decided to contact Pearson to help re-spark her desire to want to learn math."With tutoring, she got her love of math back," Goldman said, "which is worth its weight in gold."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Achieving-the-lightbulb-moment-with-every-student,238301