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If
you assistance with tough college coursework, visit your campus
tutorial center.
It's the cool thing to do.
Don't
Shy Away From Free Academic Help
By
Paul D. Rosevear
February 2002
The
CollegeBound Network NewsClick -- Wanting to seek out tutorial
help for a course that's kicking your butt doesn't make you
dumb. In fact, it's one of the smartest moves you could make
in college! And, while most colleges offer academic assistance,
it's up to you to take advantage of it.
"I've
found that many students have the wrong idea about seeking
out tutorial assistance," says Dr. Laurie Hazard, faculty
Advisor in the Department of Academic Development at Bryant
College, Smithfield, RI. "They think to themselves, 'I
must be stupid if I need extra help.'"
This
type of thinking couldn't be more wrong. It might set your
mind at ease to know that most students who do take advantage
of their center's tutorial services are on the Dean's List.
They get the extra assistance to make sure that their GPAs
stay in excellent academic shape.
Dr.
Betsy Dellebovi, faculty advisor in the Department of Academic
Development at Canisius College, Buffalo, NY, applauds students
who search for schoolwork assistance. According to Dellebovi,
over 1,000 Canisius students had some help hitting the books
last semester.
"It's
a matter of exposure," suggests Dellebovi. "We try
to get the message to brand new freshmen that seeking out
[our] services is a perfectly fine thing to do. This isn't
high school detention!"
Let's face it -- nobody's perfect. "Think about Socrates
and his famous young student, Plato," insists Hazard.
"Even the greatest minds in history had mentors that
they looked up to and learned from!"
All
peer tutors at Bryant are certified by the College Reading
and Learning Association and attend mandatory training sessions
like the Annual Conference of the New England Peer Tutoring
Association; tutors at Canisius College undergo similar training.
Plus, Dellebovi is currently writing a book on how to train
peer tutors at the college level.
If
that doesn't convince you to tap into these tutors, maybe
this will: The country's very first peer tutorial program
officially came together at Harvard University in 1946. Now,
if the brains at Harvard can use a little help from their
friends, we all can!
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