Tutoring is a time for students to catch up and get help from teachers. However, tutoring does not always work because many students leave, still not understanding the material. And although some students would rather get help from teachers than from students, they may be unaware that peer tutoring can benefit them in ways that teachers cannot offer.

Peer tutoring allows students who excel in one subject, but struggle in a different subject, to pair up with another student to help each other understand difficult concepts, while deepening their own knowledge of the subject. The practice of peer tutoring gives students the opportunity to better understand the material studied.

According to the National Education Association, student tutors are more effective and the students they’re tutoring experience significant gains in achievement. More benefits of peer tutoring include higher academic achievement, improved relationships with peers, and improved personal development.

Some schools that require 4 hours of community service per semester are Eastern Connecticut State University, Stanford University, and St. Mary’s University. Although there are multiple ways to gain community service hours such as cleaning up public areas, building playgrounds, helping soup kitchens, peer tutoring is a quick way to rack up the hours needed.

Peer tutoring creates an efficient way for students to learn multiple perspectives on a subject. Even though there is no official organization on campus for peer tutoring, you can always offer help in the classroom or set up a tutoring session after school in the teacher’s classroom. It takes some extra stress off both teachers and students while also creating an opportunity for relationships to strengthen.