My 40-Hour Tutoring Journey

Overview of this program: 

The HelpingHand Summer Math Tutoring program is a non-profit, free organization founded by Diya Patel, a rising Sophomore at Thales Academy High School. She has taught a total of 20+ students (Rising 4th - 9th) for a total duration of 40 hours. Based on her unfaltering dedication she will receive the DOC NC (Dedicated to our community of NC) Summer SCHOLARSHIP. 

Some words from her: 

Starting the HelpingHand program has allowed me to participate in an unforgettable gratifying experience. Helping 20+ students from 6 different grade levels every day was definitely challenging to plan out curriculum and manage time efficiently. However, what kept me going was my passion for helping students. Watching them enter the first class with a faltering attitude sparked my interest to enhance their confidence. I started encouraging them and motivating them to strive for that confidence. On July 5th, 2023, I had achieved this. Everyone was very confident that they could tackle any problem. When I gave them 20 problems on the last day, I was shocked to see that the class average accuracy rate was 95%. 

The classes that I led were designed to enhance all the students in the field of mathematics. I strategically used math speed tricks (to perform faster calculations), math puzzles (as a fun logic exercise), and targeted conceptual time (one-on-one time with each student in a specific area of math). 

Primarily what I realized from this 40-hour journey is that every child has an inner genius lurking within that needed to be pulled out with the aid of confidence. The power of confidence is so great that it can enable a 4th grader to do 5 ACT problems correctly (I experienced this in my class).

All in all, this was an excellent experience for me to understand student psychology and enforce the concept of confidence on my 20+ genius students! 

Want to know more? Check out: This link

- Diya Patel: Founder/President of the HelpingHand Math Summer Tutoring Program