On September 10, 2019 at around 10:15 in the morning, I went to Hagerty Hall (shown below) to seek assistance from a French tutor. I entered the building and proceeded up the stairs to find room 308. As I entered the room, I saw a lady sitting at the far end of the empty room. After some introductions, I learned that her name was Maud. She is a native French speaker and teaches French here at OSU. Soon after, she began to help me with my problems in the subject. Not long after that, Maud had already helped me immensely. All of this said, when I left, I knew that I wasn’t hopeless in French. I was immensely grateful when we had said our goodbyes and felt much more at peace with my French studies.
After going to this tutoring session, I believe that I would enjoy tutoring. In my case, I would probably have the most success tutoring fellow students in Calculus or Physics. Tutoring people would also help me prepare for my future career path as well. Since I want to become a professor at an institution like this one, I would be able to practice helping and teaching people complex concepts.
Although I am very happy that I went, something was itching at the back of my mind the entire time. Why was nobody else seeking help with the tutor? I had expected there to be at least a few people in the room being helped. So why was nobody in the room but the tutor? I believe that people are afraid to seek help. They don’t want to feel vulnerable and open to help. Of course, all of these are just theories as to why nobody was in the French tutoring room, but if the other tutor rooms look the same, then these theories are quite plausible.
As for the people who don’t go to tutoring because they are self-conscious about looking stupid or being embarrassed, I get it. I don’t enjoy asking for help. I never have and probably never will want to ask for help, but sometimes it is necessary. Anyone attending a university knows how much money they are paying to go to school. Why would people suffer in their classes and not seek help? They paid a large sum of money to go to their school of choice and won’t even attempt to do better in their classes.
In summary, tutoring truly is an amazing part of this institution and every institution around the country. My experience with getting tutored in French was a great experience and expanded my knowledge in the subjects discussed. After this wonderful experience, the idea of tutoring fellow students may be in my future. People need to seek help when they don’t understand or comprehend their classes. Especially if these classes are in the field of their future degree. I cannot stress enough how important seeking help is. If anyone reading this post feels embarrassed about getting help in any subject; don’t. Everyone has trouble in one subject or another. It is natural to get help.