As the semester comes to a close and midterms and finals roll around, many of us reflect on our grades and wish that we would have done better on a test and had more help in a certain subject. One club that is often forgotten about but is a unique part of the North Penn academic culture is the ADAPT club. The Academic and Peer Tutoring club focuses on students tutoring students.
With a walk- in, relaxed, informal style, the ADAPT club is perfect for students who need extra help in their classes. ADAPT is made up of students who are willing to tutor their classmates and help their peers better understand a subject. ADAPT tutors mostly help out in the math and science subjects, where often most help is needed, but the tutors can also help out in non school subjects.
“Some kids we’ve helped with everything from studying for learners permits to social studies to teaching kids organizational skills. We do a lot of stuff, whatever somebody needs, we figure out how to help them,” explained ADAPT adviser Ms. Nina Ferrant.
When asked how the ADAPT club finds students willing to tutor their classmates, Ferrant answered, “they pretty much find each other. People in classes talked it up and then in the beginning of the year, they are at the activities fair and so it’s one of those things [where it is spread] by word of mouth. The signs around school also bring students here asking questions about [the club].”
The importance of this club is undeniable. This club is important because in a school the size of North Penn that has lost teachers and faces increasing class sizes, it becomes harder for some students to establish a connection with a teacher or subject. The result is that they sometimes have a hard time learning and fall behind.
“I think it’s beneficial because the teachers are always busy with lots of things and the students cannot always get help. When they come here we always find a way to help them one on one. The tutors can teach them in another way that may be different from the way the teacher is explaining it and they can get a different point of view with people who have already taken the class and have strategies and tips to help you,” emphasized ADAPT president Sara Bednar.
Ferrant agrees with Bednar stating that some students need topics explained a different way to understand.
“Well you got so many kids and only so many hours in the day that teachers can help and its just another opportunity if you’re having a particular problem with anything to get some additional practice or get some help with homework. Sometimes its just really good to have another student because maybe the translation between teacher and student isn’t happening and sometimes having that intermediate helps,” continued Ferrant.
When she and the other students are not tutoring, the ADAPT club is holding debates and discussions on different issues happening around the world.
“I like both functions of the club. I think that it’s important for kids that have a deeper interest in a topic to have peers who want to talk about things in more depth. I always think it’s important to foster that and something beyond curriculum to expand your mind,” commented Ferrant.
As a tutor and president, Bednar sees the improvements in students that the club helps every day and states that “the best part is that everyone that comes here is really into academics, they like all kinds of subjects and are really willing to help others with their subjects too.”
If you have not taken advantage of this club yet, ADAPT meets after school Mondays until 4pm and Wednesdays and Thursdays ninth period in C117.