UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 33, Page 9
May 25, 1995
Community service; Saturday math tutoring benefits students, mentors

     Spending Saturday mornings wrestling with math problems has
worked out just fine for a group of young people taking part in a
cooperative venture involving members of the University community and
the Wilmington Central branch of the YMCA.
     "Homework" offers free tutoring to students in grades one through
12, with subject matter ranging from beginning math to college
trigonometry.
     The program, now in its third year, was started by Herb Turner, a
research analyst in the UD's Office of Institutional Research and
Planning.
     "I had been tutoring students privately for about five years,"
Turner said. "I was approached by people from the Teens Helping Teens
program about starting a tutoring program."
     Turner put together a program that began by targeting middle
school students. Through advertising, word of mouth and a strong
recruiting effort, the program grew.
     Lending a hand with the tutoring sessions are Breck Robinson,
assistant professor of finance, and Shridhar Iyar, assistant professor
of economics.
     "The impact of the people from the University on the program has
been very positive," Turner said. "It gives us a sense of working
together and allows me to focus more on the effectiveness of the
program and its impact on students' grades."
     Iyar said he thought that working as a volunteer tutor would be a
good way to improve his teaching skills while making a contribution to
the "Homework" program. It was through Iyar that Breck learned about
the program.
     "I like teaching little kids," Breck said. "You can play as you
teach. It's as much fun for me as it is for them, and it gives me the
opportunity to help other people."
     UD students also have been involved.
     "I was in calculus class with Herb, and he mentioned the program
to me," Quentin Joyner, a junior business and economics major, said.
"It sounded like a good idea."
     He involved his roommate Mike Lorenzo, a sophomore business and
economics major.
     "Math is one of my strong points," Lorenzo said. "I've always
liked helping other people, and I found the experience enjoyable."
     Both students said the program has given them confidence in the
discipline and clarified what they learned in school.
     George McBride, 16, a junior at Christiana High School, has been
coming to the program for two years.
     "I was having trouble and failing algebra in the ninth grade,"
McBride said. "My teacher recommended that I take some courses."
     Since coming to "Homework," McBride has seen his grade point
average in math go from 1.3 to 3.0. A plus for McBride is being able
to bring homework assignments from school to the Saturday sessions.
     "If there is something that I don't understand, they help me,"
McBride said. "They also give me extra problems to keep me ahead in my
studies."
     McBride, who said the program helped him greatly with his SATs,
would like to attend college and major in business or engineering.
     Gsa Muhammad, 16, a junior at Wilmington Friends School, was
having difficulty with math when she heard about the program.
     "I came here to get help," Muhammad said. "They really helped me
a lot. The most important thing is the difference in my grades." Her
favorite aspect of the program is being able to get help on difficult
school assignments.
     "I have something good to wake up for every Saturday morning,"
she said. "The tutors are great, and they know what they are doing."
     "We are glad to have grade school students in the program,"
Turner said. "We hope to follow them through high school to their
graduation."
     Besides offering space for "Homework," the YMCA holds an annual
party and a barbecue.
     "We are just glad to have a group like this to assist us,"
according to Al White, residence director for the Y's Wilmington
Central branch. "We are grateful for the partnership with Herb and the
University, and we hope to continue the program for many years."
     There is no charge for students enrolled in the program, and the
tutoring work is done entirely on a volunteer basis.
     "This is a beautiful program," White said. "It is about improving
the quality of life for young people in the community through
mathematics."
                                                         -Jerry Rhodes