Tutorial is arguably the most versatile block in the school day. It’s a space for students to check in with teachers, study for tests and get ahead on homework. Even when it isn’t being used academically, it’s a space for friends to socialize and decompress together. It’s a period that’s scheduled three times a week, which seems like more than enough! Then again… that’s only how the schedule is supposed to work. In reality, weeks worth of tutorial blocks are replaced with some sort of class meeting or assembly. The amount of planned tutorials is becoming more unpredictable. Some weeks hardly allot any time for it at all — and the Menlo community is hurting because of it.
Even as I’m writing this article on March 6, our tutorial schedule this week is paltry. We have a special schedule on Tuesday, a course selection fair on Wednesday and a special assembly on Thursday. Couple those events with advocacy on Friday, and we only have one regular tutorial block this week.
That said, I’m using tutorial time to revise this article, during a week where we don’t have that many special schedules.
It would be hyperbole to say that special schedules always take away from tutorial. The truth is, the main issue behind tutorial time is its volatility. There is a lack of consistency in when we have special events, something that Upper School Director John Schafer says is partly attributed to the difficulties in scheduling guest speakers for assemblies. “We’re at the mercy of [the outside speaker’s] schedule,” he said.
Losing tutorial time in any capacity can be problematic for students. It effectively inhibits them from catching up with teachers or studying independently, especially when they were counting on having time that week and only learn about the loss of their tutorial blocks the Sunday evening before the week starts. Freshman Dean and history teacher Sabahat Adil finds that having dedicated time to review lessons with students is extremely important. “Say a student was away for athletics or illness. [Tutorial] helps them get caught up,” she said.
The key to maintaining tutorial time is to balance the amount of assemblies Menlo has on any given week. Losing one tutorial block really shouldn’t be a problem, but once the majority of tutorial periods disappear like it did the week of March 3, the academic issues can start becoming apparent. If this happens during a test-heavy week for a student, it can limit study time and cause a rise in stress. Sophomore Kai Ruwitch noted that he’s had experiences similar to this. “One week, we only had a single tutorial and I had tons of tests,” he said. “I lost time to prepare.”
It’s important to note that these special events are fantastic in their own right. Having the opportunity to learn from non-profit organizations, Harvard educators and all-around fantastic public speakers is a gift that Menlo has. Schafer wants students to recognize these opportunities. “I get that [students want to get homework done] but when you get a chance to hear from, you know, a world class scientist, you take advantage of that.”
Understanding the privilege of assemblies is important in prefacing the impact each one should have. In theory, after an assembly, Menlo students should be thinking about the topics that assembly covered, maybe gaining some interest in the topic that it discussed. Instead, I primarily see students forgetting about assemblies just a day or two after they happen. That’s especially true during weeks where there are three or more special events. While rare, packed calendars like these hurt the significance of each event.
Oftentimes, the impacts of assemblies during these weeks are washed over with exasperation from the student body. I feel the schedule fatigue, too, and I hold the opinion that the more special schedules we have, the more interest in the events being scheduled can decline.
Granted, disinterest in special events will sometimes be because people aren’t interested in the topic in the first place. And of course, that doesn’t necessitate changing the schedule to fit their wants. However, balancing Menlo events with tutorials is still crucial. It gives students and teachers more time to review class material and it improves the takeaways from each individual event that Menlo hosts.
