School can get hard sometimes. It gets even harder when you have to pay overpriced tutoring. Luckily, The Gift of Learning is here to help. It is a student-led organization that is dedicated to enriching students, in grades 1-10, across the nation through free online tutoring. By making their service free, students will have a better access to education during this difficult COVID-19 pandemic.
Arya Nalavade (16), Shivangi Gosain (15), Amruta Rajeev (15), and Eesha Kulkarni (15) are the founders of The Gift of Learning. They are all from Northern Virginia. The founders noticed that many tutoring services charge a fee; however, they believe that education is priceless. "It should be a basic right, not a privilege. It shouldn't come with a price tag," they say.
The organization's goal is to use content that has already been learned and help students who need help on it for free. They provide repetitive tutoring and one-time help as well. The Gift of Learning offers tutoring in math, science, social studies, English, computer science, and art.
In order to keep their services free, they recruit volunteers who are dedicated to tutoring students. They bring qualified high school students to help with their initiative, offering their time to tutor. Due to the one-on-one tutoring sessions, the tutors and students form a social and emotional bond with their tutors. After a round of tutoring, students are able to consider their tutors a mentor and friend.
Due to COVID-19, tutoring has been done virtually through Zoom or Webex. Tutors have one hour sessions with their students on a weekly basis. To ensure the maximum
efficiency, these sessions continue for one round, which is four weeks. Anyone who registers after a round has already begun will be put on a waiting list. If spots open up, they can be added. Otherwise, they will be added once a new round begins.
Since the launch of The Gift of Learning, over 150 tutors and more than 200 students have joined the organization. They started tutoring on June 15th, and already have more than 100 hours of tutoring done by their tutors. They will soon host live webinars featuring career professionals (ex: doctors, engineers, etc.) that members of the organization can watch from the comfort of their own house. Additionally, the organization will soon release a donation page on their website, in which all proceeds will go towards a local non-profit organization.
Click here to view their website.