Ian Hopkins ’22 Offers Help to Children Struggling with Online Learning

With many schools turning to online learning this year, Ian Hopkins ’22 decided to help those that need help with the adjustment to learning remotely. “My dad and I realized that now more than ever kids are struggling to learn in their online school environments,” said Ian. “I have experience with tutoring math in a Kumon center for a couple of years, so I knew I could help.”

Ian reached out to George School’s Service Learning Coordinator, Steven Fletcher, with the idea to offer tutoring to students free of charge as an independent service learning project. “When Ian approached me about this project, I thought it sounded like a perfect fit,” said Steven. “Students of all ages are struggling with the transition to remote learning, as well as other educational obstacles brought on by the pandemic. Assisting those students and their families in this way demonstrates the lengths our students will go to connect with the local community.”

Since beginning his project last month, Ian has helped students in grades eight to eleven in subjects ranging from algebra to pre-calculus. “We meet on Zoom, and I’ve worked with students on all different math levels,” he said. “I have been helping one eighth grader in particular with algebra.”

“I’ve learned that there’s no shortage of kids who need help right now due to not being in the classroom. Covid is making it difficult for students to get what they need, and this supplementary tutoring can have a large effect on their motivation to learn.”

Both Ian and Steven are working to expand this tutoring opportunity to other local school students that need help, as well as other George School students that would like to offer tutoring services.