It’s hard to go to Horizon Honors without hearing about student support. From 2:45 to 3:45 every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, teachers will answer our questions and guide us however they can. The usefulness of student support, however, is up in the air. To find out why we should show up at these tri-weekly sessions, I dropped into several teachers classrooms during student support and asked them myself.

The Horizon Sun: Why would you recommend attending student support?

Joshua Garrett: “One of the things that I really think student support is good for is, obviously if you have a question that can be answered, but more so, too, it can be really powerful to just come and work, and then you automatically have a teacher that you can ask questions of as you go.”

Laura Owes: “It allows students to get one-on-one help that they need and it also gives them an opportunity to ask the questions that they either were too scared or too afraid to ask in class.”

Susan Holweger: “I think there are a couple of different good reasons for students to come to student support. I think one is if you’ve been absent and you would like to catch up on any materials that you missed, getting that support from the teacher on it can be so helpful. If you are struggling with a concept, you can get more one-on-one support and be able to ask your own questions during that time. Also, it can be really valuable before a test or a quiz to come in and just ask some questions and make sure you’re clear on everything.”

Chris Huber: “Student support gives students a chance to interact with their teachers in a much more one-one-one setting. Often Times we’re splitting our attention in class with many different needs, and plus sometimes scary to ask questions when you’ve got 20, 30 other folks in class. Maybe you’re embarrassed to, for whatever reason you don’t want to ask that question, student support gives you that chance to ask it in a more private setting.”

The Sun: Are there any effects of going to student support which students may not know about?

JG: “There are often Chromebooks available, so that’s super important. I think that there’s also that opportunity for collaboration too, so if you’re really struggling with something, I would have no problem with you and a friend working on that stuff.”

LO: “I think that students don’t realize that coming to get individualized help can really have a greater impact on their grade and their understanding, because if you truly understand something, the assessments which are given are not gonna feel like tests, they’re gonna be like a reiteration of the things that you understand already.”

SH: “They may not realize that you don’t have to come in and ask for help; it could be just a place where you come in and you want to sit and work on your homework and the teacher is available if you do have questions. You don’t have to stay the whole time. I think sometimes there’s misconception and you think ‘Oh, I need to go to student support so I have to stay for the whole hour,’ but you don’t have to stay for the whole hour. You might want to see multiple teachers.”

CH: “Our ultimate purpose in class is understanding and the building of skills, right? So it’s easy to overlook those broader but more important benefits from going to student support, far beyond just simply improving a grade or clarifying a question.”

The Sun: On a scale of one to ten, how useful is student support in your opinion?

JG: “I would say it’s a seven, just because I feel like it also depends on how comfortable you are as a person asking for help, and that’s not always easy.”

LO: “I would say in the eight to ten range, depending on the student, honestly. It could really do good benefits for any student who comes to student support.”

CH: “Ten, but I’m a little biased.”

Though it may seem unnecessary or even uncomfortable, student support has benefits which can help you throughout your secondary career. This year, because of hybrid learning, students can attend student support by either walking into their teacher’s classroom or by logging into an established Google Meet. Whether you are in-person or online, your teachers will be waiting to help you in any way they can. Don’t forget that one of your best educational tools is just a room away.