By Samana Walji
Staff Writer
With 27 AP classes and more than 68 honors classes offered at the high school, many students are in need of assistance. Because of the wide range of challenging courses, Barrington has created student incorporated learning centers.
The Math Resource Center (MRC) is the most commonly known and used resource center in the school. “The purpose of the MRC is to give students another resource for extra help in their math classes,” said math teacher Eric Rodrigo, “and it has fully achieved that purpose.”
For junior Anne Jacobsen, it made the greatest difference in her Geometry-A class freshman year. “The teachers in the Math Resource Center were very helpful in explaining concepts in a different way than my teacher did during class, and that substantially helped my grade,” Jacobsen said. She added that the one-on-one setting allowed her to understand her
small mistakes that otherwise would have gone unnoticed until she received her graded test back. Jacobsen’s experience is not unique as the Math Resource Center is an exceptional facility. It provides students with numerous tools to succeed in their math class.
Many times all a student needs is a rephrasing of an idea to make the concept click. “Student tutors have ways of explaining math ideas that make sense to that particular student,” said Mr. Rodrigo.
Along with providing students valuable math help, BHS also provides students with a free ACT tutoring class in an attempt to give them the chance to better their college résumé. Although the tutors are students, they have received high (30+) scores on the test.
Senior Rajiv Raju was one of the creators of this helpful resource center and club.
He understands the difficulties some students go through trying to pay for the high priced classes; making it one of the reasons he created the club. “This club is really beneficial because with many group ACT classes, you do not learn as much although you pay a large amount of money,” said sophomore Gail Yang.
“I am a firm believer everyone should be given opportunities to succeed if they are willing to work hard,” Raju said, and that is what the club is all about. “Anyone can come and receive help on any part of the ACT, and everyone is welcome to join.”
One of the best yet less appreciated advantages at BHS is the Writing Well. “The Writing Well is an especially beneficial resource center. Not many schools provide students with opportunities to improve their writing out of class,” said Raju.
Despite the availability of the Writing Well, many students do not take advantage of this opportunity available to them. According to the Writing Well’s advisor Dean Bradshaw, less than 1.8% of the student body has been to the Writing Well this year.
“The Writing Well is not publicized well,” stated Yang. Unlike the Math Resource Center, the Writing Well is only open periods four through seven, making it less convenient for many.
“The Writing Well is not used as much because of the hours it is open, and we are looking to fix that in the future,” said Principal Steve McWilliams. He further went on to say students do not take advantage of the numerous learning opportunities at Barrington High School and it is time they appreciate all the school has willingly granted them.
“Students should take advantage of this unique opportunity,” said Yang.
