Every Monday and Wednesday, tutorials are afforded to each and every Blake student to do whatever they want. The fact that there are a plethora of different activities and tasks to accomplish means that each student’s tutorial experience is different and unique. Rory Taylor ’14 said, “My tutorials are dominated by Model United Nations, but when that is over I’ll probably either get work done or screw around with friends.”  Such freedom to do whatever one feels like is as beneficial as it is detrimental to a student’s productivity; a student can socialize with friends, get homework done, and participate in extracurricular activities like Model UN or Mr. Gazette. Ike Frans ’15 found a good compromise: “I spend my tutorials writing for Mr. Gazette, so I feel like I’m being pretty productive but I also get to have fun.” Sydney Krelitz ’16 said, “I like spending time and having fun with my friends during tutorial, but when I’m up late later that night doing my homework I regret my decision a little bit.”

When walking around school during a tutorial, one can often find flocks of students clustered together in the major hubs of school at places like the Sophomore Lounge or right outside the Martha Bennett Gallery. Tom Bauer ’16 commented on this phenomenon: “I often see my friends hanging out in the central areas of school, so I’ll most likely hang out with them and attempt to get work done. But I also like to go find a really quiet and peaceful place to read and get other stuff done.”

Blake tutorials are as useful and productive as you make them out to be. The choice is yours as to what you’ll make of the free time. Pick wisely.