"The time I put into training the tutors is given back to the students 10 times over," says another Rindge bilingual and special education teacher, Barbara Clemons, who has had tutors from Harvard in past years. "I am only one person and without volunteers the students would not get the same amount of attention," she says.

Clemons described the relationships of her emotionally disturbed students with tutors as "multi-level." She says the tutor can give a struggling student an increased sense of social confidence, which can translate into academic progress.

Tutors report that the social part of a tutoring relationship may evolve into a relationship not unlike the one forstered by big brother/big sister programs.

"We got to be really good friends," Rogers says of her tutee. "She started to look forward to the sessions, and she would get her life together beforehand because she wanted to please me."

However, many tutors say the circumstances can make such a progression difficult. "It depends if you're tutoring within the confines of a school day," says Quincy House HAND Co-Chairman Nina R. Schwalbe '88-89, who tutors Russian at Rindge. "If so, the kids will see you as more of a teacher."

Time constraints also limit the possiblities, Powell says, noting that a big sibling relationship takes much more time than a tutoring one.

And some tutors say they do not expect to become very close to their students. "I'm not looking for a big sibling relationship. In part, it's the nature of [math and science] subject matter. It's hard to discuss life when you're discussing numbers," Patterson says. "I have discussed boyfriends and colleges but not had any deep friendships."

"If a student is open and the tutor is committed, it can happen," Brickman says. "We have volunteers who manitain relationships years after graduation. You don't force it, but if it happens, that's terrific."

Whether the relationship stays academic or becomes more social, tutors, organizers and teachers emphasize the need for a firm commitment on the part of the college student.

As Leverett House HAND Co-Coordinator, Taryn Shea '88 has the responsibility of screening potential volunteers. "Anybody who's committed and loves kids can do it," Shea says, but she adds that dedication is important because "the kids that are involved are the ones who have had commitments broken on them in the first place."

"Just because you have mid-terms, it's not okay to quit," says Public Service Program Student Coordinator Roberta Kellman '88. "People have good intentions, but sometimes they don't realize that the kids are looking up to them and expect to see them."

Brickman says that college students are sometimes more committed to the lofty idea of community service rather than the practical reality. "There is the potential for Harvard students to adopt an attitude of noblesse oblige," he says. He says he has experienced difficulties with college students who think that they've looked over public education, have all the answers and not be willing to listen.

Schwalbe says that some teachers may sense and resent the noblesse oblige complex. "They think, `Here's a kid who wants to do some public service to put on the resume when he gets a job as an investment banker,'" she says. In that situation, teachers "would rather teach the class [themselves] than work with the tutor," she says.

Patterson says some students who want to get involved with PBH have an inflated opinion of their role and think they are nobly conferring tutoring upon the underprivileged. "I think and hope that changes quickly," she says. "Getting students involved in the first place is the most important thing," she says. "If the reason [why the students are tutoring] doesn't change later, then there's a problem."

Students who persevere as tutors in the public schools find out that the learning goes both ways, according to tutors, teachers and program organizers.