Clemons says that she supervises the college students but encourages them to use their own initiative in the classroom. "Let's face it--this is a very qualified group of volunteers," she says.

Piret calls the tutoring experience "a learning process for everybody." Like Clemons, she says she tries to talk a lot with the tutors so that they feel as if they are contributing something to the classroom.

"It's good for everyone to learn how to teach and work with a child," says Rogers. "You learn a little more about people every time you go."

Brickman says that Harvard undergraduates and Cambridge students can often learn simply from each other's backgrounds. "You have to work with Harvard students so that they understand that Cambridge is different than the middle-class, affluent, white suburbs which are more familiar to many of them," he says.

Schwalbe says, "Some of these kids live five minutes away and have never heard of Harvard or Harvard Square. You can make them aware that Harvard is not just an institution raping their real estate. Through tutoring, local children can meet Harvard students and get to know Harvard," she says.

Piret, a Cambridge resident, agrees that tutoring creates positive ties between the University and the community. She says, "I think the tutoring programs are good PR for Harvard. I think [Harvard] should help out as part of its role in the community."

Above all, tutors say they teach in the Cambridge schools because it is fun. "We're totally psyched--everyone enjoys it," says Eliot House HAND Co--Chairman Leslie Crutchfield '90.

"It's great for [tutees] to see a big person who is happy and has time to devote to them. Its nice for us to have a little person who doesn't want to talk about existentialism," Schwalbe explains. "A lot of us come to Harvard because we like school and learning and we like to share that with people."