We all know it is a good thing to do. Some of us actually do it.

Five students from the Honors Program have made the choice to give back to the community by tutoring fourth graders at Lusher Alternative Elementary School.

Promptly after receiving an E-mail from Julian Wasserman, English professor, these students hit “reply,” indicating they were interested in tutoring.

In the state of Louisiana, fourth graders are required to pass the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program test to advance to the fifth grade.

The test is primarily designed to ensure that the student is able to read and analyze material.

Certain elementary students who need attention picked Loyola students to aid them in preparing for the big exam.

Sophie Dye, English literature and history senior, is one of the five students who has been tutoring at Lusher.

Twice a week she and another tutor meet to help three girls, ages 8, 9 and 10 with reading comprehension and basic math.

“We do things like hold our arms straight up in the air and wait for the girls to tell us ‘parallel!'” she says.

Dye says she does things to make learning more appealing to the fourth graders. Sweets are used as examples for fractions.

“Twix are very popular and are normally the first to run out,” she says

Nevertheless, these fourth-graders are learning and having fun while doing it. Dye is planning a pizza party for the fourth-graders to celebrate all of their hard work.

Another Lusher tutor is Lindsay Wiggins, biology senior. Her fourth grader, Andrew, meets with her on Mondays and Fridays.

“We normally use flashcards or read,” Wiggins says about her time with Andrew. “It works out well because I am able to go on the two afternoons that are convenient for me.”

Abby Roberts, a communications freshman, has also been very involved with tutoring at Lusher.

Along with Dye and Wiggins, she is very enthusiastic about giving back to the community by keeping education a focus.

On Thursdays and Fridays, Roberts goes for about an hour to meet with her fourth grader, Devon.

“What is really cool is that the fourth graders picked us,” she says. “It was up to Devon that we would be working together.”

Roberts says she most often has Devon read to prepare for the LEAP.

“He will read a few sections of a book and then I will quiz him on things such as plot and story line,” she says.

Roberts says they started reading an “Encyclopedia Brown” book, but soon they had completed it and it was time to find something new.

She’d heard of a comic book series called “Cats and Underpants,” and decided this would be the next book they would read together.

Roberts purchased the book and brought it with her to Lusher.

“Devon immediately decided he did not want to have anything to do with the book. In fact, he threw it on the floor and stomped on it,” she says. “I kept urging him to give it a chance. Once we had finished [the book], Devon decided he loved the series and asked me to get more like it.”

Roberts encourages Devon to read more each time to guarantee progress. Again, candy is used to prompt the students to stay interested in learning.

“For the more challenging questions, king size candy bars are given,” explains Roberts.

Students took the LEAP test March 10-14, but Dye, Wiggins and Roberts say they are planning to continue to meet twice a week to tutor their new friends.

“I think it’s nice Devon wants me to come,” Roberts says. “Personally, I have seen a lot of progress. Even though the test has been taken, I still want to help him become a better reader.”