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Students get help from
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- By Phil McDade
- Wisconsin State Journal
He is 72, old enough to be a grandfather to the high school students he sees every day.
He favors cardigan sweaters and wears ties in a place where blue jeans and T-shirts are de rigueur.
Leave informal greetings to others; he's still known as "Mr. Henrickson" to his student-clients.
In some circles, Robert Henrickson might be viewed as old school. At McFarland High School, he's simply the guy up on the third floor who helps hundreds of students every year survive the pitfalls of their math and science classes.
"He's made the difference in the lives of quite a few students." |
For the past seven years, Henrickson has volunteered his time at the school as a tutor. From freshmen just learning the ropes of algebra to seniors knee-deep in logarithms, Henrickson is a calm and knowledgeable presence, giving students as much of his time as they need.
"Sometimes a two-minute conference is just as valuable as a two- hour one," he said between tutoring sessions one recent afternoon.
Henrickson began tutoring when he signed up for a writing class offered by outreach programs run by the village. Soon word got around to him that a student at the high school needed some writing help.
"I thought about it for a long time," said Henrickson, a quiet and unassuming sort. "It sounds like a good idea, but there are a lot of changes in schools since I went to school."
But from the day he walked into the high school, staff and students have greeted him with enthusiasm. He originally committed to one hour a week at the school, but soon figured more students could use his help.
A chemist by trade, with degrees from both UW-Madison and the University of Minnesota, Henrickson found himself tutoring students in math and science skills. Soon word spread about the retired guy who knew a lot about equations.
In his first year, he tutored six students. The next year it grew to 87 students. By the third year, 158 students had sought his help. Now he has a steady clientele of about 175 students, or more than one-fourth of the entire student body. (Henrickson knows this because he meticulously records every tutoring session in a three-ring notebook.) He estimates he does more than 1,200 tutoring sessions with students a year.
"He spends an inordinate amount of time here," said McFarland teacher Jack Ketelhut, chairman of the school's math department.
Because McFarland operates on a four-period day, many students don't have scheduled study halls. So Henrickson arrives before school starts, sometimes by 7 a.m., and stays late to see students, Ketelhut said.
He will also sit in on classes, to make sure his tutoring jibes with what's being taught. Teachers often send students who miss a day of instruction to Henrickson to review a lesson.
"He's just a tremendous asset," Ketelhut said. "He's very astute about recognizing the deficiencies a student might have (and) he's very, very perceptive about the needs of the kids.
"He's made the difference in the lives of quite a few students."
They, in turn, respect the retiree who helps them with their coursework. Every year, the student government buys him a year's worth of meal tickets so Henrickson can eat lunch with them in the cafeteria. Not long ago, several staff members bought him a comfortable, padded chair for his tutoring sessions. The school even found space, during its current remodeling and expansion program, to build a tutoring room for Henrickson and his students.
"Right from the beginning, they've welcomed me," he said.
He admits that working with high schoolers can sometimes be exasperating, and a few students just wish he would do their homework. But he politely declines, knowing that most students - with a little encouragement and help - can find the way.
"It's kind of fun," he said. "The kids think I'm smart and that's always nice.
"It's not true. But I do have answers to the questions they ask.
Posted March 23, 1999
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