🤰 🈯️ 🏹 Tutor: profession costs 💪 🈺 🙋🏾

1) What is the article about

I would like to share the experience of teaching individual lessons to high school students. I have been working in this field for two years, during which time I worked with 9 students. The article is addressed primarily to those who are going to start tutoring. I will touch upon the following questions:

Expectations of parents, teacher and student from classes
Integrated interaction: home - school - tutor
The importance of the situation and the correct time regime as components of learning success
The importance of psychological attunement and motivation for classes and child achievement - work with a psychologist

2.1) Expectations of parents

As a rule (although by no means always), parents turn to a tutor at a time when a child experiences a sharp deterioration in grades. Most often, this moment occurs in grades 5-6, less commonly in grades 7-8. After several “debriefing” at dinner, a decision is made to start classes with the teacher. This option is positive, because the appeal is timely and with good and well-coordinated joint work of the school, tutor, parents and child (which will be discussed in the next section), a brilliant result can be achieved.

Another, unfortunately, no less common case is an extremely neglected situation, the essence of which is as follows: parents have little interest in the life and successes of the child, teachers at school do poorly or do not fulfill their duties at all (there were cases when classes in any subject in children it doesn’t happen for months because the teacher is on sick leave, in some cases this practice was regular and repeated from year to year, the situation is also common when the teacher just goes to the telephone for the duration of the class), the child, using permissiveness, does not make any plans for further life and self-determination, just lives his life in pleasure. To our common misfortune, there are teachers cursing with children, though this behavior is not common.

Such a fairly stable picture can be observed for several years, but there comes a time for passing examinations in the 9th grade and then choosing the direction of the further education profile. At this moment, the bright idea comes to the parents of the student that it is necessary to hire a tutor and all problems will be resolved immediately: a student with huge problems in the subject will quickly clear all the shortcomings, the teachers at the school will provide high marks in the certificate for successful further admission, and exams , so generally surrender by themselves. In this case, the choice of optional exams can occur in three scenarios:

It seems that it is easier (many believe that social science and computer science, although this is not entirely true);
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And if, in the case when the parents started preparing well in advance, then there are chances of a successful outcome, in the case of a spontaneously made decision corresponding to the second situation described in this article, and even in combination with one of the first two principles of choosing optional exams, the chances of successful passing exams and further admission to the target area is extremely small. These are the realities of parental expectations. The reason for which lies in the fact that the child, at his initial stages of training in high school, did not pay enough attention. The reasons are different: parents can be busy with work or just mediocre in their upbringing, they don’t go to someone else’s monastery with their charter, but the result is always the same - the parents' unfulfilled hopes and abandoned to the fate of their children.

2.2) Expectations of the child

It's all very simple. In fact, the child does not expect anything from classes with a tutor. This happens in most cases when there is no motivation to achieve a result. The student knows that all work in the school can be written off using the resources of the Internet or the help of more advanced comrades in this field. This tactic is quite effective when it comes to getting good grades. Well, why in such a situation, something to learn and strain? So we got the result: the student will come to your classes just to create for parents the appearance that he is engaged, although in reality he will be ready for them only in half the cases, as for the other half, then there is no guarantee that he did not write it off.

The main motivation for most students will be pocket money received from parents and the absence of scandals at home. To achieve this goal, there is no need for knowledge, it is enough to get a good grade by writing off the assignment. And further life after school seems something infinitely distant and incomprehensible, in contrast to the prospect of hanging out with friends in the evening or spending the night playing video games. Such a system is a powerful demotivator, in the conditions of which effective training is hardly possible.

There are students with a clear understanding of what they need to get an education for, with clear motivational attitudes laid down by their parents, who have decided on the further professional path in their life. But such a picture is very rare. This type of students will be happy to run to classes and prepare for each new topic.

Thus, it can be seen that the students are different. They have a different base and different aspirations. The task of the tutor is to develop an individual approach to each. This work may be further complicated by the student’s existing relationships in school and family.

2.3) Tutor's expectations

Starting classes with a new student, you expect to achieve great results. Guiding him, see how he will confidently understand the field of knowledge in which he had problems before your studies. In half the cases, these expectations will remain expectations.

It is unpleasant to admit this, but it is a fact: teenagers can forget the topic that they knew brilliantly after a couple of weeks. This specificity additionally complicates the work in individual classes, as it requires constant rolling back on topics and repeated repetition of the material already studied. Given this feature, it becomes promising to create an iterative education system, sharpened by the repeated repetition of blocks of material. This concept is supported by studies cited in this source.. It is worth noting that for the third or fifth time, knowledge is laid in the heads of students more and less firmly and thoroughly.

Another important point is the mood of the parents. As mentioned earlier, some of them believe that once you start classes with a new teacher, everything will immediately fall into place. It is necessary at the first meeting to discuss expectations with parents and adjust them towards more real ones. Such work is needed throughout the lessons. Periodic calls to parents and correspondence with them on social networks with a discussion of the student's success at school, plans for admission, etc. can significantly improve the results of your work.

An important point: the tutor cannot compensate for the long-term lag in school. Especially in a situation where the student is not interested in classes. What do those teachers at school think when they allow general cheating and frivolous attitude to the subject among students? After all, these students can then choose your exam. One of the favorite tactics in this situation is to begin to bring down the student in his subject so that he abandons him.

Thus, there is a multi-month race of teachers: who will throw more students to whom. This practice is quite common in grades 9 in anticipation of the OGE.
Constant reproaches and deliberate understatement can demotivate the student. In this situation, the role of the tutor as a mentor is important, supporting and indicating the right path. A couple of parables or motivating stories from life will also not be superfluous. It is important to understand that the child here is between a rock and a hard place, or rather, between the expectations of his parents and the interests of his school teacher. That tutor can be the airbag that can soften the blow. Of course, such a situation is not easy or pleasant for any of the participants. But this is part of our life and everyone needs to go through it in one form or another.

As for the practical side of the issue, it will not be out of place to mention the Canadian BOPPPS teaching system ( link to source ).

Its essence is that the lesson itself is divided into six stages:

Greeting and lesson setup
Summing up the results of past classes
Testing knowledge on topics already covered
Training (theory + practice), taking into account possible adjustments based on the previous stage
Testing knowledge after
Lesson summary and short introduction to the next lesson

This approach provides greater flexibility and efficiency of classes.

It is also worth noting the important role of gamification in the modern educational process.
The student will be pleased and interested to understand exactly what he will achieve in the learning process, as well as to see how each of his small achievements brings him closer to success.

3.1) Integrated interaction - the basis of productive cooperation

This item is entirely organic from the previous ones. It is clear that the tutor cannot magically fill in all knowledge gaps in a short time (and in my practice there was a case when my parents contacted me two weeks before the exam, while the student could hardly solve only one task from the first part of the exam ) Like a student, he will not be able to turn from a problem into an achiever in a couple of weeks. However, with a good level of interaction between the teacher and the student’s parents, the latter’s readiness to accurately follow the instructions of the teacher and the knowledge of the tutor in the current material of the school curriculum, a positive result can be achieved. A number of components are important, one of which is the interaction of parents and teachers in the school.

Having heard from the teacher about the poor performance of their child, they should not scold him and immediately deprive him of all forms of leisure, but also not treat this situation as something insignificant. The most appropriate solution would be a constructive dialogue with the child, during which it is necessary to configure the latter for continuous work on the study of the necessary material.

Another important component is the dialogue between the student’s parents and the tutor. At the very beginning of classes, it is necessary to clearly formulate their goals, as well as the conditions and deadlines for achievement. In each specific situation, these things can vary greatly, one will need to prepare your child for the Olympics in this subject, while the other will have to pass the threshold of success for the upcoming exam.

These two components are quite achievable, as they depend for the most part on decisions made by adults. Ready to get down to business and bring it to the end. The situation is completely different with the last component of complex interaction. Its essence lies in the development of an individual approach to the student, the adjustment of his own expectations and his proper tuning, as well as the construction of an individual lesson plan and order of study topics.

The last third component is the most time-consuming and, in some cases, the least achievable, since it depends on the one hand the tutor's willingness to make contact and choose an individual approach to the teenager, and on the other, the teenager’s willingness to work in conjunction with the teacher. Especially this situation can be complicated by the fact that the student simply will not consider this subject for himself something important. The requirements and knowledge of the teacher will seem to him something overstated, and he himself will hide behind the mask of his childhood and spontaneity. Often, this last step does not work, thereby negating all efforts.

3.2) About mundane things

It would seem that in this article there is no place for consideration of domestic factors affecting training, since the tutor is not able to influence them. But their consideration is necessary, because it is these factors that determine the conditions under which the learning process and the formation of the student’s personality take place.

The workplace of the student must be separate and equipped. It does not have to be an expensive table made of rare wood, but a separate desk with a bookshelf will be very handy.

During homework in the room should not be distracting objects and sounds. The sources of which can be pets, a vacuum cleaner, a TV or communicating relatives or friends. At the same time, the presence of headphones with your favorite music can be useful, but only if the homework is relatively easy and does not require serious thought. The presence of a competent and interested mentor, whether a tutor or a close relative, also favorably affects the quality of homework, but only if the student himself is ready for such communication. Otherwise, this attempt to help may lead to a clarification of relations, which negatively affects the quality of education and the atmosphere in the family as a whole.

The imposition of penalties for poor progress in the form of a limitation of pocket money or a limitation of time spent on computer games or walking with friends can be rewarding, as adolescents often spend a lot of free time on leisure. In this case, it is necessary to take into account that the restrictions introduced must be proportionate to the current situation. You also need to clearly explain to the child why these measures are applied and in which case they will be canceled.

3.3) Work with a school psychologist

Classes of a student with a qualified school psychologist can help significantly in solving the above difficulties. Therefore, parents in a situation where it is impossible to establish contact with the child on their own will not be amiss to contact this specialist. The tutor also has the right to advise the parents of the student to seek the help of a psychologist if he considers it necessary.

This help is free, but despite its availability and effectiveness, many parents stubbornly ignore it, believing that everything will work out by itself. In such a situation, neither they themselves nor the tutor rests with a heavy burden of responsibility and subtle psychological work, which sometimes none of them can do.

It is the right attitude and motivation that are the tools that help a person move forward and achieve results. A well-motivated child can achieve significant success both in the study of school subjects and in any other activity. But the process of motivation can be complicated by neurosis, psychological trauma, transitional age, or developmental characteristics of a particular student. It is better to deal with all this to a qualified specialist.

4) Conclusions

Taking all of the above into account, one thing is certain with certainty: working as a tutor these days is an interesting and promising area, but complicated by the characteristics of human interaction and development. The most difficult blow for beginners can be an indifferent and cold attitude, an explanation of all the child's poor performance only by defects of the tutor and complete indifference to the efforts spent. And yet, this field of activity, as well as teaching in general, is a vital condition for the existence of a developed human society. I would like to wish good luck to parents, students and teachers, because the future of our country and the whole world depends on their daily work and interest in success.

Tutor: profession costs