National Education > Tuition Advice

Unhappy with many tutors

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heids:
Note that of course if he keeps ON being shy, then he won't be a great tutor no matter how well-intentioned or knowledgeable.


--- Quote from: I_I on June 30, 2015, 07:49:38 am ---I read your small printed message~

--- End quote ---
I was jokin' anyways but feel free :)


--- Quote ---This is kinda random but: what's the meaning of your username, bangli_lok? I was curious for a while.. but you don't have tell me if it holds  private, personal meaning to you. I value privacy  :P
--- End quote ---
Nothing private - it just means (I hope :P) 'Bengali person' in the language Bengali.  It's the product of joining up to a site while you're doing something else and you just plump on something, anything.  I'm not even Bengali. !?!

anna.xo:

--- Quote from: bangali_lok on June 29, 2015, 04:26:22 pm ---Give him another lesson.

This might give you some perspective.  I'll assume he's like me (unlikely, but ah well).  Starting tutoring recently, I hit the sharpest learning curve on earth.  I suddenly landed 3 students in a row - I was tutoring them three days in a row, giving lessons to three new students all at once when I'd never even tutored before.  I'm personally very shy, not confident in my own skills, and struggle when I'm put on the spot.  So, while I can easily appear 'friendly, enthusiastic and capable' online, in person I can suddenly look incompetent, until I become confident.  I shivered out of my first session clutching $25, utterly stunned - like, what did I even do to earn that money!?

So, while I had all the care, enthusiasm, (hopefully) friendliness, eagerness to help, and willingness to stick round for more than the hour, I felt like I wasted their hour and their money.  I was shy, apologetic and indecisive; I couldn't explain a really basic concept I knew well, I just got that rising panic you get in the middle of a tricky exam; I got lost halfway through the lesson with no clue where to head next.  And the student was equally shy, apologetic and indecisive.

I'm learning, though.  You know how nurses learn to give injections to oranges before humans?  Oh to be able to hire dummy students so I don't make a mess on the real thing.

Morals:
> The first lesson is always the most awkward; you have to approach different students in totally different ways, and second lesson you're prepared a bit more for what that student needs.
>  If he's a new tutor, he'll probably change and learn extremely fast.  Give him leeway.  If he's been tutoring for ages, chances are he's not likely to improve much.
> He may be friendly, enthusiastic, caring and capable - just shy and nervous at first.  That's not good, but it doesn't mean he's hopelessly incompetent or doesn't care about helping you.  Do you know exactly what you want from the lesson?  Taking the lead for 5-10min might help him settle in and take over.  Not that it's your job to help your tutor LOL.
> Tell him how you feel (gently)!  Honestly, as long as you don't say 'you're hopeless and I just wasted my money', I'd LOVE to hear what my students want from the lesson and how they think I should improve.


Well, maybe he just isn't caring or learning, in which case, dump him.


P.S. Feel free to pay me to mark your essays online :)) jks jks

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Can confirm this. Tutoring was the steepest learning curve of my life as well..I still remember, I was such a nervous wreck in my first lesson that I actually taught my student a concept wrong ><

Anyway, moral of the story; don't be too quick to judge and give him another chance. Everyone deserves a second chance but not for the same mistake --> apply this to your tutor selection and you should be okay :)

tange:
I hope you have sorted everything out by now. I'm also an introverted/ shy person but finally after five years of tutoring, I'm able to hide this side when I meet a new student (who is often quiet and unsure). Confidence usually comes with experience so I suggest that you give him another opportunity to prove himself and hopefully he will open up over time. I started to wear a watch recently instead of relying on my phone or laptop to check the time. I find myself going over 15-20 minutes almost every lesson and the next student has to wait for me. However, the fact that I'm checking my phone every 15- 20 minutes to ensure that I'm keeping track of time probably makes me appear like I want the lesson to be over (not my intention at all). Of course I'm happy to go over for 5/10 minutes but it is unfair for the next student if they have to wait for an extra 20 minutes just for me to finish up.

If you are trying to find someone to mark your essay, you can find tutors who are willing to mark them online for you without meeting up. Personally, I think it is a waste of time to spend the whole lesson marking an essay. The tutor should be willing to mark your essay outside of class and then briefly go over the main points in the following lesson or email you the feedback/correction during the week. I never charge my students for essay correction outside of lesson times but some tutors might charge a fee.

If you want more structured lessons, you can ask your tutor to create a schedule for you that outlines the topic/ focus of each lesson. For example, I would let student know in advance what we will be working on for the following six weeks (e.g. text analysis, essay introductions, symbols etc) but I'm also happy to alter plans if something comes up and they want to work on something else. Although it really isn't your responsibility to help the tutor to do his work, you can still try to take a proactive approach by telling him what particular skill or topic your want to work on. Tutors are there to guide you while much of the learning is up to you.

brenden:
I think there's a huge benefit to face to face English tutoring if you've got a tutor that can communicate it effectively. There's definitely a place for online essay marking, but I think if you get a tutor who's inclined to explain to you the theory behind good essay writing, then having that person gesticulate wildly at you might do you a lot of good.

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