17th December 2010 9:00
By Harriet Boulding
Those who have been tutoring for some time will be aware that it is difficult to draw the same kind of boundaries what exist in the classroom. Students have the opportunity to share the stress of Gcses, A' levels and exams with their tutors, and parents can express their concerns in a way that it is difficult to do at intermittent parents' eveings. One of the ways in which home tutoring differs from classroom teaching, is the level of engagement from parents.
This can manifest itself in any number of ways, from wanting to be taught more about the academic subject themselves, to asking advice on how best to raise and educate their child. This can be quite daunting for tutors, who, whilst they might be very experienced, often do not have children of their own and do not feel adequately prepared to advise on issues such as the kind of school a student should attend, or how to discipline them when they refuse to work hard.
Parental engagement seems to be the unspoken side of home tutition, and it is a two edged sword. On the one hand, it is a delight to see parents taking an interest in their child's education, and learning more themselves. On the other, the role of a tutor is often not adequately delineated such that it is clear they are not qualified to advise on parenting issues or choosing a school. Whilst they can offer an informed opinion based on the fact that they know the student, it is a minefield for tutors who are not trained or prepared to deal with matters outside their academic scope.