11th March 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
This may appear to be a strange quality to discuss; when asked, many people think that enthusiasm is a great quality for any tutor to have. Some feel that it’s essential. While we’re not disagreeing with this judgement, there are certain problems that a tutor must be aware of.
It’s a cliché to say that enthusiasm is infectious, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t true. We’ve all had boring teachers who spoke with a monotonous voice and virtually didn’t move for an hour, and of course it doesn’t bring the subject to life. Most people speak with such.....enthusiasm about those teachers who were lively in lessons, and who really appeared to love the subject they were teaching.
However, with one-to-one tuition there can be a problem if a tutor allows them self to get carried away with their own enthusiasm. It happens so often that just as a lesson gets to a stage where something interesting, or beautiful or fun is about to come up, the tutor can’t control his or her exuberance, and doesn’t allow the student to experience the thrill of understanding why something is interesting or beautiful or fun them self.
As tutors we must realise that our role is to teach first, and then enthuse. If a student is yet to understand something then there is likely to be no point in trying to get them interested in it (and they will probably find your attitude over-the-top and strange). There will always be time to discuss the brilliance of a topic with your students, but until you’re certain that they have a full understanding, you have to contain your excitement.