4th May 2012 12:19
By Blue Tutors
I have worked for Blue Tutors for a few months now but I am finding it ever more surprising just how late parents or students leave it until they request the help of a tutor. We are almost half way through April, with some students having exams in less then a month and we are still getting many requests on a daily basis for pre-exam tutoring. Given that it can take quite a few days before a tutoring session is set up at a mutually convenient time this leaves barely three weeks for a tutor to try to get to know their student’s strengths and weaknesses and then come up with a plan of action. Add to this the immense pressure of a panicky parent or student and the expectation on the tutor can be huge.
My advice, in this situation, is for tutors to be very clear about what is and is not achievable from the outset. From the very first contact, spell out that you will need full information about what the student is having difficulties with and in what they are fine. Make sure your student knows that they must prepare for your first lesson too in order to get something tangible out of it.
Too many parents seem to expect miracles once they have managed to find a tutor but this is not always going to be the case. An academic year’s bad habits cannot be eradicated in 2 sessions with a tutor, nor can all the year’s learning be crammed into 2 weeks. If they are hiring a tutor as a panicked response to the imminence of the exams then they must be realistic about what difference can be made. Spelling this out clearly from the start is not pessimistic, it is professional advice. perhaps they’ll remember next year and be a little more proactive!