17th May 2012 12:46
By Blue Tutors
My Student goes AWOL
Yesterday I came home from the library especially to teach one of my students who had booked in for a 2 hour lesson now that his exam is fast approaching. As the appointed hour came and went I glanced down the road to see if he was on his way...he wasn’t.
About 15 minutes later I received an apologetic email from his mum saying he was on his way...he wasn’t, we just didn’t know this at the time. After another 15 minutes (I live 5 minutes from him), I tried his mobile - no answer - and then his father’s mobile - confusion. I rang the home number and spoke to his Mum, who now became concerned something had happened between their house and mine, although she told me he had not been happy when he left their house ostensibly to go to his lesson. Anyway, I waited the full two hours and heard nothing from him.
Later that night I received an email from his father apologising and saying that his son had finally come home and was safe and well, albeit not in a very good mood. And the day after I got a slightly apologetic text from him, asking what he she do for homework this week and assuring me he’d be there next week.
My point about all this is that we need, as tutors, to be aware of what is going on with our students as they feel the increased pressure in the run up to exams. My student hasn’t explained himself to his parents or me, but given that he is usually a very polite hard working young man, it shows that it can happen to anyone. He will do well, he doesn’t need any extra pressure, I will cut him some slack. What his reaction yesterday has done is reminded me that sometimes reassurance is more important than learning facts. Sometimes tutoring is just as much about how mentally to deal with exam pressure as how to answer the questions. We need to remember that it’s hard to keep everyone happy and sometimes we all feel like we need a few hours off from the world. Here’s hoping for a happy student next week and a confident one come exam time.