21st June 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
It’s always interesting to see how tutors deal with problems they encounter in the general course of their work. One of the roles of Blue Tutors is to be there with advice whenever a tutor is unsure about what to do, but unfortunately sometimes tutors deal with a problem badly before consulting us.
Logistical problems are fairly well prescribed by the advice we give prior to a tutor beginning lessons, but it is the more teaching related problems that tend to leave tutors unsure about a resolution. One such problem is when a parent tries to enforce a tutoring method, or lesson content, rather than allowing the tutor to teach in the way that he/she sees fit.
There is an argument to say that since the parent is paying the money, the tutor should do what is asked, but that really misses the point of having a tutor. It is true that, generally, tutors are chosen for their academic ability, and then judged on their ability to teach, but for a parent to think that he/she is in a better position to determine the course that a lesson should take is slightly ridiculous.
What often happens when a tutor is placed in this sort of uncomfortable situation is that he/she worries about the ethics of going along with the parent’s wishes because more often than not the tutor would essentially be doing something which isn’t best for the student. A more confident experienced tutor will usually explain that the parent has to allow a tutor to tutor, and, if that tutor is skilled at persuasion, the parent will inevitably realise their error and let the tutor get on with it. However, the worst case scenario is that the tutor simply explains that he/she isn’t prepared to teach in the way demanded, and refers the student back to us. The upshot is that the student’s lessons are delayed, and the perfect tutor may have just walked out of the door.
This problem is even more common at this time of year when everyone is stressed about the upcoming exams. The scariest brief we get is along the lines of ‘we need the whole course taught in five 2 hour lessons over the next two weeks’. Now, particularly if the exams are modules that can be retaken, but even if they are the final exams, the best policy is usually to allow the tutor to decide on which subjects to specifically focus, but sadly parents can be so preoccupied with insisting that their son or daughter gets full marks and an A*, they prevent the tutor making sure of the C grade.