29th August 2014 10:00
By Blue Tutors
The recent publication of the A Level results was predictably nerve-wracking for students all over the countries. What many of them don’t consider is that it is also a nervous time for tutors, waiting anxiously to see if their efforts have paid off. Obviously tutors want their students to do well, and care about the outcomes of their final school exams. But another issue which affects them is the fact that, unlike school teachers, their livelihoods can depend dramatically on the results of just a few students. Tutors depend on their reputations in order to keep themselves in business, and unexpectedly low grades can be very damaging.
It is usual when a tutor starts with a new student for them to establish with the student and parents what they want to get out of the tuition. Too often the answer to that question is ‘to get an A grade’, in cases where this may or may not be realistic. Tutors should never promise to help their students achieve a certain grade. There is no way that the tutor can ensure the desired outcome, as even with the best preparation things can go wrong on the day. It is much better for tutors to set goals along the lines of ‘improving confidence and understanding of x subject’ which in turn should lead to an improvement in grades.
If a student and their parents are expecting a certain result and they don’t achieve it, this causes problems for both the student and tutor. It is much better to make sure that students’ expectations are realistic, and try to take the pressure off by encouraging them not to fixate on certain grades. In cases where this hasn’t be done, it is more likely that the student will be disappointed, and upset with the tutor for failing to prepare them. Tutors whose students achieve top grades get excellent recommendations. Yet there are also tutors whose students did not perform so well, who still receive excellent recommendations. This is because they have been honest, considerate and excellent teachers, who haven’t promised grades they can’t guarantee.