15th May 2015 1:00
By Blue Tutors
The majority of private tutors are hired for between a couple of months to a year for the purposes of preparing students for GCSE and A level exams. These tutors adapt their approach to the needs of their students, but broadly they will know what needs to be done. When preparing students for exams, their job is to identify areas of weakness, work on building their students’ understanding and confidence, ensure that a sustainable revision timetable is in place and teach their students how to approach exam questions. This is a broadly straight forward formula which parents can expect tutors to follow when helping their children with exams. However, a number of private tutors have found that in addition to helping with exams, their role also extends to more of a parental one. This can be very difficult for tutors to navigate.
Taking on a parental role is not something that tutors should do or should feel the need for. But the reality is that sometimes students are in need of guidance that they are not receiving from their parents. A classic example of this is situations in which tutors find that their students are not completing work, or a so tired a lesson is unproductive. It is natural for a tutor to ask if there is anything wrong under those circumstances, but what they often find is that students are staying up too late at night, or are online or out with friends instead of working. This is all too common, and it is difficult for tutors to judge how far they should comment on situations such as this.
The thing tutors should remember is that they are not there to take on a parental role, and it isn’t their job to tell students off for not working. If they identify a problem, they should make it clear to their students that they expect work to be done, and my all means suggest that students make a work timetable which enables them to get work done whilst also having a social life. If the problem persists, talking to parents about the issue is the next step, because it is their job to ensure that their children get adequate sleep and do homework. Difficult as it may be, this is where a tutor’s involvement should end; tutors are there to help students with their work, not to address broader issues which should be dealt with in the home.