22nd April 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
In an industry with little to no regulation it can be a minefield for tutors and families trying to develop a good working relationship. Clients must pay for services rendered, but they usually have no obligation beyond that, meaning that a tutor’s employment can be terminated at any time. Further, they can choose a tutor based on any criteria they like, and are free to say, for example, that they would prefer a younger tutor, or someone who has attended a certain university or school. For the tutor’s part, they are self-employed and have the right to leave whenever they choose, meaning that if tutors leave right before exams, clients have little recourse.
This industry operates predominantly on feedback and word of mouth, so bad behaviour from tutors will generally mean that it’s harder for them get clients. Whilst this doesn’t help clients who have been let down at the last minute, it is an incentive not to behave unprofessionally. However, this system doesn’t do much to protect tutors from clients. Sometimes a tutor will teach a first lesson, arrange a second in good faith, and then be told after they’ve left that they are no longer required. Unfortunately, parents are under no obligation to explain why things didn’t work out, and often don’t for fear of causing offence.
There are any number of reasons that a tutor might not be asked back after a first lesson. The first and most obvious is that sometimes it just is a good match. In that case, parents may well arrange a second lesson, and then cancel the tutor after talking to their child who may just not have got on well with the tutor. This is annoying, but it happens, and a tutor cannot expect a client to continue if they feel they won’t get a lot out of the sessions. Other times, parents may cancel a tutor because they are the wrong gender, or age. There they are on dodgier ground, which is why many parents prefer to say that it didn’t work out or they decided against tutoring rather than reveal their thinking.
The reality is that most tutors wouldn’t want to work with someone who doesn’t want to work with them, and they understand that private tutoring is about finding someone they are comfortable with, whatever they think of clients’ reasoning. However, it can be extremely frustrating to begin teaching and then be dismissed after having planned further lessons. The best thing tutors can do to avoid this is to be very clear with clients beforehand about their requirements, and ensure that they know what the tutor is offering before beginning tuition. This minimising the possibility of disruption to both tutor and client.