2nd January 2019 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Adam Caller, the founder of Tutors International, has expanded on an interview given on BBC’s Radio 4, explaining why he thinks school teachers are attracted by the world of tutoring. Reported on the PR Newswire website, Mr Caller said that most teachers who turn to tutoring do so because they are motivated to do more than a school allows. A restriction on subjects taught, politics of working with other teachers and the paperwork involved are all reasons to move away from school teaching and into the world of private tuition.
One example is a tutor who is tutoring 15 different iGCSEs to a student. She has the autonomy to cover each subject in the way she sees fit, and relate one subject to another when it helps. Another tutor pointed out that the skills developed as a teacher are so applicable to tutoring, and although there is a huge attraction of the lifestyle of a tutor, once you begin work the process is very similar. Caller points out that many tutors only do it for a few years and can save more than £200,000 before returning to teach in a classroom.
Diane Reay from Cambridge University commented that schools are no longer adequately equipped to prepare students effectively, and parents turn to private tuition to compensate. It’s argued that this is true of very affluent parents but also parents at the other end of the financial spectrum. Dr Lee Eliot Major, Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust said that there needs to be more awareness of variation among tutors; while it can be very effective, parents should be more critical of the tutor they choose.