11th October 2019 14:46
By Blue Tutors
If you were to ask a tutor about the skills they need to do their job, they would probably begin talking about clear concise communication, good subject knowledge and developing the student’s understanding. After that, given a bit more time to think, a tutor will probably tell you that every student is different and building a rapport so the student changes their approach to studying can be the most effective skill they have.
Tutors can be more similar to an academic therapist or councillor. Obviously the vast majority of any lesson will be spent studying course content, but for a lesson which lasts an hour, there will always be the opportunity to chat before, during and after the lesson, and good tutors use this time to challenge a student’s misconceptions and insecurities about a subject.
School teachers simply don’t have time to counsel students in the same way, nor is a classroom full of your peers the best place to open up and explain how you’re feeling about studying. One of the most fulfilling aspects of tutoring is breaking down a barrier which has been restricting the student’s progress. This could be for a number of reasons. Sometimes a parent has created a dislike for a subject, or friends have attached a stigma to it, or an embarrassing/frustrating incident in the past has put the student off.
Simply talking about the reasons for a student’s reticence can make a big difference and change their outlook. Tutors aren’t trained therapists but they do find themselves in a situation where they are trusted, respected, and the most likely person to whom a student will open up about their studies. There has been a lot in the news recently about the psychological pressures on young people at school and a tutor can go a long way to relieving it.