Question: I have been tutoring my tutee in Algebra 1 for a while now, and it just seems like he is really having trouble getting the concepts. We'll work on things, and by the next session he has forgotten pretty much everything we covered the week before. I have no clue what to do about this!
Answer: This can be a pretty frustrating scenario or both you and your tutee. Here are the steps that I followed when I came across this problem just last year. The results were phenomenal, and my tutee was doing much better within 2 weeks:
1. Make sure that your tutee isn't over his or her head. Maybe the material is too advanced, or the class is moving too quickly. Have a friendly, non-threatening talk with your tutee and find out how the class is going. Ask how he or she feels about the material. You may even want to talk to the parents to make sure that everything is going well for their child in school.
2. If the class is moving at a comfortable pace, and your tutee is relatively confident with the material, it may just be a problem with knowledge retention.
Have your tutee work on a few problems every night. Trust me, this method works best when you provide rewards upon the completion of a worksheet or problems from the textbook. Don't think of it as a bribe, think of it as a reward for going above and beyond the homework (something that few kids actually want to do with their free time!).
Doing a few extra problems every night will help the knowledge stay fresh in your tutee's head.
3. Find ways to make the material relevant to your tutee's interests. I once tutored a kid whose whole life was basketball. He loved it. So, from then on, our lessons focused on basketball themes, or related to basketball. It made a huge difference in the attention he paid to the tutoring.
4. Let the tutee know that learning is a process, and he or she doesn't need to learn everything all at once. A little understanding and encouragement in your tutoring sessions can go a long way in boosting your tutee's confidence and pushing him or her to try a little harder with the material.
Good luck, and happy tutoring!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Ask Micki: Annoying tutee
Question: Hi, Micki. My question is about how to work with an annoying tutee. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but one of my tutees is, well, really irritating.
A few examples: last week we had a 2:00 pm session scheduled. I got there at 2:00, but according to his watch, I was 3 minutes late. He said that, at the end of the session, he wanted a partial refund for the missing time.
On another occasion, he got angry at me because he had received a B on his last exam. He said that, since I was tutoring him, he should have received at least an A-; of course, he wanted some kind of refund for his trouble.
I am seriously thinking of dropping him as a client, because every one of our sessions together seems to leave me incredibly frustrated. What do I do?
Signed,
Ellen - a frustrated tutor in CA
Answer: Sorry to hear about your tough time - this tutee doesn't sound like too much fun to be around.
Unfortunately, there have been an increasing number of people who use the current economy as an excuse to abuse and intimidate businesses and freelancers (including tutors) into giving them refunds even when they are not legitimate. The current economy seems to be a gateway for people who feel entitled to everything under the sun and see no problem with making ridiculous demands.
Sorry to rant, but this is one of my pet peeves, and one that I have seen way too much of recently.
If you feel like you want to work this out with your tutee, sit down and have a quick talk with him about your expectations for the sessions, how perfect grades aren't guaranteed, how learning the material is just as important as the grade, how learning the material will gradually increase his grade point average over time, etc. Get his input on how he thinks things are going.
It would also be a good idea to mention that, while you can't refund minutes from a session, you would be more than happy to stay a bit longer to make up the time.
If none of this works, and you are still having problems with him, I would suggest dropping him from your client list.
People like him are stressful to work with, and in the long run your energy would be better spent finding new (better) clients, developing learning materials for your existing customers, etc.
Don't let this bad tutee get you down! There are plenty of wonderful tutees out there just waiting for a great tutor.
Good luck, and as always, happy tutoring!
A few examples: last week we had a 2:00 pm session scheduled. I got there at 2:00, but according to his watch, I was 3 minutes late. He said that, at the end of the session, he wanted a partial refund for the missing time.
On another occasion, he got angry at me because he had received a B on his last exam. He said that, since I was tutoring him, he should have received at least an A-; of course, he wanted some kind of refund for his trouble.
I am seriously thinking of dropping him as a client, because every one of our sessions together seems to leave me incredibly frustrated. What do I do?
Signed,
Ellen - a frustrated tutor in CA
Answer: Sorry to hear about your tough time - this tutee doesn't sound like too much fun to be around.
Unfortunately, there have been an increasing number of people who use the current economy as an excuse to abuse and intimidate businesses and freelancers (including tutors) into giving them refunds even when they are not legitimate. The current economy seems to be a gateway for people who feel entitled to everything under the sun and see no problem with making ridiculous demands.
Sorry to rant, but this is one of my pet peeves, and one that I have seen way too much of recently.
If you feel like you want to work this out with your tutee, sit down and have a quick talk with him about your expectations for the sessions, how perfect grades aren't guaranteed, how learning the material is just as important as the grade, how learning the material will gradually increase his grade point average over time, etc. Get his input on how he thinks things are going.
It would also be a good idea to mention that, while you can't refund minutes from a session, you would be more than happy to stay a bit longer to make up the time.
If none of this works, and you are still having problems with him, I would suggest dropping him from your client list.
People like him are stressful to work with, and in the long run your energy would be better spent finding new (better) clients, developing learning materials for your existing customers, etc.
Don't let this bad tutee get you down! There are plenty of wonderful tutees out there just waiting for a great tutor.
Good luck, and as always, happy tutoring!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Ask Micki: Tutoring referrals
Question: Hi, Micki. I have a question about something that recently happened with someone I was tutoring in Chemistry. I had just met my tutee, and about halfway through our first tutoring session, I realized that the areas of tutoring he was having trouble with were math related.
After we tried to work out a formula for about 10 minutes, I realized that a math tutor would really be necessary for him if he was going to understand Chemistry (and get the B+ or higher that he wanted). My question: How do I go about mentioning this, recommending a tutor, etc? Thanks!
Chem Tutor from West Chester, PA
Answer: Hi Chem Tutor. Good question, and something that a lot of tutors face. Especially those tutors in the science subjects since they deal with topics that rely heavily on math - as you know, math is not the easiest subject for a lot of students, and can affect their science grades. So, good for you being such a great tutee and recognizing that your tutee needs additional help!
I would recommend having a list of names and contact info for tutors in other subject areas. Keep the list with you when tutoring. You never know when it might be needed. I know that I’ve used mine on more than one occasion. If you don’t know other tutors try recommending sources, such as TutorNation.com, that will help tutees and parents locate appropriate tutors in their area.
A local college can also prove to be a good referral resource. Many tutors working at college tutoring centers like to work after school as private tutors. A quick visit or call to the tutoring center just might result in some nice referrals.
However you choose to handle this situation, know that the goodwill gesture of taking that extra tutoring step will be appreciated by your tutee. Good luck, and happy tutoring!
After we tried to work out a formula for about 10 minutes, I realized that a math tutor would really be necessary for him if he was going to understand Chemistry (and get the B+ or higher that he wanted). My question: How do I go about mentioning this, recommending a tutor, etc? Thanks!
Chem Tutor from West Chester, PA
Answer: Hi Chem Tutor. Good question, and something that a lot of tutors face. Especially those tutors in the science subjects since they deal with topics that rely heavily on math - as you know, math is not the easiest subject for a lot of students, and can affect their science grades. So, good for you being such a great tutee and recognizing that your tutee needs additional help!
I would recommend having a list of names and contact info for tutors in other subject areas. Keep the list with you when tutoring. You never know when it might be needed. I know that I’ve used mine on more than one occasion. If you don’t know other tutors try recommending sources, such as TutorNation.com, that will help tutees and parents locate appropriate tutors in their area.
A local college can also prove to be a good referral resource. Many tutors working at college tutoring centers like to work after school as private tutors. A quick visit or call to the tutoring center just might result in some nice referrals.
However you choose to handle this situation, know that the goodwill gesture of taking that extra tutoring step will be appreciated by your tutee. Good luck, and happy tutoring!
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