Question: Hi, Micki. I have a tutee (I'll call him Harry) who I have been tutoring now for over a year. He's a great guy, pays attention during our calculus tutoring, and has just been a model tutee except for one thing...recently he has been late showing up for tutoring sessions.
At first, Harry was a minute or two late, but now he shows up for every tutoring session (2 per week) *at least* 15 minutes late. The problem is that I have another tutoring appointment right after his, and I don't want to be late because of Harry's tardiness.
What can I do? I probably should have done something earlier - it has been going on for about 3 months, and I'm kind of worried that it may be too late to fix things.
Thanks for your help!
Signed,
a slightly frustrated tutor in Rhode Island.
Answer: Hi, thanks for your question!
First of all, have no fear - it is never too late to fix a problem! Especially since it sounds like you two have a great tutor / tutee relationship; that should make it much easier to talk to "Harry" about how your tutoring sessions are going.
This kind of problem is all about communication. Sit down for a few minutes with Harry before the tutoring session starts, and figure out why he is always running late.
Has he been putting in extra hours at work? Maybe he is taking part in an activity that ends too close to your tutoring start time. Maybe he took a new job further from home, and has been getting stuck in traffic. The best way to figure out what's up is to ask Harry about his schedule.
I would avoid saying anything confrontational (why ruin a great tutoring relationship?), and focus on how you two can fix the scheduling issue.
Mention that you have another tutoring appointment, need to leave on time, and don't want to short change Harry on any of his calculus tutoring.
Also, keep in mind that it may be time to change things and rearrange when and where you two meet for tutoring.
If Harry is having trouble getting to the tutoring sessions because of work, or school, maybe you could reschedule to another day or time. If he is getting stuck in traffic, maybe you two could meet halfway someplace and work there - he'd be on time, and you could leave from the meeting place to make it to your next tutoring appointment on time.
Whatever the situation may be with Harry's schedule, you two should have no trouble working it out as long as you keep your dialogue open, friendly, and non-confrontational. Think of this like a calculus problem you may encounter during tutoring - if you two patiently work on this together, the solution will be easy to find!
Good luck, and as always, happy tutoring!
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