Ask Micki: Texting during tutoring

Question: Hi.  I'm a math and science tutor for a high school student.  Bright kid, but the problem is, he has trouble switching off his cell phone during tutoring.  Since he got his new phone, he is texting nonstop, even during the tutoring sessions, and is just not paying attention.  His grades are also starting to slip quite a bit.  How can I get the texting to stop so that we can have an effective tutoring session?

Thanks,
John from GA

Answer: Hi, John, good question! As technology has gotten more and more integrated into daily life, this problem has, unfortunately, become a lot more prevalent. 

I had a tutoring situation like this a while back myself - I had a tutee who was a smart student, but would not stop picking up the cell phone when her friends called.  It got so bad that we spent 25 minutes of one tutoring session doing nothing because she wouldn't hang up the phone!

The good news is, this is an easy tutoring problem to fix!
So what are the steps to fixing this?


1. Communication.
Let your tutee know that you are happy to help him succeed academically, but that it is important that you have 100% of his attention so that you two can work effectively.

Have him finish up whatever text message he is sending, and then ask him to set the phone aside (and even turn it off) until the end of the session.  Instructors do this all the time in schools around the world, so it is not unheard of for tutors to use this technique as well.

Let your tutee know that shutting his phone off, and not texting his friends, for 45 minutes-1 hour will not hurt his social life (it's not a long enough time frame for that!), but it will allow him to get the most out of the tutoring session. 

2. Relate tutoring to something your tutee is interested in, such as a hobby or sport.
Explain to your tutee that tutoring is a lot like hockey, playing the violin, or painting a portrait.  If your mind is in too many places at once, the results will not be as good as if your mind is 100% focuse on the task at hand (in his case tutoring).

Too many tutees expect that tutoring doesn't require much effort or concentration.  Let your tutee know, in a friendly way, why this is not true.  Putting in 100% in sports, music, art, or tutoring is important!

3. If it is really out of hand, talk to your tutee's parents.
If you have tried the above techniques and your tutee is still texting nonstop, talk to your tutee's parents.  Chances are, they are paying for a service that their son is not utilizing, and they will be interested in knowing this. 

When you get right down to it, you aren't his parent(s), so you can only do so much to help him.  Talk to his parents about the cell phone use during sessions, make them aware of his attention shifting in and out of the tutoring sessions, and let them know that his grades are suffering a bit. 

If anyone can do something about restricting your tutee's cell phone usage during learning it is (and should be) your tutee's parents.

Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!