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I tutor an 18 year old student in math, and he is a really great tutee to work with every week. He really puts in the effort, is always on time for tutoring, pays attention during tutoring, works extra time to understand the concepts, and always has his homework finished so that we can review it together. In other words, he is a dream tutee!
Unfortunately, his mom is a complete helicopter parent, and won't let us work for more than about 5 minutes without interrupting. I may sound as though I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. Last time I tutored, I covertly timed how often we were cut off during tutoring. It was, on average, once every 4 minutes. She'd tell him he was doing the problem wrong, would tell him to make sure an pay attention (the irony!), or would interrupt to tell him about the chores he would have to do after tutoring. Needless to say, this is creating problems for getting through tutoring sessions, and each session probably only contains about 30 minutes of actual tutoring thanks to all the interruptions.
She's a nice woman, but it is getting kind of annoying. I've tried subtly asking for a quiet space with no interruptions, and have asked her politely for fewer distractions. Even my tutee has asked her (very nicely) to stop interrupting. It did nothing. She doesn't insist that we meet at her home, so do you think it would be appropriate to move to another place?
Help, please!
Anonymous
Answer: Hi, Anonymous, thanks for the question, and sorry to hear that you're dealing with the dreaded chopper parent. It can be tough, frustrating, and the constant disruptions can really rob your tutee of proper tutoring.
That said, it may make you feel a bit better to know that you are not alone. Helicopter parenting seems to be a growing phenomenon, and it is definitely creeping into the tutoring arena. In fact, we have had our fair share of questions on this blog alone about how to work around this helicopter parenting. It may not always be easy, but it can be done!
It sounds like you and your tutee have already taken the first step - good communication about the situation. Since it didn't work out, it is time to go to Plan B.
Yes, by all means, try someplace different. Move to a different tutoring location, somewhere quiet where you can both concentrate on math. Try meeting at your tutee's school, at a local library, or at a local community center room. In all of these places, the tutoring environment is typically quiet, perfect for studying, and that there are often ample resources (math books, WiFi, online math tutorials, etc.) that you can both use during tutoring.
In fact, once the summer is over, and school starts up again, meeting someplace closer to your tutee's school (such as a local library, his school library, etc.) may work out great, and be easier for both of you when it comes to scheduling and convenience.
Good luck!
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