IN FOCUS TUTORING
from a more relaxed and focused work environment. I now feel that I can work on the areas I find the most challenging at my own pace, without feeling patronised.” Another tutor, however, offers a
more disturbing perspective on why children ask for help. Laura, who has been teaching maths and English at various levels for 10 years, says, “Sometimes the child has caught some anxiety off their parents.” This means parents who should be protecting their child from their own fear are, inadver- tently, passing it on. This creates a panic which unsettles the child and only increases pressure. There are also
But even if tutors are sometimes
If your child has gaps in their
knowledge, has trouble understanding important
present due to parental anxiety, can they still act as a positive counterbalance? Laura is very clear on this; “Being a tutor is a really positive thing because you can try to defuse the pressure coming from the school and the parents.” I agree with her. When a pushy parent is out of the room, you can treat the child like a person rather than a puppy which needs to be trained. Children then relax and open up, and the greatest aids to learning are trust and respect. With those feelings comes willingness, and with that comes a greater chance of success. Even as part
principles or is poor at exam technique, then this is the time you should turn to a tutor
plenty of instances where one child in a class starts having tuition – for whatever reason – and a snowball effect begins. It is an academic ‘keeping up with the Joneses’. Another tutor ruefully admits to this, explaining, “I can’t tell you differently – I wish I could. We often provide one tutor and then the phone goes – it’s the mother of a friend – and you end up with eight [students] in that class.” The tutor’s solution is rather strict: not tutoring a child if they feel the parents are inflicting too much pressure. This begs the question as to
whether there are times, when parents rely too heavily on tutors? Laura finds it extraordinary that she gets assignments to improve general, all-round intelligence. “I have to read the papers with the children or teach them about politics and culture to broaden their mind,” she says. “Surely that’s what parents should do?”
WWW.FIRSTELEVENMAGAZINE.CO.UK
of the increase of tutors which has descended on Britain’s young, I do not regret
my own choice of
employment. But what does have to be regretted
is when tutors end up as
unnecessary anchors for the bright or – worse still – tools of a parent’s misplaced panic, when they can and should be an aid to education for those who need them. What is essential is that if you do
not yet have a tutor but are thinking of getting one, you first consider whether your child actually needs one. ‘Needing one’ is not related to everyone else in the class having one, nor do A-grade students who are top of the class anyway require a tutor, unless you are very concerned about the teacher. If your child has gaps in their knowledge, has trouble understanding important principles or is poor at studying or exam technique, then this is the time you should turn to a tutor. %
For a list of tutorial companies, please refer to our website:
www.firstelevenmagazine.co.uk
Finding the right tutor
After nearly 20 years of placing tutors, Charles Bonas offers some expert advice on how to choose a tutor
In 1992, when I began tutoring during my final year at the University of Oxford, there were only a handful of ‘student tutors’ and one part-time agency in London. Most tutoring took place in remote regions, like Scottish Highland estates far from highly focused prep schools, where the children (mostly boys) needed extra coaching to make it into demanding public schools. With the boys I was tutoring, the dining room table became a revision battlefield, and after two weeks of Common Entrance Blitzkrieg, they cracked it. I found tutoring to be so much more rewarding than the solicitors exams it was paying for, that I stuck with it and trained as a teacher. So you might think that I evangelise the
benefits of tutoring. Far from it; tutoring must be rationed in very careful measures. Too much organised after-school activity can impact negatively on school results, crowding out the main function of childhood, which is to learn from one’s own mistakes, as well as from other children. Moreover, a good tutor should complement not compete with good classroom teaching.
If parents feel that their children need tutoring, they need to know how to find a good tutor in an unregulated industry. Here’s my advice.
You don’t always need a tutorial agency. Find a student friend of the family, hire degree- educated nannies who can tutor or even ask your school for recommendations. Many schools offer private lessons or will happily advertise for summer tutoring jobs with families.
Be firm with your tutors when it comes to what you expect from them. Insist on punctuality, tutorial planning and structured homework. Set out aims and objectives and get regular updates as to whether these have been attained.
Research background to ensure a tutor has a clean Criminal Records Bureau check.
Consider taking a tutor every morning for a few weeks in the long holidays. This is more effective than weekly sessions after school with tired children. Young tutors are often happy to join families on holiday and help with sporting and creative activities.
Above all, make sure you strike a balance between the competitive advantage that using a tutor can give, and the need to make your child an independent learner.
Bonas MacFarlane:
www.bonasmacfarlane.co.uk
SUMMER 2010 FIRST ELEVEN 47
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