How to be an Effective Private Tutor
One of the ways that a skilled person can use to earn more income is by doing private tutoring – private teaching for students or pupils and getting paid for it, be it on monthly or weekly basis or otherwise as the case may be. It is a good way exchanging what you know (knowledge) for what you need (money). How much you can make may depend on the environment in which you are. In some environments where the standard of living is very okay, you may be able to make some good money from private teaching while there may be some other places where you might not make as much as that especially if the people there are poor people or if they don’t so much appreciate the value of education. In as much as it is good, the level of profits or earnings that you can get there would depend on a number of factors including environment, standard of living of students’ or pupils’ parents. If you are a private tutor, or planning to be, you should endeavor to know how to be an effective private tutor.
It is quite important that whatever you do, you are the best at it, so you must be a good private tutor if you are going to be one. How can you be a good private tutor? What are the things you can put in mind and in place to be effective? When you are effective in your teaching then your students or pupils will be the better for it because they will be able to get the best from you.
1. Observe the student’s learning style
Private teaching is different from a normal classroom setting where every student is thought the same way. When it comes to private teaching, you have the opportunity to study the learning style of your student or pupil whom you are taking the class, and to adapt your teaching approach to that so that the student can be able to get whatever information you are passing across more easily. So, if you are going to be an effective private teacher, this is something you should consider as important.
Try to observe the learning style of your student and adapt your teaching style to it for your student’s benefit. Do not be rigid about your teaching style, be as dynamic and flexible as necessary. There are students who may be able to learn more through visual means, some other students may have other areas of learning easily. Endeavor to see how you can help your student with his or her learning style.
2. What level can you teach effectively?
You should also decide which category of students you are more okay with when it comes to teaching – ones you can relate with easily and that you can communicate and express yourself to in comprehensible way for them to assimilate and absorb the information you are passing across. If you observe that you are more effective teaching pupils in primary schools, you should go for more of pupils when you want to do private teaching but if otherwise you feel you are able to express yourself better and more effective teaching students in high school or secondary school then you should try to focus more on handling secondary school students in private teaching. When you focus on your area of strength it will be easier for you to be effective and to produce more excellent result and performance in the students or pupils you handle.
3. Speak with the parents
Try to talk with the parents or guardians of your private class students or pupils. Ask them about their children or wards, let them tell you what the challenge of the child is or what the prospects of the child is. Try to know more about the student or pupil from their parents or guardians, how academically serious or unserious he or she is. Endeavor to find out what the expectation of the parent is, as to what academic improvement they intend which necessitated getting a private tutor for the child. This will help you to know what to focus on, you will know what the expectations of the parents are, which you should work towards meeting, so that they can see that they are getting value for their money.
Do not just start taking the student like that without knowing anything about the academic strengths and academic weaknesses of the student, when you know what academic strengths and weaknesses your student has, then you will know how to help the him or her to be better and you know which area to focus more for improvement.
4. What subject(s) can you teach effectively?
Choose the subjects that you would teach carefully. Ensure that the subjects that you are taking are subjects that you are good at and that you can use to add academic value to the student you are taking. Don’t just because of the money then take up any job, even when you know you may not be able to do well at teaching it. In private teaching, you should ensure that you add good and commendable academic value to the student or pupil, and for this to happen it means that you have to be proficient in the subject you are handling. Of course, you may take more than one subject but whether it is one subject or more, the subjects should be the ones you can handle well. You would not want a situation where you are obviously unable to deliver necessary knowledge of concepts in the subject to the child.
5. Prepare ahead
Take the lessons seriously, you were hired because the parents want better academic grounding and performance for their child, therefore you must ensure that the best is what you give. Try to make good effort to prepare ahead of the time for the class, you may decide to check up on the topic for the day using textbook or by using the internet to check up relevant materials on what you are to teach. With the resources that are available online on the internet, you do not have an excuse to be a mediocre teacher, check up on the internet for things that you don’t know, upgrade your knowledge and try to be up-to-date with new trends in the academic world. If your student asks you a question which you do not have a ready correct answer for, you can take advantage of the internet and check it up.
6. The ‘extra’
While this may not seem to be the reason for you being paid, you can add this in cases where possible and applicable- instilling more values other than academics. You can in a wise and careful manner try to instill some good moral values and other kind of good values into the student which can help the character or even improve some other areas of his or her life. You do not have to impose any idea or opinion on your student or pupil, but you can just give him or her good advice and counsels in times when you think he/she may need it. Only do this especially where applicable and possible and ensure that you maintain proper boundaries. Also be a good example to your student/pupil.