AIBU to think this tutor has an attitude?

Can you really not see why some people think this is a wind-up? You’re on tutor number 3 for history, your son doesn’t make any notes and doesn’t really seem to know what is going on. History is an analytical subject that needs good essay writing skills. You’re throwing a lot of money and resource at a subject he isn’t that good at. I’m really not sure why you are adamant that a-level is a good idea. I got an old money A* for history with very little revision because I was naturally good at it and enjoyed it. A-level was still a step up both in terms of skills required but also the independent work required.

This. I’m a teacher (30 years ). The tutor is doing everything right. If he gets a 5 at GCSE he is most likely to end up with an E or U at A level- not in every case of course but most likely.

Analysis of sources/ historiography is the most important skill in history (and the one that leads to critical reasoning skills, which are beneficial in wider context).

Have you and your son looked at anything to help him understand analysing sources? Identifying whether they are primary or secondary? Any biases etc.

Regardless of whether he studies A level or not, this will really help this year and going forward.

I also think he needs to learn a note-making method in class. This will help him learn the specific topics he is studying this year, and help with revision techniques.

It is also important to have wider routines - if he is not sleeping enough/ missing deadlines this will make studying so much harder. Easier said than done - but this is something that needs to be looked into.

There's a lot to unpick here, but looking at the two bits that jump out-

• DS is so disengaged or lacking in ability in history that he can't even remember what topic they are covering.
• You're already on your third tutor because the other two have not been good enough for your precious baby. And he also says his school history teacher isn't good enough.

You cannot just pay someone to make your child good at something. Otherwise everyone who joined a gym would be ripped, but it doesn't work like that. He needs to actually do the work- take notes, do his own revision, and turn up to tutoring on time.

Sorry but if he can't even tell the tutor what time period they are looking at currently in class then he absolutely should not be considering a history A level and you need to step in to help him make a better decision.

I am CACKLING at this. Your son’s tutor could sit down and get him to make a mind map of the subject your son thought they’d been studying but the point is he thought he’d been studying the Cold War when he hadn’t. Therefore it would have been the equivalent of making a mind map of The Inspector Calls if the class had actually been reading Hamlet.

Your son sounds lazy and a bit hard of thinking. And you sound like a complete enabler. History isn’t an impossible subject at all (although I did it at A-level twenty years ago and found it difficult and stressful - I scraped a B after revising my head off) but you do need to know which time period you are meant to be bloody revising. Ffs. Genuinely one of the best posts I’ve read on here.

And that's on top of the parent thinking they know better than you how to do your job.

This is crazy OP. You seem to think the tutor and almost all PPs are missing the point but it’s you
As has been said, revision techniques are useless without knowing what you are revising. You need basic of knowledge 1st. Your DS doesn’t have that as he isn’t paying attention in class to know what he is meant to be learning. This is what the tutor is telling you.
Revision techniques are largely universal, your DS should have at least a basic understanding of these from other subjects. The history tutor tutors history and is telling you DS needs to work on subject knowledge 1st or there is nothing to revise.

You sound obsessed with mind maps (these don’t work for everyone), but if you’re so convinced this is the answer maybe spend an hour with your DS before the call today and do a mind map with him on one of the topics he has done. I suspect you’ll quickly see where the tutor is coming from when DS doesn’t have anything to write on it.

Find a new tutor (if current one doesn’t call it a day 1st) but don’t expect a dramatically different outcome

This is crazy OP. You seem to think the tutor and almost all PPs are missing the point but it’s you
As has been said, revision techniques are useless without knowing what you are revising. You need basic of knowledge 1st. Your DS doesn’t have that as he isn’t paying attention in class to know what he is meant to be learning. This is what the tutor is telling you.
Revision techniques are largely universal, your DS should have at least a basic understanding of these from other subjects. The history tutor tutors history and is telling you DS needs to work on subject knowledge 1st or there is nothing to revise.

You sound obsessed with mind maps (these don’t work for everyone), but if you’re so convinced this is the answer maybe spend an hour with your DS before the call today and do a mind map with him on one of the topics he has done. I suspect you’ll quickly see where the tutor is coming from when DS doesn’t have anything to write on it.

Find a new tutor (if current one doesn’t call it a day 1st) but don’t expect a dramatically different outcome

Can I ask how much time he honestly spends on homework and private study?
Also, my son was taught revision and study skills from year 7. Is this not the norm these days?
In order to perform well in any subject he'll need to show commitment and put in the hard work. There is no magic bullet.
Also, economics is an essay based subject as is philosophy. As he is currently underperforming in both English and History I would avoid both unless he knuckles down and starts taking some responsibility for his own learning.

Your son is crap at history, OP. That is a fact. Your denial and enabling of this is only going to make it worse for him in the long run.

I have a history degree and MA. You won't get very far in the subject if all you do is focus in revision techniques for exams. It is not like other subjects in that you revise and memorise a bunch of stuff and repeat that in exams to pass. You need to be able to analyse and interpret sources and write essays. If your son has absolutely no idea about this then he isn't going to do well in the subject at all.

Also how can he revise effectively if he doesn't even have a clue about the subject, and doesn't bother taking notes? You revise what you already know and if he doesn't know anything then it is a waste of time.

The "tone" might derive from the fact that the tutor feels he's banging his head against a brick wall with both you and your son.

Disengaged pupil with virtually no subject knowledge (doesn't even know which topic he's meant to be studying!) and pushy parents is about the worst possible combination for a tutor.

I agree with all this.

I'm a private tutor as well, Maths and English. I do a baseline assessment with all my students, and that's industry-standard (I have a LOT of contacts in the tutoring business - we'd all look askance at a tutor who didn't do a baseline).

Everything I've quoted is above is exactly what I would also say.

You've employed a tutor because you wanted expert guidance. Now you've got that guidance, you're giving them side-eye? You didn't employ a tutor to teach study skills, you'd employed them to teach history.

We're employed to give parents occasional hard truths. You can throw all the money you like a tutor, but a hour a week just isn't going to make THAT much difference if a student is late, disorganised, and genuinely not suited to the subject.

I've just had to have a pretty hard conversation with the parent of a Year 9 boy. He's got moderate Autism and I help with his maths. In some areas of maths, his skill is reasonable, but in other areas he's working at more of a Year 3/Year 4 level. The likelihood of him being able to sit GCSEs in 2 years is, I think, close to zero. I've had to discuss long-term goals for him with that in mind, and we've made the discussion to focus more on "real life maths".
It's the job of a tutor to have these discussions. It sounds like yours is doing everything right.

But of course, if you feel like the chemistry isn't right, or you just don't like them, by all means, try someone else. Perhaps your son would get on better with face to face teaching? Is that a posibility?

I've wondered this too.

What exactly does he like, OP? Is it a specific topic or, as suggested here, Horrible Histories? Because it doesn't sound like he's at all interested in the topics they're doing for GCSE.

What are his maths predictions like? Economics without a 7 I think might be a struggle. What about business studies? Is he better at course work. Would btecs be more suitable? Philosophy is very heavy on essay work and requires to be very very confident in presenting ideas clearly.

honestly, I would expect someone to have a solid 7 in a subject before doing at a level.

Her DS is competing against children like I was, who could read their notes and then recall the entire image of the page in the exam. Sadly an ability I have long since lost. Other posters have written about how they read their notes for 12 hrs a day while revising.

And me. I memorised Soviet economic data. I also read a lot of historical novels, memoirs, biographies, trade histories and textbooks - for fun. All the time that kids put into social media and gaming was spent reading. I probably wouldn't be like that if I were born now, but it definitely helped.

Scraping a 6 in English does not mean he's good at it. And, tbh, it doesn't sound like he's very good at Maths or Science either.

OP, a PP suggested that A levels may not be the best course for him. Let alone keeping on trying, and failing, to do History GCSE.

OP what are his predicted/ target grades in all his other subjects?

It will really help with advise on what to do further. A student that needs a tutor for GCSE (which the teacher already advised against taking!) who is struggling to get a 5 is not an Alevel candidate.

@SoCloseToNothing1981, what was it your son confused with the Cold War?

Well hopefully you take all points from this thread on board and go in with some decency, respect and humility. Otherwise I hope he bins you off.

I just don't see why history has to be treated like some impossible subject when surely if someone knows how to revise efficiently then it's a level playing field.

I'm struck by the idea that OP has, that learning how to do mindmaps and flashcards will suddenly make everyone taking history GCSE equally able.

Her DS is competing against children like I was, who could read their notes and then recall the entire image of the page in the exam. Sadly an ability I have long since lost. Other posters have written about how they read their notes for 12 hrs a day while revising.

No mindmap is going to create a level playing field with students who already find it naturally easy, students who willingly put in hours and hours of work, and most importantly students who know what they covered in class last week and took notes.

Apparently the evidence for mindmaps is an improvement of 15%. If you are starting at a grade 4, that's just not enough.

Would you mind to elaborate please? How did Seneca help?

I was rubbish at history but wanted to be good at it. I have no memory for dates or details and am better at concepts and thinking creatively. But I wanted to have an overview of the world....and was also trying to impress a boy!

I took it at A level and got a C, my lowest grade. I enjoyed doing research and did well in my personal study but totally failed the exams. I took a combined degree and took history in first year (glutton for punishment) My poor tutor despaired of me and I got 23% in my first year exams!
I didn't continue with history into 2nd year 😊
My brain wasn't suited to the style of learning history demands, and it took a lot of struggling for me to realise. It sounds like your DS might be similar, and it's not a failing, just a different brain. Geography is a great subject to pursue, and perhaps your son's learning style would be better suited to it?

I mean I would not be wanting to pay a tutor to go over revision techniques. My own child had maths tutoring and it was plugging subject knowledge including covering gaps from KS3 (covid years), paired with testing, testing and more testing. She went from nowhere in maths to an 8 at GCSE.

Well why don't you encourage him into choosing Maths/Science/English for A-levels if he's good at it? Why set him up to fail in History? It's as if I would encourage my very not sporty/athletic DS into become a PE teacher because he enjoys playing ping pong. It's just bonkers.

So the school and an independent professional outside the school have basically said the same thing, but you aren't prepared to listen.