AIBU to think this tutor has an attitude?

Good grief. So you aren't a teacher but have the audacity to think you should tell this guy how to do his job?! I've been a teacher since 1989. I fully agree with the tutor that he needs to teach your child the actual History. He can't revise what he's learnt until he's learnt something!! Starting with a baseline test to find out where the gaps are is completely correct. Your child sounds very weak and definitely not suitable to take History at A level! He "thought' he'd been studying The Cold War?! He doesn't even know what he's been studying and can't do the gcse without a tutor and you think he'll be able to do it at A level?! Stop making excuses for him. And stop trying to tell a teacher how to do their job. Why haven't you taught your child how to revise if you're such an expert?! Thank you, though, for reminding everyone why teachers are at their wit's end most of the time.

That might not be the issue. Not assuming OP's son is the same as me but, for illustration, abstract analytical and critical thinking suit me down to the ground. It's the philosophers' dates and exact quotes that would screw me over. I expect you have to learn a lot of those in preliminary studies.

Perfect answer here !!

OP - some kids want to be the next Jo Jo siwa - but it ain’t gonna happen !
your DS is not a good history student, it’s a good lesson to recognise what we want is not the same as what we can actually do -
stop blaming the tutors !!!

ps I hate all the you can achieve anything (if I keep saying you can) bollocks !!

If he can’t hack history, he’ll struggle with philosophy and ethics. It’s a tough subject which requires a lot of abstract analytical and critical thinking. Just don’t go there.

Unlike all the history graduates answering here, I simply cannot 'do' subjects that require retention of precise facts. I have failed utterly spectacularly at History, Geography, Law and a subject called International Trade that was about various customs protocols and taxation (I still knew a lot more about it than all the businesses expecting Brexit to be a piece of cake, though!)

It's something to do with patterning, but impossible to explain what the problem is. I'm intelligent. I'm good at maths, very good at language and great at the big picture. I scored 93% in my Economics final and 26% in Law. I'm actually very engaged by history and geography, but I'll never be 'good at' them because certain kinds of data refuse to be trapped by my mind.

It's just the way it is - give me a big picture issue, like how Britain responded to the Roman occupation and its aftermath, and I could probably keep you interested over dinner and through drinks afterwards. Just don't expect me to know the years these things happened, where battles were fought or the names of the key players.

I reckon you and DS need to work out where his strengths are and play to those. Since you like systems, do a SWOT analysis. Put in the requirements of any subject he's considering, relegate the ones with high weakness/threat scores to personal interests, and develop studies that match well with his strengths & opportunities.

Oh, and I think you owe the tutor an apology.

I didn't read the whole thread before replying, so if taken it at face value...

Having now gone through it all, I'm absolutely convinced that the story is true, but OP is actually the put upon tutor letting off some steam before she gives the mum an unwanted lesson about where she should shove her mind map 🤣

@SoCloseToNothing1981
Your attitude is the issue here, not the tutor’s attitude! Tutors generally see students for an hour a week, this isn’t a lot of time for year 11 students so of course they are going to do baseline tests to identify areas to focus on.
To say you don’t agree with your DC having to revise outside of the lesson is ridiculous. Tuition should supplement the student’s independent learning. You can’t seriously expect your DC to make any progress from one hour a week with no effort from themselves outside of this. It’s also worth thinking about the fact that a growing number of tutors are teachers who have left mainstream teaching due to poor parental attitudes, unless you start showing the tutor a bit more respect don’t be surprised if they ditch your DC as not having to deal with shitty parents is definitely a perk of the job!

I have absolutely no doubt that you can find a tutor who tells you what you want to hear. That your ds is doing really well and is going to soar into Alevels.
There's plenty of them about.

You'll find them easily by looking at the last couple of GCSE years from the parents who were saying "I don't understand why he did so badly. His tutor said he was doing so well..."

You've got a good tutor here. Telling uncomfortable truths is much harder than pretending it's going swimmingly. Either listen and use him or release the spot to someone who will appreciate his ability and experience.

This! I was (back in the day) an A/A* student at GCSE level. My Year 9 History teacher even went to the head of year and specifically asked for whichever GCSE class I was going to be in so she could teach me. I got 99% on several exercises.

I was HUMBLED INTO DUST for my first A Level History essay because I really underestimated the jump in quality they were looking for. To the point where I actually asked for a redo and did the whole thing over in one night.

FFS, A qualified teacher has advised you, two tutors have let him down, everyone to blame but you.

You are wrong, you are not listening; your son is disorganised, he cannot remember simple things. Listen to the experts you are doing him no favours. He is not capable of doing the A level. Your attitude is setting him up to fail and that would be worse.

I do find this post unbelievable, in a way I hope it is a wind up, for your sons sake.

If he is going to struggle to get a 6 at GCSE level then A level history is not the subject for him. Or any essay subject at A level if he is only likely to get a 6 in English language. A Levels are a major step up.

Others have said the same: you are letting your child go on a wild goose chase and can’t even be bothered to get him up in time for the tutor so he’s ready. I teach and I give my clients very realistic expectations- the tutor is right to do so. He is managing your son‘s expectations and assessing the discrepancy between your son‘s knowledge and where he should be at. This is an honest tutor. You’re not doing your bit as a parent and your son is being set up to fail because you aren’t advising or preparing him adequately for what’s being asked of him. Guide your son!

OP, I have a history degree, I just get history in a way that fits my brain.

But for their GCSE choice I have backed my children to take geography as their humanity subject. Not because I see it as easier, but because it takes a certain mindset to deal with the large mark questions and subject matter in the current history syllabus. Plus it stands alone, whereas other subjects often link, ie business studies, DT and geography have areas which they all cover.

With as much kindness as I can muster, your child’s teacher told him he’s not a good fit, and you’re now frustrated with their third tutor. They can’t teach revision techniques to someone who can’t grasp the subject matter, there’s nothing there to revise.

If your child wants to do well at history gcse they need to knuckle down and study the syllabus before thinking about revision techniques.

I would also suggest a different A level choice, your tutor is being realistic and not trying to give false expectations, they sound good.

But I do sympathise that it’s not what you want to hear.

Everyone's so focused on the first post that they missed this absolute masterwork. OP you're absolutely brilliant.

For what it’s worth, I believe this is 100% true as I used to tutor in the evenings and this post reminds me EXACTLY why I gave it up.

1. you need to respect the tutor’s time ie. be on time, do not reschedule lessons last minute and not expect immediate responses to emails sent between lessons
2. baseline assessments are vital - we cannot do our job without them!
3. the tutor telling you your son should reconsider A level History is managing your expectations - too many parents think paying for tutoring is the silver bullet to get their kids an A*, but even the best tutor in the world needs full engagement and commitment from the student (which it doesn’t sound like your son is giving at all). He is simply reminding you he is not a miracle maker and he has your son’s best interest at heart… I strongly suggest you heed his advise and don’t try to tell him how to do his job.

I understand it must be frustrating your son is underperforming but your frustration is totally misdirected at the tutor here, when it should be towards your son and his attitude to learning.

I'm struggling to work out what you think your son is supposed to be revising, given that he's not even taking basic notes in class?

The tutors are NOT the problem OP.

It’s pointless him “learning to revise” if he doesn’t understand the subject well enough to begin with. He doesn’t take notes, he’s on his third tutor and he couldn’t even get up in time for the first session. History is a difficult subject and being brutally honest it sounds like your son isn’t prepared to put the necessary hard work in to do well. He can’t remember key dates, well no he won’t be able to if he hasn’t learnt them properly. You need to be realistic: no tutor or revision technique is going to fix this situation and he needs to choose a different subject for a levels.

Thi is perfect. I could not analyse a source talking about whether a thing is good or bad if I don't have a basic understanding of that thing,

I mean, all in all, the thread gets an A for effort (unlike your DS in History). Quite entertaining if a bit unbelievable.

Did jump the shark a bit with the South Africa half-term detail though.

I have a degree in History.

I'm going to focus on a very very VERY fundamental part of any further education in History. Bluntly, if your son cannot remember the basic names of things, has issues writing essays, cannot adequately analyse sources and has a poor grasp of dates then he (and you) are potentially setting him up for failure if he carries on with history as a subject. There is no point in the tutor teaching him how to revise history if your son isn't mastering those things. He's just papering over the cracks.

By this age your son should be making notes (I don't understand why the teacher not being good means he can't do that) and then going back to his notes at home, highlighting key points, doing further research and study on anything he doesn't understand and commiting things to memory. If he can't do that now, he's going to struggle to lean in time for the exams.

It really doesn't sound like it would be a good idea for your ds to take history A level. What about something like sociology or politics instead?

As if you get good grades just by finding this one cool trick that they refuse to tell you in school, for some reason...

I do see your point about baseline assessments but I just feel like it could have been done after teaching him some strategies rather than at the very start of the tutoring journey.

How do you expect a tutor to effectively teach your son without assessing his knowledge/ability first?

Please, please drop this obsession with 'strategies', it's not going to help your son and it's not what a history tutor is for.

That said, I really think the key is that he learns how to revise properly. If he masters that, I genuinely think he can catch up on the subject knowledge.

No, he can't. You can't learn how to research, interpret, analyse and form arguments around subjects if you don't have knowledge of the subject.

If this was the case, any child who knew how to revise properly would ace every subject.

I have sent the tutor a sample mind-map template my friend uses with her class as I thought it might help him see what I mean. He hasn't replied yet, which again is frustrating.

I expect it's more frustrating being a professional tutor, an expert in the subject who presumably has a long track record of tutoring kids to pass their History GCSEs, having to deal with a parent trying to tell him how to do his job, as though he'd never come across a mind map before.

I wouldn't reply either.

The act of revision commits knowledge to memory. If your son doesn’t have a grasp on the knowledge, he can’t revise it. No matter how elaborate the flash card or mind map. He cannot assimilate and interpret in the first place.