AIBU to think this tutor has an attitude?

If he doesn't have the basic subject knowledge, learning how to revise is not going to help him very much. I'm a History teacher and the tutor's advice sounds spot on to me.

If any of his modules are covered on there, get him to look at a site called Monkeymonkeyrevision.co.uk which has 'gamified' History revison somewhat. It is very good for helping with basic factual recall.

Tutors aren't really there to help children revise. Their job is to teach - or at least go over - content that is taught at school. As for the advice he gave you, I think that's perfectly fair really. Given that he could string you along to earn more money, it sounds like he's trying to politely give you a heads up.

He sounds like a really good tutor to be honest. He is thinking about what's best for your DS and sharing that. Baseline assessment is good practice. Filling knowledge gaps is more important than revision, what use is revision without having the knowledge needed to revise? You already know revision techniques, you can share these with your DC yourself.
If your DC wants to go to university he needs to do well in his A Levels. If the reality is that he may fail a history A Level then he needs to understand that and be discouraged from choosing it.

There seems little point paying a tutor and then not letting them do their job. And it's all very well talking about revision skills but if DS hasn't got even rudimentary knowledge (e.g. gets confused about what the Cold War was) then he's not at the stage to start revising. He needs to study and understand the facts before starting to learn them.
If he's not good at essays then I'd suggest avoiding an essay- based subject for A level. The students who do well are the ones who can provide cogent and insightful analysis of events, and that requires great writing skills.

I did wonder this too…

Okay, now you have to be trolling. You are on your 3rd tutor, and you think the TUTORS and his actual TEACHER are the problem, and not your son?!

Wow, you really don't get it. And do you actually believe your son was up revising, if he hasn't actually taken any notes to revise from? Is he even reading the text books, if his teacher is 'failing' so much?

The tutor sounds great. Take your DH's advice- listen to and support the expert that you're paying to help here.

And if you want them to stick around, don't send them "advice" like mindmaps by email. They see probably trying to fill in knowledge gaps to the point where your son has something to revise.

I mean this kindly, but I do not think that 6s or 5s in the subjects your son wants to do at A Level are good enough for him to do well at A Level and get into a university to study one of these subjects or a related subject. If the subject he likes best is one where he is struggling to attain a 5 then possibly he should look at different pathways.

The tutor is absolutely correct that there is no point in teaching revision methods to a student who has not absorbed the material when first taught it.

The baseline assessment at the start is absolutely standard and very important for the tutor to understand where your son is now.

I think you need to have a conversation with your son about how he tackles school in future. He needs, at a minimum, to be engaging with lessons and taking notes in order to revise from these in future.

But since your son is getting grades that would indicate that he's not a good candidate for A Level or further study, you probably need to start thinking about what might actually suit him in future rather than blaming the tutor for your son's lack of engagement.

And please start listening to the tutor or any future tutor and actually do what they suggest.

OK loads more posts while I was drafting mine!

Inc many from the OP – so to add my thoughts – I cannot believe you sent a tutor a mind map @SoCloseToNothing1981! Of course he knows what one is.

And your English teacher friend mind-mapping AIC with her class – yes, bc they knew what the themes were. Sounds as tho your son does not know the themes and content so how would he make a mind map anyway?

Wow. If you need a study skills tutor then look for one. But I advise you to step back and let them do their job.

I agree with others tbh – a 6 in English, a possible 5 in history maybe, good at science when interested and OK at maths – not sure A levels are for him. Economics and Phil and Ethics both require excellent skills in fact learning and essay writing – not apparently his strengths, sorry OP.

This is crazy, there is no point teaching revision techniques if your son doesn't have the knowledge and understanding of the content.

Why do parents think they know better than the professional that teach and know what is required to pass?

Oh OP you jumped the shark! Shame I was quite enjoying this one!

Honestly. A tutor teaches the subject not how to revise. If your child can learn other subjects and revise those, then apply that principle to history. If he doesn't know what the cold war is, then he's fucked. You can't be bothered to get your child up in time to attend the bloody lesson. You can be as upset as you want about the direct responses, but they're all right.

3 tutors in and you still don't get it. You're the problem.

Tutor sounds really good. Listen to him. if he is attempting to cover subject content with your son this is also revision of that content. As others have said - mindmaps and quizlets and all that, you could find someone to cover those skills for you?
might be be interested in Politics? Sociology? These are related subjects that may be a better fit than further studies in History.

I do have to say, I have a degree in history, and they don't emphasize exact dates anymore, and haven't for 20yrs. General time period is fine, because everything precise can easily be accessed thanks to the internet. (That's what my professors told me at least.) We were never tested on exact dates. Know what happened, and the time frame, and context where much more important.
That said, this kid is NOT meant for a degree in history. I question is place in higher learning entirely, if he can't even take NOTES in class, or comprehend the time periods they were talking about, to do further research.

Does anyone in your family actually understand what’s involved in academic work? It doesn’t sound like it.

I don’t think DS is anything like as interested in mastering history as a subject as you think he is.

According to the tutor DS has problems with subject knowledge as well as essay-writing, source analysis and interpretation. Realistically - that’s all of it.
There isn’t any part of history DS doesn’t struggle with.

Honestly, I would cut your losses, focus on history documentaries on TV, visiting historical sites, joining local history groups, DS might get more out of this.

OP, I mean this very kindly but your son isn’t A level calibre. Time to do some serious parenting to find him a more suitable path where he can succeed. The tutor business is a red herring - the real problem is that you need to find a suitable 16-18 course. He won’t be able to self manage enough for advanced level - the stuff about sleeping in/charger/Cold War are all red flags. It’s time to apply now for the more popular courses so have a really honest talk with him this weekend and do some searching online for a much more supportive course.

Pretty speechless after what I have just read?!?

You son can do history, in his spare time as a hobby.

The great thing about history is that one can come back to it at any age and study any aspect at any level. One doesn't need lab facilities or equipment (other than a laptop and internet connection). And it's a subject that that one can get more out of with a bit of maturity and life experience.

Sounds like the tutor gave you and your DS a wake up call and you didn’t like it.

Change the tutor and explain to the new tutor what you want to be taught - i.e. methodology of learning history plus the subject. Increase the hours, ask the teacher to use a textbook, a proper history textbook. For goodness sake, this is not preparation for a Field's Medal entry.

Leave your child's education to your husband. Check out.

Sounds to me OP as though you don’t want a history tutor; you want someone to teach your DS some learning/revision strategies (as you’ve repeatedly mentioned here). The two are completely different things, though.

You are entirely unreasonable.
Laptop should have been charged the night before if this is so important to you and your son that you are willing to pay a tutor.
Learning how to revise isnt something you need to pay a specialist history tutor for. You can look this up yourself on the internet and help your son. Plus revision methods are unique to a person. What works for one person does not work for another. You have to work this out yourself. There are apps, flashcards, writing it down repeatedly, watching videos, making wall charts, a hundred different ways to try and remember facts and dates.
Your son sounds like he actually has very little interest in history as an academic subject and is also not well suited to the subject. Or he would be really engaged in class, surely.
What subjects is he doing well in? I would focus on getting the best grades in the ones is is really engaging in the lessons at school and is good at. Maybe look at career choices that play to his skills with him. It sounds like the history dream is not really working out.
Maybe he will come back to it in later life as a career choice or maintain it as a hobby interest which many people do.