Would you hire a teenager to be a maths tutor for your kids?

[chumaniward]

I'm 15 and wondering if i would be able to make any money out of maths tutoring. I go to a grammar school and am predicted all A. I got an A in maths GCSE last year (2 years early) and I am doing A-level maths this year. Would you hire someone like myself for maths (or any other subject) and if so how much would you pay?

If I was going to pay someone as a tutor I think I'd want someone who had finished their A level's, I do have a 16 year old babysitter who will help with homework and she's great but there's a big difference between homework help and tutoring.

I would have an older teen help my DD with maths, to go over what she hadn't understood in class (and what the teacher hadn't explained clearly enough!). I think my DD currently gains more from the boy sitting next to her than from the teacher.

Maybe what some parents aren't aware of are the different teaching methods employed nowadays - if a student doesn't understand something, they are encouraged to ask their peers in class; sometimes a teacher will say "Ok, Rosie doesn't understand XYZ - Johnny, can you explain how you've done it?".

Using a older teen outside of school is pretty much the same thing IMO. I would pay around £10/hr.

I wouldn't hire anyone who had less than Maths and Further Maths A-level at A* to tutor a child.

A friend of DS's had quite a lucrative little business tutoring maths, while he was in the 6th form. I think he charged £10 per hour.

Plenty of people are prepared to accept a less qualified tutor for a lower rate. And there's also the thing that another student might be more on the same wave length, and almost certainly less formal, and it will seem less like a punishment for a reluctant student.

I think you'd be lucky to find many takers pre GCSE though.

Tbh, just to qualify what I said earlier ( that I would employ you) I'd say it would depend on the UMS you get for your A level modules. For me, it would have to be in the 95 plus range, but it sounds like you're tracking in that direction anyway.

One of DDs friends has been doing some tutoring ( current upper sixth - with those UMS at AS) and is getting a lot more than £10 per hour...... But this is in Surrey and is for GCSE level.

I would only hire a graduate, and in all likelihood, only one that was also a qualified teacher, with demonstrable experience of working successfully with children the ages mine are. Otherwise- what are you offering that I cannot?

I would interview you, certainly, but you'd only get the job if you fulfilled other criteria than just your Maths ability - maturity would be a key factor for me. You would need to engage well with my child and have a range of strategies up your sleeve, and I would monitor your performance so that if you weren't working out we'd end our arrangement.

I would expect you to work to the criteria I set rather than your own plan. (I home educate and would expect you to familiarise yourself with the curriculum I've chosen, and work towards meeting the specification, but with techniques of your own that might be relevant).

I have used first year university students for my son and they have been extremely talented and capable, but I did interview some duffers too who thought they could work as 'tutors' but were nowhere near up to the job. Mind you, I also interviewed qualified and experienced teachers who were similarly dire. That's why I'd interview first because you can tell a lot from people's attitudes and that reflects the standard of work they can deliver.

My niece did it when doing A levels and got jobs via word of mouth. She tutoredGCSE students - very well . My best mate tutored me through my A level too :)

Hi there,

I wouldn't hold your age against you but I'd want good references from your teachers. If you could provide references to confirm that you'd be able to teach my children well to the level we were aiming at then I'd hire you.

Can't comment on rates as I'm out of touch, but with good references I'd be willing to pay the going rate. Can't see why you'd be entitled to less because you're only 15.

Good luck to you :)

Some schools already use 6th formers as mentors and buddies for younger children, especially in maths.

TBH I'm not sure how I feel about your idea. I'm a teacher and have tutored for years and years. I know there is lot more involved in tutoring than knowing the subject: it's about motivating, supporting the student and building confidence. You also need to prepare each lesson for each student though with something like maths it is easier to work through a text book, compared to English where there are so many aspects to improving a student's work.

Many well qualified teachers are useless tutors because they don't have the right personality to build rapport with the pupils and some don't bother to prepare lessons - they turn up asking 'what do you want to work on'- speaking from experience here as a parent.

I don't know if at 15 you have the emotional maturity to help a pupil , set homework, encourage them and so forth.

If you have - great. But I think you'd have to accept a lower fee simply because you aren't a qualified teacher and no one has observed your teaching and decided that you are able to teach.

I think the idea of being a homework helper is better.

Try your local Kumon centre.
DS1 got a job as a maths tutor there when he was 16 and has taught maths for the last 2 years. It's not well paid but it's regular work and they sort out DRB etc. He's just finishing his A levels (including Maths and Further Maths) and will be doing a Maths degree. They employ students from the local sixth form to teach Maths and English to children from age 4 to 16/17.

To the OP: actually, yes, I would definitely employ a teenager to support my Y2 child (for example) with maths. As long as I felt a) she would get on well with you and b) you were responsible and kind as well as good at maths.

I wouldn't expect to pay the same rates as for a trained teacher or experienced graduate, obviously, but I do think there is a place for older kids helping younger ones - and some obvious advantages, too.

Well done with your studies, and good luck!

I would not use you for GCSE or 11 plus tuition, because these are too important to take risks with on an unproven tutor. I might use you to help a younger primary school aged child (Y1-Y4) or a Y7-8 child. But for Y5-6 and Y9 plus I would want someone with a track record.

I would pay £10 an hour, but I would also pay £10 an hour for babysitting, so I guess I would be using you for a babysitting plus service.