15 year old tutor

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Tomorrowisyesterday · 14/09/2024 13:22

I would not employ a 15 year old to tutor - baby sitting, yes! Could offer to do after school and help with homework.

RandomMess · 14/09/2024 13:23

Not formal tutoring but sitting and doing homework and extended work with DC yes.

Would be more of a minimum wage type pay I would expect.

Original poster

pintofsnakebite · 14/09/2024 13:23

Tomorrowisyesterday · 14/09/2024 13:22

I would not employ a 15 year old to tutor - baby sitting, yes! Could offer to do after school and help with homework.

Yes that's kind of the arrangement I was thinking of.

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StaySpicy · 14/09/2024 13:26

It's not something I'd consider, personally. Just because someone is good at a subject, doesn't mean they have the ability to teach it. I would worry a 15yo wouldn't be able to accurately gauge my child's ability/what the barriers are to their understanding, nor have a good enough knowledge of the progression at primary and plan suitable interventions.

juliaxxl80 · 14/09/2024 18:03

pintofsnakebite · 14/09/2024 13:20

My DC is looking to earn extra money.

15yo, year 11, grammar school, predicted 8s and 9s. All round lovely (obvs).

Is tutoring an option? We are in an 11+ area but the stakes feel a bit too high for that, but maybe a bit of extra help with maths or english for junior school age?

Would you be comfortable with this arrangement?

Tell me what makes it a good or bad idea.

I personally would employ your child. He/she is in grammar school so you certainly knew what you were doing and, obviously, you are checking , that your child knows the topics needed, you both know the type of questions etc etc. definitely YES from me. I am sure, your child will find parents like me, who will want them as a tutor

mynameiscalypso · 14/09/2024 18:05

I would in theory but I'd probably want someone who can stretch DS rather than help him with his homework, for example. I'm not sure if a 15 year old would do that mainly because of the amount of prep it would require. Can they speak a language? I'd definitely employ someone to come and speak (basic) French with DS.

Original poster

pintofsnakebite · 14/09/2024 18:15

He doesn't speak a language other than the one he's doing for GCSE so not confident enough in that.

I totally understand about stretching. I'll get him to give it some proper thought.

We have a couple of friends who are primary school teachers. I might ask them what they think.

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KerryBlues · 14/09/2024 18:18

juliaxxl80 · 14/09/2024 18:03

I personally would employ your child. He/she is in grammar school so you certainly knew what you were doing and, obviously, you are checking , that your child knows the topics needed, you both know the type of questions etc etc. definitely YES from me. I am sure, your child will find parents like me, who will want them as a tutor

Edited

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What? 😂

HawaiiWake · 14/09/2024 18:21

An option is to get the 15 years old to encourage reading with year 1 and year 2 DC and asking questions for comprehension as text. Informal reading sessions.

juliaxxl80 · 14/09/2024 18:22

KerryBlues · 14/09/2024 18:18

What? 😂

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What is so funny? Why do you think that a 15-year-old clever boy can't tutor youngsters? Many people pay hell of a lot of money to so called professional tutors with 0 results.

titchy · 14/09/2024 18:22

I think you may offend your primary teacher friends if you ask.... You're effectively saying you don't think anyone needs any knowledge of pedagogy or national curriculum content or a degree or a post-grad teaching qualification or any experience in order to teach kids in primary schools.

Original poster

pintofsnakebite · 14/09/2024 18:27

Of course I'm not saying that.

I have much older siblings. I definitely benefitted from having teenagers around to pay me attention and help me with school stuff. I never needed a tutor.

But lots of families don't have that.

I'm not suggesting he replaces school!

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frogsofbox · 14/09/2024 18:28

What @titchy said basically.

I volunteered in a classroom for over a decade and have some qualifications for that at under a TA level. Although I can understand a lesson plenary and follow it I cannot create a lesson plan nor can I confidently assess a child's level, are they at greater depth etc? You need to have the outline for what the expectations are and details of the National Curriculum. Your child should know this sort of thing anyway for their own GCSEs ie in English lit can they identify the AOs in a piece of work and what level is that, so AO2 is language but is the work a level 5? a 4? Why a 5 here but a 4 there? It isn't teaching, it is also assessing.

I would say they would be great at listening to a child read and ask questions about that for comprehension skills or sitting with them whilst they do their homework where the ground work has already been laid down in the lesson by the teacher.

Elizo · 14/09/2024 18:36

Personally I would not pay a 15 yo to teach DC. You can get a graduate pretty easily, why would you??

arethereanyleftatall · 14/09/2024 18:36

I have a 15 yo at grammar school. She gets paid for babysitting (and has done for 2 years) £5 ph. I wouldn't think she'd be of any help to anyone doing 11+. Obviously she passed it, but she was 10yo, I doubt she could remember any of it. I wouldn't employ your dc, even at £5 an hour, ti help tutor the 11+.

Tomorrowisyesterday · 14/09/2024 18:41

I also wouldn't employ a boy as a babysitter. He'd need to be someone I knew well for me to consider it, not a stranger.

Original poster

pintofsnakebite · 14/09/2024 18:47

Tomorrowisyesterday · 14/09/2024 18:41

I also wouldn't employ a boy as a babysitter. He'd need to be someone I knew well for me to consider it, not a stranger.

What?

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frogsofbox · 14/09/2024 18:55

pintofsnakebite · 14/09/2024 18:47

What?

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You cannot be that naive, it is about access to children and usually in a position of authority, grandparent, sports coach, priest, babysitter. Sadly I am all too aware of the real victims because my best friend's Mum was a specialist foster carer for those who had been physically or sexually abused. Some of the perpetrators were teenage boys. She had specialised training. Plus I had safeguarding training to be one on one with children in school in case anyone disclosed (and they did) and I was DBS checked.

MumChp · 14/09/2024 18:55

I would employ a 15 yo for babysitter and helping out with homework. Not tutoring.

I work with 15 yo old girls at Girl Guides. They help out with the younger girls' meeting. Some of the girls are brillant and in a few years they wilæ be able to tutor younger children but 15 yo is very young.

If you have expat families around it's a way to go. We hired young people his age to play with our children, read books and speak English with them then we were come to UK from an European country. The children were around 6 and 9 yo. Your son would have been great in that role.

EmsHugs · 14/09/2024 18:57

I wouldn't encourage a 15 year old to tutor but I would happily pay a 15 year old to do the following:
Tidy up garden, wash car, wait in for a delivery, pick up items from shop.
Local kid in my street, has a wee business where he basically does all the wee odd jobs, folk can't be bothered too. Has posted a parcel for me when I could not be bothered going to post office, I know he goes and does a milk and paper delivery for the lady two doors sown before school. Always whizzing about on bike. One off jobs cost £5 while you can buy 5 errands for £15.

His mum said he makes a fortune.

ThisHangryPinkBalonz · 14/09/2024 19:05

What resources is he going to use? He is planning 1 to 1? Online?

Is he not worried his grades will suffer? Mines the same age and at grammar and he's just given up volunteering because he has alot on in the next 8 months - mocks /gcses etc.

Tutoring takes a lot of planning, with testing what level the child is at, finding their weak spots etc. Thinking back to when I done the 11+ with my kids, it took lots of time and resources.

BobbyBiscuits · 14/09/2024 19:11

Sadly not. They haven't even taken their GCSEs yet. Tutors are usually Uni students or A level students, if not qualified teachers. Though I know they don't have to be.
But 15 I'd only ever employ them as a babysitter for an easy ish child above toddler age. Not a tutor. Could they go more down the babysitting route? They could offer homework help as a skill they could add but tutoring is a bit hardcore I think at that age.

Octavia64 · 14/09/2024 19:19

He'd probably be better at year 7 and 8 age to be honest.

At primary age, even ks2, so much if it is about developing relationships with the kid (so making the session interesting and changing activities regularly) and also knowing how to explain things if the child doesn't understand it.

If a child didn't understand what a fraction was would he be able to explain so that child understood?

In many ways the younger the child the less subject knowledge is important and it's much more about knowing what explanations work and why.

magnoliaagain · 14/09/2024 19:22

I did this age 15.

I was paid a bit more than a babysitting wage to daily go to my next door but one neighbour and help their daughter with 11+ prep on every day of the holidays.

It was mostly grammar stuff. We had a workbook and we just did exercise after exercise. Nothing major and probably the girl could have sat in a room on her own and done it but me being there guaranteed she would and also she liked me so it was more fun for her.

I went on to become a teacher and maybe this early experience helped me do that.

I would employ you now to help my kids. I don't always have time but just having someone sit there encouraging and helping them is great. Our school uses peer mentors for homework club so sixth formers helping out with year 7-9 and it's so so good

farfromideal · 14/09/2024 19:55

I started tutoring when I was 15. I helped an 8 year old and an 11 year old. I was basically doing what any parent can do