What kind of questions is it "ok" to ask a tutor?

[ChangeyerNameyer]

I'm looking for a tutor for A level maths revision. I found a facebook group for maths tutors and asked there. I got a lot of direct messages very quickly, mostly 1 line replies like "Hi. I'm a maths tutor." To try to dig through the number of replies I got, I replied with: "Please can you tell me a bit more about yourself? Where did you study? What was your major? When did you graduate? How long have you been tutoring for? What exam do your students usually take?" and I've had several really hostile responses like the one attached.
I didn't mean to offend anyone. I was hoping you'd be able to advise me about what kind of questions are "ok" to ask a tutor? These were people from a facebook group, so there's no information about them at all except for their name and photo. Is it rude to ask about credentials? I would never hire someone in my professional capacity without seeing their qualifications.

"Quality grade guaranteed" would have been enough to put me off that one.

That said, I wouldn't ask all that. Just what are your qualifications and experience?

I tutor (in a different subject) and would be quite happy to explain all of your questions and provide references if you wanted. I would be highly suspicious of anyone who wasn't willing to provide these types of answers

Perfectly reasonable questions.

Your questions are fine. They sound nuts and / a scammer who can't string a decent sentence together

What was your major is a very odd question.

Are you American?

Do you mean what was your degree in?

Many maths teachers in the U.K. have a degree in something numerate rather than straight maths - so eg physics, computer science, some economics degrees count, etc.

Most people don't pick tutors based on their degree. They pick tutors based on how much they want to pay. If not much then it's usually university students tutoring online.

If you are happy to pay more then you can get an actual teacher who has experience of the exam and the exam board which is in my view what you should be looking for.

I’d also be really wary of a tutor who can ‘guarantee’ grades. Progress over promises in my eyes!

Thanks everyone. It’s reassuring to hear that I probably wasn’t being rude, maybe just a bit odd.

I’m not American but not British either, so I probably sound a bit foreign sometimes.

I think it doesn’t matter if they have a degree in maths, physics, accounting, coding etc. But if they studied e.g. history and haven’t done maths since their own A level then I don’t think they’d be suitable. If there was a qualified teacher with experience with the exam board available to start now and in our area, I’d pay in gold! Unfortunately online seems to be the most realistic option for us.

That tutor is a weirdo. It’s perfectly standard to answer those questions.

As a maths teacher who has also tutored I wouldn't have any problem answering those questions and I wouldn't pay someone who wouldn't.

I'd also ask for a couple of references from previous students.

Expect to pay around £40 an hour for A-level maths tuition if you want someone with relevant and recent experience.

Perfectly normal questions! As a former tutor I'd be sending you to my LinkedIn page and CV which would have all that info on plus recommendations from former clients. The response you received was very dodgy!

It's them, not you. "Quality grade guaranteed" is not a phrase that would ever be used by a legitimate tutor.

Very normal questions. I used to tutor. I would visit the family first, taking all my certificates (degrees etc) with me as well as proof of my workplace to prove I was who I said I was. I was proud of my qualification (in fact it was a reason I was able to charge so much). So anyone unwilling to answer those basic questions is a huge red flag!

Yep agree, you asked completely normal, reasonable questions. Surely noone appoints a tutor without any information about them?! They could be absolutely anyone!

Try contacting local schools- they may have an A Level Maths teacher who does tutoring, who doesn't advertise. I used to rely on word of mouth mostly, so I'd be hard to 'find' online. Do be prepared to pay a lot though. I used to charge £50 per hour just for GCSE (not worth it for me anymore as I'm too busy), and my friend charges £70 ph for A Level currently.

On the positive - at least you can disregard them now!

For what it's worth, you weren't being the slightest bit odd either.

I don't think your questions are odd or rude, but then I'd be a bit wary of asking in Facebook groups to be honest, even in the local ones (we had a couple of terrible experiences with my children who are younger for the 11+ - basically teachers who knew the curriculum but had no idea how to teach for an exam) They of course had brilliant CVs and great references, but they were terrible at tutoring!
We ended up going with an online quite large company who are very popular. This was for my primary school kids, so I don't know if they do up to A Level but let me know if you want their details.

I've tutored in the past and would have been happy to answer all those questions. What I'd never claim to do is guarantee a "quality grade"!

(As it happened, I had a 100% success rate in helping people get the grade they wanted - but the next pupil could have always been the exception!)

Edited because I posted in haste and realised that was terrible phrasing!

Hi,

Check to see if they are registered with the Tutoring Association if you want additional reassurance.

Tutoring agencies such as School Tutors co uk appear registered and have maths tutors.

hope this helps

As someone who has tutored in the past, I would not be worried by the questions you have asked. Anyone who is becoming hostile from these questions is clearly not qualified or DBS checked.

Hmmm do you mean The Tutor's Association? I was never registered with thr Tutor's Association and neither are any of my (teacher) colleagues who do tutoring.. we don't need to be and it costs at least £100 to join... and I'm honestly not really sure how signing up and paying the membership fee proves anything. I'm happy to be proved wrong though!