Tutoring?

[serotoninbutterfly]

Hello,

Anyone know anything about becoming a tutor? I want to do private tutoring from home, as a supplement to pt work. Anyone have any knowledge?

Looking for all the potential pitfalls plus what I could charge (am in Oxfordshire).

I am thinking about specialising in helping children with learning difficulties and those that are under performing as well as supporting those kids that are looking to improve good results. Am CRB checked and have a resonable degree.

Where do I start!?

Do you have any experience teaching children? Especially those with learning difficulties? If not I think you'd need some before setting up as a tutor. A friend is a maths tutor but was a maths teacher a few years ago. I tutor through a private college but am teaching adults and did a City and Guilds qualification (short course). I get paid 40 an hour but would charge less if I did it independently and I probably do at least an hour prep for every hour of tutoring.

I have some experience of teaching music, and I have spoken to a few friends of mine to get some direct experience before offering 'paid' work and also to get some recommendations.

I have been having a look on the TES website for inspiration, and I have been thinking about how I want to work - and there is deffo a gap in the market around where I live!

Quietly excited - I love a new project. Seems a shame to waste my qualifications! So, plan is to instil a love of learning in children - quite grandiose I think but it's something to aim for. I wanna use personalised work and rewards to encourage children to achieve for the right reasons - not just because they should!

Sounds interesting. I wonder if then, your approach should be about that? One to one, or small group sessions to help make learning fun? Maybe with the parent/s too so they can carry on the work between sessions ? Rather than link it to examinated subjects. The major difficulty with tutoring exam/assessment based subjects is that there is pressure to get results or you (or the person paying you) will think you failed. And sometimes people fail, despite your v best efforts. It can be soul destroying.

In my area Brighton/Hove, someone runs play sessions designed to make maths fun. So the emphasis is on enjoyment not achievement. Would that work for you?

Would still recommend investigating a short course - will help with planning, setting realistic learning objectives, building-in ways to check their learning, different methods of teaching... good for building your confidence and skills as a tutor, and will make you more credible to parents.

Have a look at the tutoring websites- you might start with work through them.Could you volunteer in a school to build up skills?Parents will look at qualifications.