Struggles That Tutors Face That Parents Are Not Aware Of

Private tutoring, just like any other line of work, is not without its challenges. More often than not, private tutors face many problems that only they can understand. Private tutoring is a form of self-employment that has a very competitive market thus only a few issues can lead to losing clients and ultimately, a source of income.

Here are some of the struggles that private tutors face on a day-to-day basis.

Pressure From Parents

This is probably the biggest hurdle that tutors face. Most parents usually seek the services of a tutor after they were referred to the tutor by either a friend or after reading some reviews on the internet. However, after enrolling their children under the private tutor, most parents turn into nagging clients who always want to see instant results.

Parents need to understand that tutoring is just a means through which learners supplement or re-enforce what they have already learned at school. If a child does take the initiative to pay attention to what is being taught at their school, no amount of tutoring can help that child. You cannot add to what is not there in the first place.

It is this pressure from parents that tutors face on a daily basis. Tutors try their best when it comes to teaching thus parents should also make sure that they make their children interested in learning at school so that their private tutoring can be more fruitful.

Student’s Goals and Expectations

Another challenge that most tutors face that parents do not know of is figuring out a student’s goals and expectation. Every student is different in every way and needs to be handled in a way relevant to them.

For a new student, the tutor always has to spend some time figuring out their student’s motivation in order to come up with a proper way of helping them. Is the student interested in a particular subject? What are the goals that the student is hoping to achieve? Is the student attending tuition because they genuinely want to improve or are they being forced to? Figuring out the answers to such questions helps tutors in knowing the mindset of their students so that they can devise relevant strategies on how to help them improve.

Negativity from Students

More often than not, students who require extra tutoring are those who are not doing well in a traditional classroom setting. Due to this, most students associate schoolwork with failure and anxiety. This is a significant challenge for tutors.

First, the tutor will have to counsel the student before they can even begin learning. Sometimes the student’s problems are so complex that the tutor cannot be able to handle them. For example, take a case where a student’s grades are dropping because of an ongoing divorce between their parents. No matter how much the tutor may try, no significant progress will be made until the root of the problem is dealt with.

Parents need to understand their children. They need to make sure that their children are in the right state of mind for learning and that their schoolwork is not being affected by social issues.

Personal Issues

Most of the time, parents and students alike forget that tutors are people too. They forget that tutors can have bad days or that they can be struggling with their own issues such as financial instability or maybe depression.

Tutors are people too. Parents and students should not forget that. A simple act of kindness goes a long way. Instead of only complaining when their children aren’t performing as well as they should, parents should appreciate tutors when they deserve it. Efforts should be noticed.

A simple act such as organizing a surprise birthday party for your children’s tutor can go a long way on forging friendships and developing a better sense of understanding.

Bottom line- always remember that tutors are people too.

As evidenced throughout the article, there are numerous struggles that tutors face that parents may not be aware of. It doesn’t take a lot to lend a helping hand; all it takes is a little appreciation.

For the tutors, when the going gets tough, it is important to remember that no job that has no challenges. Teaching is a calling that requires certain types of individuals who get satisfaction from seeing others prosper- in this case, student. Remember why you took up tutoring and let that be your comfort for when times get tough.