Until I logged into this blog, I didn't realise that my previous post was also a rant about taking tuitions online. But hey, apparently that's what inspires me to write right now, so lets just go with the flow.
Having been a tutor for 8 years and an online tutor for over 18 months now, there are a few things that have continued to bug me over the years.
I hate it when students or their parents don't inform me when they are going to be missing a class. I think this is top of the list because it makes me feel like some back up plan. 'If I don't have a doctor's appointment, if I don't have an event at school, if I don't have any other tuitions/ classes, then I will attend my chemistry class.' Sometimes I feel like this is the thought process that goes inside a student's head. Just because I take classes online or from home does not mean that all of my time is free time. What sucks even more is when they say "I forgot about class". Nothing annoys me more than that.
Another problem I face, now this is more with the parents than the student, is when they tellme that their child is still not improving, and they know for a fact that the child has not been regular to class. I had a student who would turn up for 3 out of 4 classes in a month (yes she only came for 4 classes because she was so busy with 5 other classes, that she only had time for 1 class a week for chemistry), sometimes it would only be 2 classes in a month, and the mother kept asking me why she was not getting beyond 70% in her chemistry papers. Really now, I wonder why?
There is also this set of parents who will realise that their child needs help in chemistry only 2 months before the Finals, and then request me to "just clarify the child's doubts and give a few tips and tricks to ensure that he/ she is able to get 95 or more". I get reassurances that the child will attend as many classes as needed in a week so long as it does not clash with his Maths, Physics, Computer or Hindi classes, and that he will work really hard and write as many papers possible. How much did the child get in the Mock exam ? -70 or so. Oh I'm sorry, do I look like Jesus or Sai Baba. I am not miracle worker.
I don't give a lot of homework. Actually I barely give any homework for one simple reason- It is a waste of time. I spend 2 hours finding questions and compiling it to send to the student, and the child, more often than not, either does not do it despite repeated reminders, or they do a half hearted job where they have answered only 2 out of 8 questions. Clearly they have not even attempted it. This is why I just prefer to work out questions with hem in class. Atleast I know they don't know anything and can just make them practice.
I am the type of teacher who believes in giving the child a lot of freedom. I always check with them about when they would like to do revision, which chapters they want to revise first, and make them set a date to do a mock exam. I think a 16 year old is mature enough to figure a schedule for themselves. But of course, they go to prove me wrong right there. They either postpone the mock exam/ test and never write it. Sometimes I spend a good 6 hours setting a 70 mark paper, scan it and send it to them, only hear that they have no "time" to write a mock exam because they are busy studying. Basically my 6 hour effort is not time spent for setting a paper specifically for them! How is that fair to me. I mean I asked them before getting into it. Some people will complain that I am too nice, but I've seen that being harsh doesn't really help the child do better. So what's the point of that?
Another thing that especially annoys me with respect to being an online tutor, is when students "answer a test" and I find that most of the answers are straight out of the text book, but the child denies it. Honesty is a thing of the past. There are some parents who will also go to the extent of defending their oh-so-honest child but will not make the effort to ensure that their child is putting in the effort to prepare for a test. Online tutoring has to be a two way street. The parent who is with the child must be
When I send question papers to my students, I always make sure that I have bright light, and I use Cam Scanner to get a neat scan of the sheets of paper, I number the pages, then I email it. Guess how I get the answer scripts for correction? Pictures clicked with barely any light. Answers out of focus. Pages not numbered. Scrawny scribbling. Questions not numbered. And all of this images sent via whatsapp. I am planning to include the doctor consultation fees and the price of my spectacles in the student's fees from now on. Clearly I require medical reimbursement for all of my effort to correct one answer script. Let's not forget the emotional trauma I go through when I see how terribly the child is faring. Next will begin the search for a good therapist.
Finally I would like to sum up and say that I have had some fantastic students who are prompt , on time, and worked so very hard. I am extremely proud of them even today. But there are a few students who will remain etched in my memory for all the wrong reasons.
-Krupa
Having been a tutor for 8 years and an online tutor for over 18 months now, there are a few things that have continued to bug me over the years.
Missing classes/ attending classes regularly
Another problem I face, now this is more with the parents than the student, is when they tellme that their child is still not improving, and they know for a fact that the child has not been regular to class. I had a student who would turn up for 3 out of 4 classes in a month (yes she only came for 4 classes because she was so busy with 5 other classes, that she only had time for 1 class a week for chemistry), sometimes it would only be 2 classes in a month, and the mother kept asking me why she was not getting beyond 70% in her chemistry papers. Really now, I wonder why?
There is also this set of parents who will realise that their child needs help in chemistry only 2 months before the Finals, and then request me to "just clarify the child's doubts and give a few tips and tricks to ensure that he/ she is able to get 95 or more". I get reassurances that the child will attend as many classes as needed in a week so long as it does not clash with his Maths, Physics, Computer or Hindi classes, and that he will work really hard and write as many papers possible. How much did the child get in the Mock exam ? -70 or so. Oh I'm sorry, do I look like Jesus or Sai Baba. I am not miracle worker.
Tests/ Homework etc.
I am the type of teacher who believes in giving the child a lot of freedom. I always check with them about when they would like to do revision, which chapters they want to revise first, and make them set a date to do a mock exam. I think a 16 year old is mature enough to figure a schedule for themselves. But of course, they go to prove me wrong right there. They either postpone the mock exam/ test and never write it. Sometimes I spend a good 6 hours setting a 70 mark paper, scan it and send it to them, only hear that they have no "time" to write a mock exam because they are busy studying. Basically my 6 hour effort is not time spent for setting a paper specifically for them! How is that fair to me. I mean I asked them before getting into it. Some people will complain that I am too nice, but I've seen that being harsh doesn't really help the child do better. So what's the point of that?
Another thing that especially annoys me with respect to being an online tutor, is when students "answer a test" and I find that most of the answers are straight out of the text book, but the child denies it. Honesty is a thing of the past. There are some parents who will also go to the extent of defending their oh-so-honest child but will not make the effort to ensure that their child is putting in the effort to prepare for a test. Online tutoring has to be a two way street. The parent who is with the child must be
When I send question papers to my students, I always make sure that I have bright light, and I use Cam Scanner to get a neat scan of the sheets of paper, I number the pages, then I email it. Guess how I get the answer scripts for correction? Pictures clicked with barely any light. Answers out of focus. Pages not numbered. Scrawny scribbling. Questions not numbered. And all of this images sent via whatsapp. I am planning to include the doctor consultation fees and the price of my spectacles in the student's fees from now on. Clearly I require medical reimbursement for all of my effort to correct one answer script. Let's not forget the emotional trauma I go through when I see how terribly the child is faring. Next will begin the search for a good therapist.
Finally I would like to sum up and say that I have had some fantastic students who are prompt , on time, and worked so very hard. I am extremely proud of them even today. But there are a few students who will remain etched in my memory for all the wrong reasons.
-Krupa
