As
a childhood education major student and practice tutor, there are many things
that one must learn before becoming a tutor. To become a tutor one must have a
sense of professionalism and have patient to help the tutee understand what
he/she did wrong in their work and help them comprehend why it must be done in
that form and not the way the tutee did it. Here are some of the tips that I have
observed in my tutoring sessions, as well as in some exampled vignette plays,
of what one as a tutor should and should not do;
Do’s
- Being a tutor takes much energy out of a person and it becomes very hard after a while to maintain focus but a good tutor will always remain upbeat, friendly, calm and, patient.
- As all jobs one must know how to dress for their employment, meaning what is suitable and professional for the work area and what must only be worn in the streets or at the privacy of their own home, one should be dressed professionally and comfortable to be a tutor.
- When we become a tutor we are going to be having students come in with many problems, issues, and concerns some that we will be able to fix and demonstrate right away others not so much. As a tutor we have to show concern and understanding for the tutees because some come in very frustrated and angry with their work.
- Neatness, well organization and always being prepared to attend a tutee are all great Do’s on the tutor’s part. This will show the tutee that we as tutors take our job very seriously and that it is important to them.
- In my previous tutoring session observation I saw how the tutor made the tutees aware of resources that they have in the writing center. If your tutee is a no native speaker defiantly make them aware of the sources you know that could help them later on in their work.
Don’ts
- Time is always key. The tutee is provided with service for up to one hour therefore, the tutor should never report late to a session.
- Tutors job are to provide with a clear understanding to their tutee of how to correct their mistakes so that the next time they won’t make the same error and they would know why. Now there are people that learn at different pace which is why one as a tutor should never insult a tutee for not understanding why their way is incorrect and ours is the correct one.
- When we are tutors we are always going to have tutees consuming a lot of time in one problem because they don’t understand. It is not our job to give them the answer to any problem no matter how frustrated we get. We are there to point out their mistakes and try to educate them so they won’t do the same mistake again but not to give answers.
- When a tutor and a tutee are going to meet for a session they should always encounter a quiet place where they know that they are going to be able to work in peace without any interruptions so meeting in parks or restaurants are not good ideas because those are places that one could get disturbed by anything.
- When tutees seek a tutor they usually know what it is that they are having problems with so they come to the tutor with the problem at hand and in hopes of finding a solution during that session. If the tutee already knows their problem, why would you want to convince them of otherwise? If the tutee knows what it is that they would like help in we should simply help them in that area we shouldn’t make them feel uncomfortable looking for other problems that may not even be in the work.
