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Life Skills You Gain as a Home Tutor
Being a home tutor is a fulfilling yet tough job. Though a tutor is not teaching inside the classroom, they are still as responsible for many students’ education as much as teachers are. This is especially more seen in students who are having trouble keeping up inside the classroom and will seek your expertise to help them. As such, a tutor should also be familiar with different curriculums and syllabus of different subjects, different schools, and different school levels. A tutor should also keep in mind the different personalities and learning styles, capabilities, and pace of different students.
Aside from the usual responsibilities in the academic scope, tutors are also expected to form a good relationship with their students and their student’s parents. This way, tutoring will be more effective and easier since they can get the student to open up to them. There are also values and skills that tutors can impart to their students that will be beneficial for them not just academically but also with their everyday lives.
While tutoring may be a very attractive career path to follow, some people simply can’t take the pressures of being a home tutor given the responsibilities and other outside factors such as travel time, dealing with parents, etc. However, those who pursue the career will often discover more about themselves, what they are capable of, and will become inspired to do more.
Being a home tutor isn’t just beneficial for a person because of the flexibility and freedom it offers. There are also some life skills you can gain from being a home tutor that will serve many purposes for you in the present and in the future. In this article, we’ll talk about those skills.
1. Patience
Tutors will handle many sorts of students (and parents) throughout their careers. And when you are dealing with many parents and students, you will also meet many personalities, behaviors, and learning preferences. There will be students who are quick learners and may only request your services for reviews. They may engage you for extra lessons to strengthen their skills and deepen their understanding of topics. Others will also take several lessons in order to fully understand the topic while there are also others who you will have to start teaching the fundamentals to. Of course, there may also be instances wherein some students will blame you for not getting their ideal grades or complain about the lessons when they are designed to help them succeed. And that’s only the students, the parents are also another discussion.
Because you will meet many different personalities, you will undoubtedly develop ways in order to keep your cool in the many scenarios that you may experience. Over time, you will exercise more patience towards your students and ensure their parents that your lessons are on the right track towards their academic goals. You will also learn to stay calm in escalating situations such as when they are throwing tantrums or complaining.
Outside of the tutoring industry, this skill may benefit you in ways that it can be difficult for other people or situations to tick you off because you are already used to lengthening your patience. This will also come in as advantageous for you if you wish to become a parent someday.
2. Effective communication
As a tutor, you will be dealing with students who learn differently from one another and with their own set of preferences. Additionally, you’ll also be speaking with parents and these parents want results. Because of this, you will also become more adept at communicating effectively and diplomatically. Tutors will be able to discuss with these parents that you understand their situation and you are trying your best to help assist their child to reach his/her academic goals.
Of course, in tuition sessions, this skill will help you make adjustments to your lessons to make them easier for your student to understand. By using effective communication, you will also be effectively clarifying any questions or doubts the student has without making it more confusing for them. As such, because you are a tutor, you will not only be able to speak effectively but also listen effectively in order to properly communicate. By listening to what your student needs, you will be able to teach them better.
Aside from communicating effectively during lessons, you will also see that relating and building strong relationships with your students will be easier. When communication between the tutor and student is open, it will help the tutor in the understanding of the student.
Communication skills are also one of the most in demand soft skills so if you wish to pursue a different career path outside of tuition, you will definitely be thankful for this skill.
3. Good time management
While being a home tutor provides you more freedom with your time for work, you will still have to consider some factors that may not give you full autonomy of your time such as working around your student’s schedule. There will be instances of students asking you to teach them on weekdays after they finish school while there are others who opt for the weekends. Aside from that, you will also be mindful of setting time for one student’s schedule so it doesn’t bump with another. You also need to consider travel time to get from one student’s house to another and extra minutes for discussions with their parents if necessary.
It may be overwhelming at first but as you get used to your position more, you will also become more mindful of your time and use it wisely so each student will get sufficient time for tuition. As such, you will also be able to learn to maximize the time you spend with each student to make sure you achieve your objectives for every session while still inside your time allotment. As a home tutor, it will also help you manage your time if you follow a work schedule. It keeps things organized and keeps you on top of every appointment or tuition session you have.
Time management is a very important skill to learn and have because it will significantly impact you whether it be in tutoring or other activities such as personal events. With good time management, you will be able to effectively juggle your time between work and your personal life, keeping the balance between the two.
4. Proper negotiation
As mentioned several times, a home tutor will be working with different types of individuals and each of them will have different personalities as well as different reasons for engaging in your services. And while tutoring is a fulfilling career, it is still a job. You will have to different ways for you to effectively work with your clients without risking your job and business.
For students, you will have to try and develop different techniques to inspire them to learn, motivate them to strive for the better and keep them in check. For parents, since they will probably be the ones paying you, you will be able to discuss better terms of your employment. Negotiation skills are important in dealing with clients so you can get the best possible outcome while still keeping them happy.
5. Financial management skills
Since tutoring is basically a freelance job, you will not have the luxury of anyone handling your taxes and contributions for you. Unlike teaching in schools, you will have to handle your taxes and CPF contributions. Aside from that, you will also have bills to pay as well as transportation costs.
Handling money on your own can be daunting, but you will learn. As you go through this career, you will learn to handle your finances better, making sure you don’t spend everything in one go. You will also learn how to budget properly for bills, food, transportation, etc. As such, understanding savings and investing can also help you in cases wherein you will not be tutoring for a time.
6. Positive outlook
No one said tutoring will be easy. It can get especially difficult when you come across a disrespectful and uncooperative student or if you encounter difficult parents such as helicopter parents. It can also become quite lonely, as are many freelancing jobs. These are some of the things some may find difficult about the position. However, there is a silver lining in situations like this. The student who’s disrespectful and uncooperative? It will be more fulfilling to see them achieve their academic goals and overcome their weaknesses because of your help. The neglectful parents who don’t get involved in their child’s studies? It will be more satisfying to see them assist their child more because you spoke with them about its importance.
Being positive can be hard, and keeping a positive outlook may be harder. But there will be good things in these situations and it will teach you to adapt to anything without many problems. As such, you will also start to see things from a positive perspective and handle tough situations better.
Conclusion
Tutoring is a great profession for those who have the passion to teach. These are the people students turn to when they are having difficulties understanding concepts taught in school and help them prepare for their examinations. Every profession has its downsides and challenges. However, it doesn’t mean you should give up because you see the list of what needs to be done. There will always be room to learn and in doing so, you will be a better version and develop life skills you can use along the way.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
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