This is what happened to me during my last summer holidays in China.
My friend asked me to give tuitions to his sister, who is going to take O-level next year. As I had tuition experience for JC students and was well recognized, I agreed without hesitation. Because of our friendship, it was free.
After a few lessons, I spotted many cumbersome methods she used in her homework. When I seriously pointed these out and asked her to adapt for the efficient methods, she became impatient and non-cooperative, saying “It is fine as long as my answer is correct. You are too harsh.”
Her words angered me and I told her that it was her not me that would suffer. I was here not to be harsh to her but to help her make progress. I was not her enemy but her comrade and O-level was our common enemy.
After saying so much, I left and told my friend that I would not come any more.
Having calmed myself down, I tried to put myself in her shoes. My standard might be too high for her. Maybe it was her first attempt at the questions and she was quite satisfied for the correct answer. At the age of 16, she might need more praise than blame.
It was a painful experience not because I did not get money but because what I did was not recognized. Fortunately, the friendship is still there.
It is unlikely that I would give tuitions again, but there are lessons I can learn from this experience. What do you think?
Hello Wang Cheng,
ReplyDeleteIt was your first time in giving tuition and perhaps you should ask your friend about his sister's learning style. In learning process, some people need more encouraging words while some people can tolerate with harsh comments given. Personalization in teaching style is quite important for student to learn efficiently.
Try to think from a learner's perspective, encourage her instead of just pointing out her mistakes, she would feel more optimistic and willing to accept your suggestion. Be empathy, understand her needs and recognize her feelings. When she is showing signs of frustration, you can call for a break so that she can adjust her emotion then continue learning. As a student, you would not want your teacher to be so fierce to you also,right? :)
Hey Wang Chen,
ReplyDeleteI give tuition myself. Personally, I believe in charging a fee for tuition. If it is a friend, you can charge a little lesser than the market rate. This is because when people need to pay for something, they will appreciate it more. Consider the difference in attitude when you are given something free and when you have to pay for it. If you have to pay for it, you will treasure it more. If it is free, you will probably not bother about it very soon.
Regarding the problems in methods in doing homework, I face that all the time in my students. What I normally try to do is to show the better method, and let the student compare and evaluate for himself/herself which one he/she would prefer. If the student still prefers the old method, I will leave it to him/her. This is due to different levels of experience and expertise. I have to remind myself constantly that I need to put myself in my student's shoes, because I cannot expect my student to understand the problem the same way that I understand it. I always let my student use the method that he/she prefers and is comfortable with, as long as the method is correct. I have noticed before that when I try to teach them my own method, they get confused further. This is probably due to what they are taught in school by their teachers which they are already used to.