ontheedgeofeverything

I’ve made mention here on my blog of my tutoring business, and for the topic of today’s post, allow me to make mention of it once more. I started tutoring about a year-and-a-half ago, roughly, and I’ve been enjoying it, for the most part.

Like literally anything, there are pros and cons to tutoring. I thought I would share some of my own advice pertaining to the tutoring business with all of you in hopes of assisting someone contemplating dabbling in the tutoring business themselves.

My background and education are in English language and literature, so that is my area of ‘expertise’ in the realm of tutoring. Seeing as English language and literature are, for the most part, subjective (the writing component), tutoring can be a bit tricky in the sense you need to determine your clients strengths within their writing and encourage them to use that to their advantage. Unlike math and science, where there is one correct answer, the humanities allow for subjectivity; this is simultaneously advantageous and problematic in the sense that unless you can designate your clients stronger areas in their writing and make that their weapon, your assistance may prove to be useless. Outside the fundamental rules of grammar, you as their tutor might consider them to be a strong writer, but unless their instructor or employer agrees and shares your belief, you’re not helping much.

That being said, I always make it clear to my clients that I am a tutor, not a teacher. I am here to gauge someone’s strengths and weaknesses, help them to improve with their weak areas, and make recommendations, based on a basic understanding of their target audience, to enable them to flourish and progress in their reading, writing, and/or grammar. Making this clear with yourself and your client off the bat is one of the best ways to avoid disappointment and/or frustration in the tutoring game.

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