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Why? The good students don't need a tutor, but merely a life coach (or perhaps just a kick in the keester); they are more than capable of teaching themselves the material, once provided with motivation.

The true reward of tutoring, since the pay is often poor, can only be found from elevating the bad student, who truly requires assistance. Teach simple steps, easily learned by rote, and emphasize the memorized patterns. By this means even the weakest students can be elevated in accomplishment, and achieve a degree of understanding exceeding their start.

Ten years ago I had the opportunity of tutoring a young man, still articulate and very personable, who had suffered a bad head injury that impaired his ability to extend long term memory. It was clear that he had once been bright, but now was struggling to pass a Grade 8 math equivalency to get an apprenticeship. He had been abandoned by numerous tutors before me, who had simply dismissed him as an unteachable idiot; despite his new disability he most certainly was not that.

Week by week we repeated simple patterns for each type of question he would see, that would enable him to solve some problems and get part marks on all the rest by achieving progress towards the solution. I raised his mark from under 10% to over 45% by that means, though unfortunately not quite to the required 50%. Life moved me on after that term, however, and I was unable to finish the task at hand.

A couple of months ago I was sitting at my desk, at work, when I heard the call "Hey! Netherlands! Remember me?" Of course I did. (My name was gone from his long term memory, but not my face or favourite soccer team.) He had passed the exam on his next attempt, with the confidence and technique I had taught him, and gone on to apprentice as a copier repairman. What a pleasure it was to run into him, reminisce for a few minutes, and note his found succes, before life again took us in different directions.

My recommendation is to (of course) accept the money offered, but not to look to it for your measure of success as a tutor. Seek the rewards inherent in the tutoring itself for that, and take students as they arrive at your office door.

Update Repeating a comment of mine below:
The depth of understanding that a tutor acquires by teaching poor students, well, I believe is very difficult to obtain by other means.

Why? The good students don't need a tutor, but merely a life coach (or perhaps just a kick in the keester); they are more than capable of teaching themselves the material, once provided with motivation.

The true reward of tutoring, since the pay is often poor, can only be found from elevating the bad student, who truly requires assistance. Teach simple steps, easily learned by rote, and emphasize the memorized patterns. By this means even the weakest students can be elevated in accomplishment, and achieve a degree of understanding exceeding their start.

Ten years ago I had the opportunity of tutoring a young man, still articulate and very personable, who had suffered a bad head injury that impaired his ability to extend long term memory. It was clear that he had once been bright, but now was struggling to pass a Grade 8 math equivalency to get an apprenticeship. He had been abandoned by numerous tutors before me, who had simply dismissed him as an unteachable idiot; despite his new disability he most certainly was not that.

Week by week we repeated simple patterns for each type of question he would see, that would enable him to solve some problems and get part marks on all the rest by achieving progress towards the solution. I raised his mark from under 10% to over 45% by that means, though unfortunately not quite to the required 50%. Life moved me on after that term, however, and I was unable to finish the task at hand.

A couple of months ago I was sitting at my desk, at work, when I heard the call "Hey! Netherlands! Remember me?" Of course I did. (My name was gone from his long term memory, but not my face or favourite soccer team.) He had passed the exam on his next attempt, with the confidence and technique I had taught him, and gone on to apprentice as a copier repairman. What a pleasure it was to run into him, reminisce for a few minutes, and note his found succes, before life again took us in different directions.

My recommendation is to (of course) accept the money offered, but not to look to it for your measure of success as a tutor. Seek the rewards inherent in the tutoring itself for that, and take students as they arrive at your office door.

Update Repeating a comment of mine below:
The depth of understanding that a tutor acquires by teaching poor students, and by teaching them well, is in my humble opinion very difficult to obtain by other means.

Why? The good students don't need a tutor, but merely a life coach (or perhaps just a kick in the keester); they are more than capable of teaching themselves the material, once provided with motivation.

The true reward of tutoring, since the pay is never sufficient, can only be found from elevating the bad student, who truly requires assistance. Teach simple steps, easily learned by rote, and emphasize the memorized patterns. By this means even the weakest students can be elevated in accomplishment, and achieve a degree of understanding exceeding their start.

Ten years ago I had the opportunity of tutoring a young man, still articulate and very personable, who had suffered a bad head injury that impaired his ability to extend long term memory. It was clear that he had once been bright, but now was struggling to pass a Grade 8 math equivalency to get an apprenticeship. He had been abandoned by numerous tutors before me, who had simply dismissed him as an unteachable idiot; despite his new disability he most certainly was not that.

Week by week we repeated simple patterns for each type of question he would see, that would enable him to solve some problems and get part marks on all the rest by achieving progress towards the solution. I raised his mark from under 10% to over 45% by that means, though unfortunately not quite to the required 50%. Life moved me on after that term, however, and I was unable to finish the task at hand.

A couple of months ago I was sitting at my desk, at work, when I heard the call "Hey! Netherlands! Remember me?" Of course I did. (My name was gone from his long term memory, but not my face or favourite soccer team.) He had passed the exam on his next attempt, with the confidence and technique I had taught him, and gone on to apprentice as a copier repairman. What a pleasure it was to run into him, reminisce for a few minutes, and note his found succes, before life again took us in different directions.

My recommendation is to (of course) accept the money offered, but not to look to it for your measure of success as a tutor. Seek the rewards inherent in the tutoring itself for that, and take students as they arrive at your office door.

Update Repeating a comment of mine below:
The depth of understanding that a tutor acquires by teaching poor students, well, I believe is very difficult to obtain by other means.

Why? The good students don't need a tutor, but merely a life coach (or perhaps just a kick in the keester); they are more than capable of teaching themselves the material, once provided with motivation.

The true reward of tutoring, since the pay is often poor, can only be found from elevating the bad student, who truly requires assistance. Teach simple steps, easily learned by rote, and emphasize the memorized patterns. By this means even the weakest students can be elevated in accomplishment, and achieve a degree of understanding exceeding their start.

Ten years ago I had the opportunity of tutoring a young man, still articulate and very personable, who had suffered a bad head injury that impaired his ability to extend long term memory. It was clear that he had once been bright, but now was struggling to pass a Grade 8 math equivalency to get an apprenticeship. He had been abandoned by numerous tutors before me, who had simply dismissed him as an unteachable idiot; despite his new disability he most certainly was not that.

Week by week we repeated simple patterns for each type of question he would see, that would enable him to solve some problems and get part marks on all the rest by achieving progress towards the solution. I raised his mark from under 10% to over 45% by that means, though unfortunately not quite to the required 50%. Life moved me on after that term, however, and I was unable to finish the task at hand.

A couple of months ago I was sitting at my desk, at work, when I heard the call "Hey! Netherlands! Remember me?" Of course I did. (My name was gone from his long term memory, but not my face or favourite soccer team.) He had passed the exam on his next attempt, with the confidence and technique I had taught him, and gone on to apprentice as a copier repairman. What a pleasure it was to run into him, reminisce for a few minutes, and note his found succes, before life again took us in different directions.

My recommendation is to (of course) accept the money offered, but not to look to it for your measure of success as a tutor. Seek the rewards inherent in the tutoring itself for that, and take students as they arrive at your office door.

Update Repeating a comment of mine below:
The depth of understanding that a tutor acquires by teaching poor students, well, I believe is very difficult to obtain by other means.

Why? The good students don't need a tutor, but merely a life coach (or perhaps just a kick in the keester); they are more than capable of teaching themselves the material, once provided with motivation.

The true reward of tutoring, since the pay is never sufficient, can only be found from elevating the bad student, who truly requires assistance. Teach simple steps, easily learned by rote, and emphasize the memorized patterns. By this means even the weakest students can be elevated in accomplishment, and achieve a degree of understanding exceeding their start.

Ten years ago I had the opportunity of tutoring a young man, still articulate and very personable, who had suffered a bad head injury that impaired his ability to extend long term memory. It was clear that he had once been bright, but now was struggling to pass a Grade 8 math equivalency to get an apprenticeship. He had been abandoned by numerous tutors before me, who had simply dismissed him as an unteachable idiot; despite his new disability he most certainly was not that.

Week by week we repeated simple patterns for each type of question he would see, that would enable him to solve some problems and get part marks on all the rest by achieving progress towards the solution. I raised his mark from under 10% to over 45% by that means, though unfortunately not quite to the required 50%. Life moved me on after that term, however, and I was unable to finish the task at hand.

A couple of months ago I was sitting at my desk, at work, when I heard the call "Hey! Netherlands! Remember me?" Of course I did. He had passed the exam on his next attempt, with the confidence and technique I had taught him, and gone on to apprentice as a copier repairman. What a pleasure it was to run into him, reminisce for a few minutes, and note his found succes, before life again took us in different directions.

My recommendation is to (of course) accept the money offered, but not to look to it for your measure of success as a tutor. Seek the rewards inherent in the tutoring itself for that, and take students as they arrive at your office door.

Update Repeating a comment of mine below:
The depth of understanding that a tutor acquires by teaching poor students, well, I believe is very difficult to obtain by other means.

Why? The good students don't need a tutor, but merely a life coach (or perhaps just a kick in the keester); they are more than capable of teaching themselves the material, once provided with motivation.

The true reward of tutoring, since the pay is never sufficient, can only be found from elevating the bad student, who truly requires assistance. Teach simple steps, easily learned by rote, and emphasize the memorized patterns. By this means even the weakest students can be elevated in accomplishment, and achieve a degree of understanding exceeding their start.

Ten years ago I had the opportunity of tutoring a young man, still articulate and very personable, who had suffered a bad head injury that impaired his ability to extend long term memory. It was clear that he had once been bright, but now was struggling to pass a Grade 8 math equivalency to get an apprenticeship. He had been abandoned by numerous tutors before me, who had simply dismissed him as an unteachable idiot; despite his new disability he most certainly was not that.

Week by week we repeated simple patterns for each type of question he would see, that would enable him to solve some problems and get part marks on all the rest by achieving progress towards the solution. I raised his mark from under 10% to over 45% by that means, though unfortunately not quite to the required 50%. Life moved me on after that term, however, and I was unable to finish the task at hand.

A couple of months ago I was sitting at my desk, at work, when I heard the call "Hey! Netherlands! Remember me?" Of course I did. (My name was gone from his long term memory, but not my face or favourite soccer team.) He had passed the exam on his next attempt, with the confidence and technique I had taught him, and gone on to apprentice as a copier repairman. What a pleasure it was to run into him, reminisce for a few minutes, and note his found succes, before life again took us in different directions.

My recommendation is to (of course) accept the money offered, but not to look to it for your measure of success as a tutor. Seek the rewards inherent in the tutoring itself for that, and take students as they arrive at your office door.

Update Repeating a comment of mine below:
The depth of understanding that a tutor acquires by teaching poor students, well, I believe is very difficult to obtain by other means.