Polina
russian language tutor
“I was studying with a student, and everything seems to be fine, but one day I come, her brother opens the door, with the words“ Come in, but Masha is not at home ”. I pass, I see their mother, who is trying to find Masha. After half an hour and about a dozen unanswered calls, an SMS comes in: “So today is it? Tomorrow? " In such stories, the students themselves amaze me more. Each time I ask them to write down the time of the class in their notebooks and put a notification on their phone. How do they manage to live up to grades 9-11 with such irresponsibility? We did not work with her for long. The last straw was the situation when I came to her class, as usual, and she opens the door in her dressing gown: “Didn't your mother call you? I'm sick. " It is not entirely clear why she herself was not able to call or write. "
Irina
english tutor
“There was not a very adequate woman who wanted me to work with her five-year-old child. At the same time, she taught me how to conduct the lesson, was going to attend the lesson and bring the children of her friends to it - that is, it turned out not an individual lesson, but a group. The funniest thing about this is the payment: 350 rubles for half an hour, moreover, they had to study at their home, which was still a bus ride from the metro. In general, I refused on the pretext of a tight schedule. "
Susanna
italian tutor
“I studied with two sisters: the eldest was 20 years old, the youngest - 12. Initially, they agreed that I would teach only the eldest, and then they put me before the fact that both would study. The age difference between them is decent, and here a completely different approach is needed, but no one listened to me. Since I was just starting, I did not dare to refuse. They were strange, in the classroom, like first graders, laughing at Italian words. And once they canceled the lesson five minutes before the start - given that it was an hour and a half to get to them (by metro, then by tram and still on foot), and it was quite late in the evening.
The Russian language is one of the most demanded subjects in our country, along with the foreign one. Many schoolchildren, students and even adults want to improve their knowledge in this area, therefore it is a profitable and very correct decision.
We think carefully about everything and repeat the material
But in order to give knowledge to others, you need to have it yourself. Before you place an advertisement about the services provided and start looking for students, you should soberly assess your knowledge of this discipline.
- not necessarily a person with a special pedagogical education, but you must understand for yourself that you will need not only to present the material, but also to explain it, to support it with rules and examples. Therefore, if you have no education, but you are sure that you know Russian perfectly well, then you still need to devote a little time and study the basic rules of grammar and phonetics, get acquainted with the names of philological phenomena, and also study in detail the school curricula in Russian language (since most clients are schoolchildren). If you are even ready to start preparing adolescents for the exam, then you need to approach this issue thoroughly, purposefully reviewing the tasks of recent years and purchasing special teaching aids.
And a few more important points
1. Initially, let your parents understand that you are not a magician, and it is impossible to expect a miracle from the first lesson right away.
2. Not all students will be pleasant to you, but you simply have to please them.
3. Keep in touch with your parents.
4. If the child yawns during the lesson and looks at the clock, do not waste your time - say goodbye to him, since there will be no sense from him.
5. Always prepare carefully for each session. Don't rely on improvisation.
6. If the child has forgotten to pay - do not hesitate to remind him about it.
Tutoring is not an easy profession that requires patience and strength, so if you nevertheless decide to take the teacher's path, then do not forget - you will also need to constantly learn and improve your knowledge.
Many novice tutors ask themselves questions: how to organize classes correctly, what to prepare for a training lesson, how to correctly structure work with a student.
Julia, a beginner tutor, turned to me for advice:
In the past, I am a teacher of chemistry and biology, later I received an additional. education and I was fortunate enough to work as a practical psychologist. For many years now I have been far from my favorite fields of activity. It so happened that I have to become a tutor in chemistry, moreover, after the New Year holidays, a student will come to me (grade 10). He has plans to pass the exam and enroll in a medical university. I rushed to compile a resource catalog (I successfully used yours).
So, if you have never conducted tutoring or other educational activities (trainings, seminars, group meetings), then you need to complete and prepare the following points:
Subject training
To become a more or less decent tutor, you need to have a lot of knowledge and skills, both in the field of teaching, and in the subject and general human.
First pull up all your subject competencies: just read any textbook on preparation for the subject. Take advantage of this list. Even if you did a good job at school and even graduated with honors (and even more so you work as a university teacher), this does not mean that you are a good tutor. You need to repeat and structure your knowledge unambiguously.
I remember how in the first year of tutoring I bought up all possible literature on preparing for final exams and excitedly read all the topics, discovering something new for myself every time in biology and chemistry, drew up mind maps, notes, wrote out facts in a notebook, although on the shelf the diploma of the biology department was gathering dust. This speaks not of my incompetence after training, but only of the discrepancy between the school and university curriculum, the fragmentation and lack of structure of knowledge.
Find such textbooks and manuals on your subject, make a selection according to the complexity of the presentation of the material,
There is nothing difficult in this, just "tighten" yourself first in the subject.
Subject test
Thanks to the subject test, you can determine the initial level of knowledge of the student in the subject. The test result is important
a) to draw up a training program (as far as necessary),
b) to understand how the student grasps and remembers
Take the USE / OGE assignments of previous years or any collection to prepare for exams, throw out the difficult, leave the tests for quick verification.
For this case, I have prepared 5 different types of testing * for each subject (including in electronic form on my blog - here is an example).
* How to prepare trial testing (and why there are 5 of them), if you want, I will tell you in a separate material.
Psychological test
Take the test for educational motivation and development of the hemispheres, the temperamental questionnaire (although this can already be determined), 
test for memory and attention.
The main thing is that you can interpret the test results and apply them in your practice, otherwise it all loses its meaning.
Just do not take questionnaires on 101 questions, it will take 50 minutes to complete, and the result of passing will be 1-2 words. Look for convenient and visual techniques, for example, IQ drawing tests, they will not only give a result, but also entertain the child while performing them.
Training program
I never work with spaces, I always go through everything from A to Z, only lingering in each topic depending on the level. For example, if a student in botany is generally 0, but he remembers anatomy, we study plants, and we walk through a person superficially. This is one of my methods of implementing an individual approach.
You can make a program:
a) based on the school curriculum for each grade, if you work with younger or middle school students;
b) taking into account a special program for some teaching technologies, for example, Elkonin-Davydov or Zaitsev;
c) data of the USE / OGE codifier, if you are working with older students or applicants;
d) develop your training program (Attention! Author's programs are a lot of work, many years of experience and painstaking work. If you rearranged 2 themes and merged 2 more, and dropped 2, this is not the author's program yet!)
Teaching materials and CMMs
It doesn't matter if you teach online or in person, you will need teaching materials to help you lead the lesson.
Here's what will come in handy for classes (especially for the first time):
- Prepare a thematic lesson plan
- For each lesson, write an outline, at least in the form of a simple list of what comes after what and what questions to ask the student
- Lesson notes for the student
- Printed visual materials (diagrams, tables, figures, IR, maps, portraits, route sheets, cards)
- Download at least 1 presentation on each topic according to the lesson plan
- Find YouTube videos for some lessons
- Assignments and tests for each topic
Tests can be taken online or taken thematic tests, not collections of options for the exam, it makes sense to use them only at the very end of the course.
USE assignments
If you are going to prepare a student for the Unified State Exam / OGE, first read the codifier and demo tasks for these exams, find out the dates and the preparation program. The USE assignments are not fundamentally different from ordinary school ones, they just have their own specifics.
Feedback
Sometimes it is enough to look at the student, and you will understand how he learned the material, and sometimes (most often) you need to update his new knowledge and skills, repeat, consolidate and pay attention.
I wish you success in your hard work as a tutor!
Want to ask your question? - Email me [email protected]website or fill out the form on the link Contact. I am happy to share my best practices and advise beginner tutors.
Nobody is immune to mistakes. Even more beginners. But in some professions — engineer, doctor, teacher, and others — mistakes can be costly. This article is an attempt to provide some tips that may help you avoid these mistakes.
1. Self-doubt
As the saying goes, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." Coming to the lesson for the first time, any tutor should make a positive impression, and a beginner - three times. Excessive excitement of a beginner tutor (trembling hands and voice, obsessive movements) can make a strange impression, which he has nothing to smooth out, in contrast to a teacher with experience, to some features of which, in principle, you can close your eyes.
Lack of self-confidence and fear of disliking the student can force the tutor to incorrectly build a line of behavior with him - with "flirting" and erasing the necessary distance in the relationship, which, in turn, weaken his authority and allow the student to work half-heartedly. You cannot go to the other extreme, putting on the mask of an evil teacher, forbidding and threatening. The mask will fly off sooner or later, revealing your true face, and this will allow the student to behave with you without any respect. Before going to class, do a little exercise, take a deep breath, lift your head and smile at your reflection in the mirror. You have enough knowledge to pass on to others, charm to please people, and confidence to be yourself when they are confused.
Do not be late for the lesson, but if you still feel that you will not be in time on time, be sure to call: no one will kill you for the very fact of being late, and with your call you will leave the impression of at least a polite person. Do not take on all the offers in a row: while your rate is low, while traveling from one end of the city to the other, you will spend half of the money you earn on transport, the time during which you could spend one more lesson, and the energy that you, of course, still have will be needed.
2. Randomness of classes, lack of expressed requirements
Even before the start of classes, you must form a certain set of rules common to everyone, and later supplement it with items that are constant for a particular student. For example, I strongly recommend many students to have several notebooks at the very first lesson: for recording various kinds of theory, for test papers and for homework. Moreover, if you start them, you and the student should lead them at each lesson, and not when you accidentally remember about it. The student also needs to be taught to order: he must always know where his notebooks and books are, prepare them in advance and not lose. The loss of a task, from the point of view of a negligent student, is a very good reason for its failure. Therefore, if you do not study using textbooks, but using various handouts, recommend that the student create a special folder for them. Create a diary for yourself or some kind of journal: it will be convenient to write down the material covered, homework and mistakes of each student, which, in your opinion, should be worked on next time, because keep all this information in your head, especially when you will have a lot of students, not so easy.
You must clearly and clearly inform the parents of the students about the cost of classes, the days and times that are suitable for you, the requirements for the child, your position regarding the cancellation and rescheduling of classes, and also subsequently promptly inform parents about the bad behavior of children or their failure to complete homework, not allow they ride themselves and say goodbye to them without regrets when this begins to happen.
3. Lack of lesson plan
It is a mistake to think that good knowledge of the subject allows you not to prepare for the lesson. Especially if you are still at the very beginning of the journey. It is necessary to draw up a plan in which you indicate what exactly you will do in the lesson and how long it will take you to complete each item. But the plan cannot be treated formally. No matter how simple the material may seem to you, you need to study it very carefully, noting to yourself the ways of explaining it (the more, the better: one is always not enough), the possible difficulties of students and ways to overcome them, possible answers of students to oral and written assignments. In addition, you should always be prepared for the fact that a student's homework may not be done or not completely done, so instead of quickly checking it and starting a new topic, you will have to do something else. Thus, the plan should provide several options for the development of the lesson. Time for the implementation of the points of the plan must be calculated in advance and distributed evenly, without delving into any one task to the detriment of the rest. It is completely unacceptable to interrupt a student in the midst of an assignment simply because you yourself have not calculated how much time it will take from him.
4. Consistent approach to different students
If you are a novice teacher, then most likely you have not yet formed an extensive methodological library, and now it is important for you not to be afraid to master new things. Different students have different problems and different goals, so you should use different textbooks, and not one or two that you know best. Spend time searching and pre-grading materials so that you do not waste it in the future on something that the student does not need at all. Subsequently, in order to facilitate the search for the necessary material on a particular topic, it will be possible to compile a catalog of available resources.
5. Unwillingness to answer questions
Active, motivated students are a real gift for any tutor, but a headache for a beginner. Surprises lie in wait at every step: for example, if you teach a foreign language and, while studying the topic "Professions", ask a student who his parents work, then please do not expect that everyone will be teachers, engineers or doctors. A teacher of a foreign language may face the problem of the specific interests of the student, which lie outside his linguistic competence, and therefore experience difficulties in translating one term or another (details of airplanes, dance figures). In this case, it will not hurt you to familiarize yourself with one or another category of vocabulary, but inform the student that you cannot know everything and push him to independent discoveries. In turn, in a physics lesson, a student may have his own alternative view of the cause of some natural phenomena, and you must put yourself in his place in order to understand his point of view and clarify any questions.
6. Lack of self-control with slow learners
On the other hand, students who do not think so quickly require a lot of self-control from the tutor, because you can never shout at them, even if you really, really want to. Screaming and swearing scare children, block their thought processes and create complexes. Even if you have to explain the material in twenty-five different ways, before the student understands what is wanted from him, try to treat it positively. You are a super teacher if you know twenty-five ways to explain one topic, and Indian yogis would envy your patience! In addition, in the end, you will still achieve your goal, and the gratitude of such a student will be much higher.
A novice teacher, student or yesterday's student may be in some euphoria from gaining new professional knowledge or a new status and sincerely wish to teach the student everything at once. With such generosity, he can do harm, not benefit, disrupt the student's picture of the world and make him doubt the teaching system used in this subject at this stage, especially when it comes to elementary school. A second grader, like his name, learns that it is impossible to divide by zero, but if the tutor informs him between times that this is not entirely true, then he will be guaranteed a misunderstanding with the school teacher and a decrease in grades. The other extreme is to avoid any complications and terminology altogether, even the one that the student should be aware of (“addition”, “adverb”, “diffusion”, “catalyst”), and use descriptive phrases instead, so as not to overload his brain. It is necessary to firmly know the curriculum of each class and adhere to it, making allowance for the depth of knowledge and ability of each individual student.
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And makes money like a techie
For two years after university I worked as a teacher of Russian language and literature. She quit because of a salary of 8500 rubles. I decided to work for myself and became a tutor.
Eva Ivanova
russian language and literature tutor
At first, I worked through intermediary platforms and went to the home of students. Over time, new students began to apply on the recommendation, and now not me, but they come to my home for lessons. Now I earn 95,000 rubles a month. I'll tell you how I did it.
Intermediary platforms
First, I found four intermediary sites and signed up for them. Such platforms work according to a tender scheme: the customer creates an application, the tutor leaves a response to it, and the administrator selects a suitable tutor.
Of the four, only one site, Your Tutor, immediately inspired me to trust: when registering, I had to fill out a detailed form, indicate personal information, information about education and experience, attach a photo.
My tutor profile appeared on the site only a few days later. Before that, the administrator called for a short interview and verified the authenticity of the data. Then I indicated the cost of one lesson and the areas to which I am ready to travel.
The platform encouraged tutors to get certified to increase client confidence. The procedure was simple, and I immediately sent all the documents: scans of diplomas and certificates and my photo with a spread of my passport so that my surname and photo could be seen. Three years ago a tutor could get certified at will, now it is a mandatory requirement of the site. It will not be possible to receive an order without confirmation of identity and specialty.
The platform is free for clients. The tutor pays a percentage of the order price after the first lesson. Usually this is the full cost of 1-2 lessons.
I received my first student two weeks after registration. After a month and a half, I got a rating, which consists of the feedback from my parents. The higher the rating, the more opportunities to get customers.
The other three sites worked formally: the boards with orders were empty, and the tutor was not checked in any way during registration. For 3 years they have not brought a single order.
Work rules
To begin with, I decided to work on the road and study with students in grades 6-9.
After a couple of months, I realized that I was spending a lot of time and money on the road. And I also live in Siberia - it is cold to stand at bus stops in winter and ride public transport.
In addition, each house has its own rules and habits, I did not always fit into them. Some have a lot of cats, and I have allergies. I worked with one boy for 3 months in the kitchen, and all this time under my chair were a chocolate wrapper and a juice lid. Same wrapper and lid. In another house, the child's father came into the room during class and stood behind me in his underpants. Thank you for wearing your underpants.
I began to worry about my safety: I made a schedule table, entered the time of classes, addresses, phone numbers and names of my parents there and gave it to my family.
For the first lesson, I took with me a copy of my passport and diplomas. I showed my parents so that they were sure that I was me. I didn't allow them to be photocopied or photographed: she explained that the intermediary company had all the data about me.
Offsite Tutor Rules
Warn me if you're late.
It is uncomfortable or dangerous to leave.
Include the cost of travel in the cost of the lesson.
Set boundaries: do not participate in family squabbles, do not dine, do not accept anything as a gift.
A year later, I gave up working in other people's homes and began to take only those students who were ready to come to me.
When strangers came to my house, I became doubly worried about safety. I try to schedule the first lesson for a time when there is someone at home besides me. In an emergency, I keep a pepper spray in my desk.
In three years, there was only one incident that made me worry. In the wake of the news about a teacher who seduced three students, one eleventh grader thoughtfully asked what would happen if he told his parents that we did not study Russian at all. She calmly answered that they would put me in jail for no reason, and he and my other students would be left without a cool teacher on the eve of the exam. Since then, she began to record all the lessons with him on a dictaphone.
Despite my fears, I try to be respectful and friendly to all students and to remember that most of them are uncomfortable in someone else's home. In the winter I offer the frozen children tea and candy, and in the summer - water or juice.
Rules for working at home
Warn the student if there are animals in the house; ask if there are any allergies.
Prepare a bright workplace, a comfortable chair, a spare handle. Remove everything that distracts attention.
Prepare for the students to use the bathroom and toilet - do not dry underwear there, remove cosmetics, personal belongings and toilet water.
Remove valuables from visible places.
Put up with socks.
Parents
Although I work with children, my clients are my parents. They pay for the classes, so I try to give them enough attention.
During my work, I realized that it is necessary to tell in detail about the rules and procedure of work during the first call. But this is not enough. Better to print or email the memo.
I always invite my parents to the first lesson, but for three years none of them came.
I also clarify in what way it is more convenient to communicate: calls, SMS, Telegram or other instant messengers. If a student does not come to class, I call or write to clarify if everything is in order. Doesn't do homework, doesn't write essays - I warn my parents that this will affect the result of my work.
With high school students, I directly resolve issues of rescheduling or working off missed lessons. When you teach schoolchildren in grades 5-9, all changes in the schedule must be coordinated with the parents.
pupils
Most eleventh graders ask their parents to find a tutor themselves because they are worried about the upcoming exams. They are ready to work and know that the result depends on them. It is easy and pleasant to study with such students.
There are also lazy or capricious children. They are forced to study by their parents, so they perceive the tutor as a punishment: rebel, ignore assignments, chat or answer calls during the lesson. I don't work with such people.
If a student does not do his homework, skips classes without warning, I tell both him and the parents that I see no point in such lessons. Either the student starts learning, or I stop studying with him.
The most important thing in working as a tutor: I can choose myself with whom I work.
Result
I am convinced that no tutor can guarantee a specific result on the exam. I tell my parents about this directly during the first communication. The only guarantee that I give: the student's level of knowledge will be much higher than that with which he came to me.
If my parents demand that I promise 100 points on the exam, I politely refuse to cooperate. The USE results depend on many factors: even the most prepared student on the exam can get confused, fall into a stupor or hysteria.
In the first lesson, I test the student, check the level of knowledge. Then I call my parents to tell them what results it is possible to achieve in the time left before the exam.
The average USE score that my students received over the past 3 years: Russian - 96 points; literature - 87.
Money
I work in a different way: the guys pay off immediately after the lesson. It happens that a student forgets about payment. I'm uncomfortable asking about money, so last year I came up with a little trick - I ask: "Masha, do I need to look for change?"
In order not to keep in mind that someone owes me money, I accept transfers to the card only from those with whom I work on Skype. I ask you to pay for the first distance lesson before it starts, the rest after, but on the same day.
The basic rule is not to work on credit
There are parents who talk about a hard life and promise to pay in a week or a month. In such situations, I calmly say: “I understand you, but, unfortunately, I cannot work on such conditions. I hope you will quickly cope with the difficulties encountered. I can keep my timetable until that date. I will wait for Masha (Sasha, Pasha). "
In the first year, I worked at a rate of 600 rubles for 90 minutes. In a month I have recruited 6 students. Income per month was about 29,000. Minus travel and snack costs.
The second year I worked at a rate of 750 rubles for 90 minutes. I had 10 students at the same time. The average monthly income has become 60,000. And there are no minuses on the way, because the students themselves came to me.
In the second year of cooperation, "Your Tutor" gave me access to remote orders - I started working with students from Moscow and St. Petersburg via Skype. In these cities, the cost of a full-time Russian language and literature lesson ranges from 1,500 to 5,000 rubles per 90 minutes. Those who want to save money work with tutors from the regions.
Every year I increase the cost of an hour of class a little. Now I work at a rate of 1,000 rubles for 90 minutes. It is expensive for Siberia, but there are no fewer students. My average monthly income is 95,000 rubles.
1000 RUB
in 90 minutes - at this rate I work now
Word of mouth started working - students come directly, on the recommendations of other guys. For such orders, you do not need to pay a percentage to the site, this saves me about 10 thousand rubles.
In summer and September, there are practically no students. Therefore, I postpone the entire working year. I leave at least 200 thousand for four empty months - 50 thousand per month.
Tax
Intermediary companies do not pay taxes for a tutor - it is the responsibility of the tutors themselves. But according to the law, tutors have tax holidays - they may not pay taxes if they themselves provide services for personal needs. To do this, you need to submit a notification to the inspection. Then you won't have to pay anything to the budget and report on income for 2017 and 2018.
So far I have not submitted a notification, but I still have time to do it in order to comply with the law and not be in debts to the state. For two years, I will not pay anything to the budget, and then the exemption will either be extended, or they will come up with a simplified procedure for self-employed tutors.
I am for legalization: even if they don’t come up with anything, after the tax holidays I will register as an individual entrepreneur and will pay 6% of income.
Outcome
Pros of working as a tutor:
- good income, especially for my city;
- you organize the working day yourself;
- interesting work;
- you can choose with whom to work and with whom not;
- losers, and therefore clients, will always be.
- great responsibility if you are preparing a student for the exam;
- at times it gets boring to say the same thing five times a day;
- students get sick, endure classes, skip, sometimes disappear altogether;
- inadequate customers come across.