Secured my first tutoring job today. This is the way forward. 25 quid cash in hand for one hour a week. If I could squeeze in 6 a week, that's 150 right there. Not a bad supplement to the meagre teacher's salary.
The actual tutoring was brilliant for three reasons. Firstly, I can do Maths and this gives immediate confidence to the parents that I can help. Secondly, the dynamic is so very different to the classroom and that gives me confidence that I can actually teach, rather than a continuous battle with half of the class who look at you blankly as if you are not only boring but stupid as well. Thirdly, and most importantly, I figured out very quickly what the particular issue with this child was - he tries to do everything in is head and then write down the answer. That works at primary school but as the Maths gets harder, they have to learn a few written methods and write their thoughts down.
Having said that, I have stumbled across the central dilemma for many parents whose children struggle a bit at school. If their kids listened in class, concentrated on their work and did the homework, they wouldn't need tutors. When they do get a tutor, the child doesn't bother at school anymore and the parents think that the school hasn't done their job because "look how quickly little Johnnie has caught up with a tutor". Not true in all cases but you see my point.
