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A Tutor's Journey
Jane Stratton • August 26, 2020
My tutoring Journey
Have I always wanted to be a tutor?
No!
I fell into it by accident….. 28 years ago. It resulted from a chance encounter with a family friend whose son, Andrew, was struggling at school due to dyslexia; he had been told that he was on target to drastically fail Higher Biology. I was on a health-induced break from studying a medical degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics and knowing that I had studied all three sciences at school, Andrew’s mum thought I might be up to the challenge of helping him. My tutoring career began!
I thoroughly enjoyed working with Andrew and explaining the Higher concepts seemed to come naturally. My father had dyslexia, so I had no negative judgements about his additional learning needs; he was grateful for the help and we got on well. Andrew passed his Higher and was absolutely delighted. My name was passed on to others and I have never looked back!
Back then of course, there were no home computers; all my notes were hand-written and copied on a fax machine! I worked from black and white books and photocopied past papers. How times have changed! To advertise, I made an A4 poster with my home phone number (I didn’t have a mobile back then) on little detachable flaps. I always felt a youthful sense of excitement when a few weeks later I’d have to replace the advert as all the flaps were gone!
Over the years, not only have tutoring and technology changed but so has my life…. drastically! When I started, I was young (very), single, living at home with my parents and dreaming of a medical career. Never once did I envisage myself tutoring long-term. The thing is, life rarely pans out as planned.
By my early twenties, I was married and very happy but had seen my medical career hopes dashed by very poor health. In time, I would work my way through other qualifications and also go back to University but not to follow that original dream. Now however, I can contribute to so many youngsters’ dreams for future careers, and that is pretty special. I continued tutoring while learning how to be a wife and loved the fact that I could fit it around all our other commitments, socialising and travel.
A decade later, I had three amazing children and life was very hectic. I was still tutoring and was pretty well known in the area that we lived. I was thoroughly enjoying being able to be a full-time mum to my children; something that I had always wanted to do. I tutored in the evenings when the children were in bed and I loved the flexibility it afforded me. It fitted well around family life and it felt more like a hobby that I was sharing with others.
Tutoring had changed in many ways. One most notable difference was how many learners had tutors. I lived in an area served by high achieving schools, and many youngsters were under pressure to perform to an A-grade standard. In the early days, I was being asked to support pupils with specific learning needs or those who had suffered long absences from school. This had changed drastically. Of the pupils I was seeing, while many still had additional support needs, several were broken in terms of their confidence and self-esteem; sadly, this is still the same today. Not only am I sharing my passion for Biology, I am also supporting youngsters to believe that they CAN do it! It is still every bit as rewarding as it ever was, but it now has added aspects to it.
Currently in my forties, heading towards my fifties, I can look back and see just how perfect this career has been for me. All my children have additional support needs and have needed a hands-on mum to advocate on their behalf and negotiate what has been to them, a stressful and damaging education system. I have gained such a wealth of knowledge of child development, neurodiversity, education systems and learning styles, both in my personal life and in my career, that I am now able to offer so much to the families and youngsters with whom I work. I bring to my tutoring, not only knowledge learned from research and qualifications but more importantly from lived experience. It has given me a confidence in what I do too, and I have been able to adapt over the years from black and white books and paper posters through the introduction of coloured books and laminated adverts (!) to eBooks, social media marketing, websites, a plethora of digital resources and a physical in-house science lab for practical experiments and monthly tutorials. With the Covid-19 situation, I have seamlessly moved to online tutoring and am actually thoroughly enjoying being able to offer my services further afield, although I also look forward to the day when I am able to see some pupils again face-to-face.
Education itself has seen numerous changes over the years, with the need once again for drastic change. I have learnt so much about adapting my tutoring style as curriculum changes have been introduced and assessments have been redesigned. Many have opposed these changes but as tutors, we have to constantly adapt if we are to successfully support today’s learners. Private tutoring, with its flexibility, personal approach and adaptability lends itself well to modern learning and I just love what I do!
For so many people who have recently graduated, lost their job or whose family situation has changed, employment is looking bleak. All I can say is, if you are passionate about a subject, and would love to share it whilst also improve the prospects for the next generation, give tutoring a try; it can truly change your life!
What Does a Decade-Long Wait Mean?
WOW!
JUST WOW!
Imagine me open-mouthed and lost for words! Quite difficult? That’s because it doesn’t happen often.
However, that was exactly what happened at the end of the most amazing workshop I attended yesterday at the ITAKOM conference.
Hands down, it was the most effective and informative session about neurodiversity I have ever attended (and I have attended quite a few).
The reason it was so good? It was delivered by a group of neurodiverse young adults from the Neuropoint Stakeholders Group from the Salvesen Mindroom.
It's hard to believe that I've been doing this for a year now. Sitting down at my computer a few times a week and getting to speak to unique, intelligent and wonderful young people who all want to push themselves that little bit further. In light of this, It feels only right to reflect on what I've learned myself in this time. Spoiler alert; it's far more than I thought I would. Expect the unexpected It's safe to say I didn't think I was going to end up doing this, and I think that's a big part of what has made the experience so special. Life is so unpredictable, and for someone who loves to plan, it's huge for me to even say those words. But, more often than not, unpredictability leads to where you were meant to go. Don't fear trying something new, you might like where it gets you. Be willing to ask for help The only reason I am where I am is through the support of others. Be it Jane , for helping me get started with the business, to my family supporting me through it, and even to my friends for reassuring me when I wasn't sure if I could do it. Asking and offering help is, as we have all learned in the past year and a half, one of the most essential parts of our humanity. We undeniably need each other, and shouldn't be afraid to admit it. Never Underestimate Young People This is the second biggest lesson I learned. Every single young person I had the joy of interacting with over this first year has disproven every stereotype the world puts out there. They are all bright, brilliant communicators, funny, unique and caring. There wasn't one session where they didn't also ask me how I was before we started. Each one of them proved to me that they didn't deserve to be underestimated in the slightest. Pulling their grades up through hard work, teaching me something I didn't know, creating masterful pieces of writing, and even proving to themselves that they knew what they were doing. We need to listen more to our teenagers This, for me, is the biggest lesson for everyone who may come across this post. I have always valued the voices of our young people. I believe they're fundamental to our developing society and our future. Unfortunately, I know many who would rather believe the contrary. The individuals that I worked with over this year proved that young people deserve a say in their lives, their future, and their education. Many of them are passionate to take a stand for their peers, they just need the support. I love doing this. At the end of the day, it's simple. I always thought I'd be working with young people in some capacity, and here I am. Three weeks out from beginning my teaching journey, and from tutoring beginning again. I honestly cannot wait. Being able to make a difference, no matter how small, means a lot to me. I fell in love with this role over the last year, and I can't wait to keep going. So, to the Kirkwood Tutoring Class of 2021, I wish you all the luck in the world. You all deserve it 10 times over. And thank YOU, for teaching me and trusting me. I hope the world is kinder to you all this year.
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