The Case for Tutoring

“I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” (Robert Frost)

 I view the student as being an integral part of his/her own education and personal transformation. I assume students value what interests them as well as value their own personal development, time and quality of life. By using online tutors as a resource, they exercise more voice in their education, are their own captains and less passive in their learning.

The student must define and charter the goals of his/her education and to question their learning environment and education system if it is not assisting them in their development and goals. Especially with hybrid and remote learning due to the pandemic, tutoring has been recognized as an indispensable resource by school districts all over the US. “Far and away, the most effective tool we have to begin fixing [learning loss due to COVID-19] is tutoring,” said Robert Slavin, director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University to the Los Angeles Times (Miller, 2020). 

Tutoring provides five benefits. First, is the opportunity to give personalized feedback and support- at the student's pace; tutorees don't have to share the teacher’s attention with the class. Second, having a tutor will increase a student’s confidence, which is invaluable. Third, tutoring supports good study habits: goal setting, organization, time management, and test preparation. Fourth, tutoring supports families. Covid and working remotely, put a strain on teachers and working parents (Blume, 2020), so tutoring is a safety net for students, traditional teachers and society at large. 

 “Every student learns differently, and while some students have struggled with the switch to online schooling, others have thrived. In both cases, tutoring can help, either by giving students who are falling behind added support or by providing an opportunity to set more aggressive learning goals for those who are no longer being challenged” (Hamilton, 2021). 

 The fifth benefit of tutoring is it facilitates trust. With trust, a student can be vulnerable, asking for help, which in turn facilitates learning to ask the right questions. When a student trusts their tutor, this trust can motivate because the tutor’s opinion matters. This is a kind of leverage that is more powerful than punishment. A tutor can be a powerful role model and can give students new ambitions. Meaningful personal growth is not going to happen with temporarily retaining facts to pass a test that is forgotten in the next semester, but growth is more likely with the interpersonal relationship of a tutor. 

 “The biggest impact that tutors can make is not in higher test scores or better spelling papers but in learning techniques and confidence that one-on-one work can instill“ (Rabow 1999, pp. 30-31). 

My superficial goal would be answering the student's question, but also stimulating their self-expression, while provoking deeper questioning. On a profound level, my goal is to provoke reflection, foster relationships of mutual respect and together transform society to value peaceful diversity. 

My view of the role of the tutor is consistent with my philosophy on education and the role of the student. If education is truly a process, then I too am a part of a process, I too am learning and am also actively engaged in my own self-transformation and also navigating my relationship with the global community and social reform. As a tutor, I do not value end results like test scores as the only dynamic mode of learning assessment or one type of teaching style as the only means to engage students. Being a tutor, I have no desire to force-feed the truth or facts to passive students. It’s my job to assist the student to discover the truth for themselves. 

 Sources:

 Blume, Howard (2020, October, 9) Help is on the way for some of L.A.’s most vulnerable students. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-09/tutoring-deal-for-los-angeles-students 

 Hamilton, Ernest (2021, February,9) The Science Times. https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/29573/20210209/how-tutoring-can-improve-outcomes-for-stem-students-in-high-school.htm 

 Miller, Clare Cain (2020, August, 9) ‘I’m Only One Human Being’: Parents Brace for a Go-It-Alone School Year. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/upshot/coronavirus-home-school-parents.htm

 Rabow, Jerome (1999) Tutoring Matters. Temple University Press.