To tutor, or not to tutor?

I have been a teacher for 20 years now, working in a variety of different schools such as grammars and some very good comprehensives. I have also taught at comprehensives on special measures. I have been a grade 'A' examiner for Geography at GCSE level (AQA) for several years. I have been a Head of Year and Head of Rugby. I have taught a variety of subjects from my first degree subject of Geography to Maths to PE to Games to Humanities to History to RE to English. I have also been a supply teacher for several years. My second degree is in English. I have managed a scaffolding firm for a short period and I have been a private investigator. As you can see, I have deliberately gone out of my way to give myself an expansive experience as possible in both education and beyond. This has tended to give me a more 'global' view of learning and life that gives balance to my teaching.

Work as a supply teacher has been steadily drying up for years now and finding a part-time or a temporary teaching job was seemingly more difficult. I needed an extra source of income, so I used one of my most bankable assets: my one-to-one rapport with pupils has always been strong.

It also means I don't get embroiled in staffroom politics or have to race through the curriculum teaching disaffected pupils. In short, I can see the fruits of my labours at first hand and concentrate on the very reason why I became a teacher: for students to learn.

My flexible working day also means I can give more time to my first love: writing.

Whatever parents decide to do they should never leave it to the last minute. The best tutors are usually very busy and they may well end up being turned away. Always plan in advance. Don't forget that the tutor only sees the tutee usually for one hour each week, whereas subject teachers may see them for 2-5 hours each week. As a result, in general, a tutor can only have an impact on a tutee's learning and skill level over months - as opposed to weeks. However, this is not always the case and it is more likely that the tutor can have an almost immediate impact on tutee confidence and morale in the first couple of weeks. As a general rule, preparation for June and March examinations should begin before Christmas; preparations for January examinations can start in September or even before. You want to give the tutor time to get to know the tutee and diagnose any problems before setting about correcting them and dovetailing them into the course requirements.

Lower down the school there should be a slower pace to preparations and therefore the lead-ups to SATS and 11+ and 12+ could well take longer. 11+ examinations frequently involve a battery of numeracy and literacy tests and therefore are more wide-ranging than a specific GCSE course. At the moment, I am tutoring one pupil a whole year in advance of them taking the local 11+ examination.

There's no one big problem, just a series of little irritants. For one, there aren't enough hours in the day from 4pm to 8pm. If I could use the Tardis to cut down on my travel time in the rural area I live in I might be able to squeeze in another lesson each evening! When I am close to being fully booked up it can be very difficult matching up my availabilities with potential tutees.

Late cancellations from parents are also frustrating and costly, especially when I am in the process of making the journey. As a rule I now ask for at least a week's notice if tutees are unable to make lessons.

On a few occasions with young tutees it is clear that the parents need to get involved and do extra work with them but have been reticent. Perhaps they a lack of unconfident about their own learning. This is frequently the cause of many learning difficulties in the first place. The more parents are involved, the better - no matter what a troublesome teenager might say!

Most of the students I teach don't get enough homework anyway so it usually isn't a problem. If this isn't the case then a quick chat with the tutee and a parent will give me a good picture of their out-of-school work commitments so I can judge whether I am overworking them or not. The danger comes with overly conscientious students who always want to please. It is also a luxury of tutoring that you can do tasks teachers dream of doing but never get around to because of curriculum constraints. Therefore working as a tutee with me can be fun . . . some of the time.

It's hard to say: there are always technical problems in learning that affect a student's attitude to learning and then there are the social problems they go through that also affect learning. The learning and the morale both feed off each other. I think a big part of what I do is diagnosis, finding out what is going wrong and at what point. There are always things you as a tutor can't control and I see part of my job as equipping them with life skills and approaches to learning that will give them ways around roadblocks when I am no longer there. Frequently, tutees struggle with the approaches of certain school teachers (bearing in mind I only hear one side of the argument) and in a way it's up to me to negotiate the peace and give them the skills to cope with the situation. I must always do my job for what I am paid to do but it will always work so much better if I can be a friend and mentor as well as an educator.

It's more likely that parental 'pushiness' comes from an anxiety about their child's progress or the vagaries of the education system that they can't control, especially when the education system in the area is selective. I have a few stock phrases that come in handy: "education of the whole child" and "children aren't exam fodder". No one ever performed well when they were uptight and stressed, apart from John McEnroe. It is important to make the burden light and easy for both children and parents. Reassurance and comfort can ease tensions and worry. You can't make your child pass the 11+ by worrying and becoming controlling. You can only do what you can do and it will never be the end of the world. A smile, a listening ear and bit of insider knowledge about the whole process and what to expect is usually enough to calm an anxious elephant.

They can call me on my mobile: 07724 578168. They can email me: daz.sarge@btinternet.com . Or they can see my profiles on a number of tutoring sites such as Tutor Hunt, First Tutors and UK Tutors.