Tutoring experience - Part 2

 I recently started tutoring a kid and I have to say that while it is rewarding and delightful to be imparting knowledge to the kid, it is also very frustrating and trying. 

I met a retired school principal and we were discussing teaching experiences. He told me that he avoided teaching kids who were not interested in studying. He explained that while some kids have the intelligence to study and understand, lack the interest. Such kids would find it hard to pay attention despite the teacher's efforts. You can try imparting knowledge with physical models, videos that are educational and entertaining but they would watch it for the entertainment and not be interested in studying. He further explained that one of the reasons is the lack of initiative and discipline from the parents. They discover that the kid is not doing well in school, hire a part time tutor and expect the tutor to ensure the kid does the schoolwork and pass on the responsibility of education to the tutor. 

Unfortunately, the kid I tutor fell into this category. She is intelligent and capable of understanding. However, she has not been disciplined to study or pay attention to studies by her parents. As a result, she finds it difficult to learn subjects she thinks are boring, questions the need for education and hard work, while studying subjects that she finds easy and not attempt to solve math problems which she thinks are hard. 

It is very frustrating to teach such kids. Her father said that he tried to teach her but gave up when she would not listen to him. She would wake up on time for school, but would sleep until 11 am during the weekends, would not study and play or watch tv at home. Her mom tried to teach her while doing the household chores and working a full time job. Her dad called me for tutoring and explained that he wanted to hire a tutor to see if the kid would study and listen to a person who is not part of their family. 

Over the course of a few months, I have seen reasonable progress with the kid. She is now capable of reading while she could not read prior to tutoring. I was very pleased to be able to help the kid with reading and solving math problems. I have tried to make her learning experience enjoyable by including videos and visual aids. I keep changing the mode of teaching and coming up with different solutions to keep her engaged and adjust my methods to suit the attention span of the kid. 

It has been an interesting journey and I have learned a lot about myself during this journey. My patience has improved, I am getting better at handling situations when the kid gets disinterested and obstinate, coming up with solutions to gain the attention and methods to improve the reading and comprehensive skills of the kid. I would say that while teaching is a rewarding experience, it is important that the kid is interested in gaining knowledge and that would make it an enjoyable experience for both the tutor and the kid.