Tutoring for Extra Cash Can Be Rewarding as Well as Profitable

There are countless children in your very own neighborhood who can't read a short paragraph, write a simple sentence or remember the answer to two times two and there are parents who are willing to pay real money for someone to work through such problems with their child. You could be that someone.

You don't need a teaching certificate to be a tutor; if you have a reasonable amount of patience, and can read, write, and do basic math, you can teach others to do the same.

Getting Started

Begin by phoning the nearest elementary school and volunteer to help children who are having trouble with reading or math; then spend a few weeks actually working with them. Study their textbooks and vocabulary lists. Learn what words a first, second, or third grader needs to know. How well are they expected to write? What number skills should they have? How many children really do have problems with their schoolwork?

Ask lots of questions. Most teachers are happy to share their talents and can acquaint you with materials that are effective with different types of children. They may loan you books on how to teach and show you how to motivate slow learners. Write down good ideas; ask for copies of worksheets. Some teachers may even provide you with references if they find out what you are planning to do.

Choose a Good Location

A convenient location is very important. Your own home may be a good choice if very young children can get there by walking or riding the school bus. If your location is not favorable, check out churches and clubs, the local park district, and the public library for available space.

Banks often have public meeting rooms they are willing to lend free of charge for public service projects. (The attack on illiteracy, even for a fee, certainly ought to qualify as such.) If you are a former teacher, substitute teacher, or teacher's aide, many schools will allow you to perform after-school tutoring in one of their classrooms.

Find Your Clients

Spread the word about your tutoring business though your friends, via the community market bulletin board, at club meetings you attend, etc. Contact near-by schools to offer your services to students who, because of illness or some other handicap, have been unable to attend classes regularly and have fallen behind their classmates.

Place an eye-catching ad in the local newspaper. The ad should state clearly, just what services you are offering. Children who do poorly in school seldom read well, so reading is usually the best place to start. You can add math and writing sessions, later. Word your ad something like this:

IS YOUR CHILD FRUSTRATED WITH SCHOOL BECAUSE HE CANNOT READ WELL? HELP HIM HELP HIMSELF. BASIC READING SKILLS CLASSES BEGIN NEXT WEEK. EXPERIENCED TUTOR. REASONABLE RATES. FOR REFERENCES AND TO REGISTER, CALL LAURA JACOBS; 975-3880.

While you wait for your ad to bear fruit, head for the nearest library and check out a number of children's books for beginning readers. Neighborhood garage sales or local Good-Will stores are also valuable sources for usable "I Can Read" or other beginner books at reasonable prices.

Study these books from cover to cover before your students arrive. Then use them to determine the reading levels of your students and to provide interesting reading material for them as they develop skills and become more interested in reading for recreation.

Dealing with Students

Limit each class to four or five, and meet two or three times a week. Use individual loose-leaf notebooks to hold worksheets tailored to the needs of each student. (This is where your volunteering stint at your neighbourhood school will pay off.) If a particular student is having trouble with words that have a silent e, for example, his worksheet for the day will have exercises to strengthen his ability in that area.

While the worksheets are being completed, listen to each student read aloud from previously assigned material. Question him to test his understanding of what he has read, and allow him to return to his worksheet while you proceed to the next student.

A lot of work is involved in preparing the worksheets, because students seldom have the same problems at the same time. Be patient, and save copies of the worksheets you prepare. If you continue to tutor, you will find that the same problems do occur over and over again. Don't hesitate to seek advice from local public school teachers if you encounter anything you can't handle.

Use praise lavishly. Children who do poorly in school have already experienced plenty of failure and criticism. Instead of making red marks all over their worksheets, point out where they are right. When correction is necessary, suggest that a better way might be.....................

Allow free expression of opinions and make your students feel that their opinions are as worthwhile and important as anyone else's.

Above all, see that your students enjoy their sessions with you. Learning will be more fun if you include games, prizes, occasional programs for parents, and special awards and ceremonies for graduates.

Adult Students

In addition to school children who need remedial help, there are many adults who lack the basic reading, writing, or number skills required for holding even the simplest kind of job. You can help them, too.

Whether you are working with children or adults, instruction must be individualized. Find out what is causing trouble and start there.

Adults, because of embarrassment, may try to hide the severity of their problems from you. Request that they read aloud, write for you, or decipher math problems until you are very sure of ability levels. Otherwise, you may waste months reviewing material that is too easy or frustrate them with material that is overly difficult.

For adult students, high-interest, low-vocabulary books are available. Contact schools and public libraries for sources of such material. If you have a local Laubach Society, they can supply you with the materials you need.

Adults may be self-conscious about attending a group class and request individual classes for remedial instruction. Don't write these off as unprofitable or too time- consuming. Such students are usually willing to pay a higher fee than for a regular class and will often progress more rapidly than those in a group. The personal reward of seeing these individuals progress is well worth the extra time invested.

Setting and Collecting Fees

Charge fees that are reasonable for your area and that fairly compensate you for your time and efforts. The most common mistake of beginners is failure to charge enough.

In setting your fees, take into consideration, not only the actual time spent with each student, but also time spent in searching for new materials and in the preparation and correction of worksheets. Be careful, too, to include the cost of notebooks or workbooks supplied by you, and the expense you incur for snacks or incentive prizes.

Unfortunately, there are people who use every excuse they can find to avoid paying their bills. (Their check was late; they couldn't get to the bank on time; they were too busy to stop by; they couldn't find an envelope; etc.) Your bill for tutoring will probably be no exception.

To forestall this problem, require the first month's payment in advance, and explain that a monthly tuition reminder, accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope for their check will be mailed to them once a month. This business-like approach should get you started on the right foot and keep payment problems to a minimum. (Of course you will add the cost of stamps and envelopes to your basic fee.)

Review, carefully, the skills required, facilities needed, and possible clients in your area to decide whether or not tutoring is really for you. If you aren't anxious to get started by then, skip tutoring and look for something that suits you better, but if you are, then go for it. Here's a brief summary to remind you of information pointed out in the article.

Skills required to be a successful tutor.

1. Patience.
2. Basic knowledge of subjects to be tutored.

Facilities needed to do tutoring.

1. Conveniently located meeting place.
2. Table or other work space.
3. Miscellaneous books. (Depending on subjects being tutored.)

Possible clients for your tutoring business.

1. Average children with deficiencies due to short absences from school, longer absences due to extended illness, inattention during class time, or misunderstanding of what is being taught.
2. Slow learners with deficiencies due to medical problems or lack of mental capacity.
3. Adults who never learned, or inadequately learned lessons in their childhood.