Mistakes are Okay- Students often feel uncomfortable making mistakes. Mistakes are a good way for students to learn and identify the things they may not know yet. Reassuring them that it is okay to make mistakes is crucial to allow them to learn to the best of their ability.
Resilience- Resilience creates independent learners. A student’s confidence and effort in their learning is what determines their success. If they believe that they do not need to put any work in to improve then they will never reach their full potential in their learning. Another factor of resilience is never giving up when things are hard. This is a huge accomplishment for a student. If they never give up they not only improve their learning, but they learn an important life skill as well.
Time- Time is very valuable in terms of tutoring and teaching. You do not want to stay on one lesson too long, but you also do not want to move on before a student is ready to. This was a hard thing to get down, especially when our tutoring sessions were only 30 minutes long. This being said, I had to use all of my time as wisely as possible in order for my child to obtain as much information as possible and get the most practice in to help her grow in her literacy.
Relationships are valuable- A student will not fully put the effort in until you establish a good relationship with you. That means that until they trust you and know that you are just there to help them grow they can be very shy at times. Students also appreciate a personable teacher/tutor that they can look up to and go to when they need a trusting adult.
Adaptability- It is so crucial to be adaptable as a teacher/tutor. Every day that we went to tutoring we were not sure whether or not or student would be there. In addition, we had evaluations that we needed to execute on days where we needed to adapt and run through lessons in a quicker but effective manner. We also needed to adapt in terms of how our child was feeling on that day. If they had a bad day at school, they might not want to participate as much as usual which can make going through a lesson more difficult.
Lifelong Learning- The best educators aren’t just interested in teaching they also have a passion for lifelong learning, which is reflected in their enthusiasm and engagement as instructors. Continued learning and professional development deliver invaluable insight, keeping professionals “sharp” and reminding teachers of the real-world challenges that their students may be facing. Teachers do not only teach things to their students, they learn things from their students as well. Two brains and point of views are better than one. When we learn from our students we are able to connect with them more and understand what is going on in their life and most of the time we are very surprised by the things that they know and how smart children are at such young ages.
Empathy- Empathy is the ability to understand what another person is feeling or experiencing. As a teacher, it’s vital to practice empathy instead of making assumptions. It is important to make efforts to understand and address the root issue that’s causing a student to fall behind their peers, perform more poorly than they used to, or lash out in class. In tutoring it was important to have empathy for your student who may not understand what you are saying or are having a rough time and meet them where they are.
Preparedness- If you do not come prepared and have already read your lesson for the day and planned out the lesson then it will not run smoothly. If it does not run smoothly and you scramble around your papers a lot then you do not look prepared to your student either. This causes them to doubt the amount of effort you have towards your time together and they do not believe that you care about them and their well-being. You also then are not being a good role model for your student in terms of organization and preparedness. Hence, it is always important to come prepared for everything in teaching and tutoring.
Focus on Growth- All in all, you are there to help your student grow in their literacy and resiliency. It is important to not stray from your lessons because they are formatted purposefully to help with a student’s education and it is important to not skip anything because there is reasoning behind the order and material in the lessons that we are given. We need to remember the reason why we are there and not stray away from the lessons that we are given.
Self-confidence- Walking into tutoring with confidence was a struggle at times because I felt as though I was not prepared enough or I was going to say the wrong thing. I wanted to make an impact on my child. After talking to her mother at the end of the semester I discovered that I had made an impact in her learning and that felt great to here. It is important to feel confident because in the end, no matter what, you will make an impact on your child if you follow the lessons and meet them where they are. It is okay to have anxiety, but do not doubt yourself and your potential to make a difference in a child’s life.
