Do you ever get to the end of a busy day and feel like you’ve actually accomplished nothing on your to-do list? This is a frequent occurrence for me, so when a local networking site asked me to write ‘A Day in the Life of a Tutor’ I thought I might as well do it, and perhaps it would give me a little insight into what I do all day too.
If anyone’s interested in tutoring, becoming self-employed or just a bit curious as to what life’s like as a tutor, then read on!
9am:
Drop my son off at Charnwood Nursery before the working day starts.
I love his nursery school as it promotes integration and support of children with additional needs in education. We have close links to the school as it was founded by John and Grace Wyatt who originally set up the nursery in the conservatory of their house- my parents bought this house from them in the mid 1980s, so myself and my brother grew up in ‘Charnwood’.
Inclusion is a really important value for me- the only thing we have in common is our difference!
10am: I’m working with a group of Year 6s in Salford today preparing them for their imminent SATs.
We hit a bit of a brick wall yesterday with reading comprehension so I’m being flexible in my approach and setting some SMART objectives with them.
One of the challenges that I have frequently is that SATs results don’t seem relevant to the children; yes it’s important to school teachers, yes it’s important to parents and yes it’s important to the government. BUT unless we can find a way to make the learning and results relevant, they’re not going to be in a positive learning state, and they’re not going to achieve what they’re capable of.
Today I’m taking a step back from SATs practice to look at the bigger picture, take a ‘whole child’ approach and set some objectives with them so I can get to know what’s making them tick.
12:30pm
Lunch and just enough time to check emails and make a quick phone call. A mum has contacted me and would like her severely visually impaired daughter to join my Easter Course. I need to make sure I have the correct support in place for her daughter, so I call Stockport Cerebral Palsy Society to see if they have any staff available.
3:10pm
Quick shop pitstop to get my son’s teachers an Easter egg (and a pizza and bottle of wine for me!) before I start my afternoon and evening tutoring sessions. I’m constantly juggling the responsibilities of being a mum and working- no wonder the day goes so fast and my list gets long and longer!
3:45pm
I’ve got my SATs tutoring group this afternoon. As it’s getting closer to exams, I’m looking at individual needs and knowledge gaps based on each child’s requirements. I love the variety of the groups and how the children have the added bonus from peer learning as well as learning from me.
“When I pass my SATs and when I’m old enough, I’m going to get ‘CARRIE’ tattooed on my arm!” professes one of my students. I tell him that’s a very flattering and kind gesture, but it’s really not necessary to go to all that trouble.
8:30pm
Home sweet home, it’s been a long day. My children did really well tonight, everyone’s so jaded and looking forward to the half-term break (including teachers and parents from what I can see).
One more phone call to make, it looks like I can accommodate the little girl with the visual impairment on the course so I’m over the moon about telling her mum.
And when that’s done, I’m going to relax with my book, ‘The Kiss Quotient’- I’d highly recommend it, especially if you like ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’.
9pm
Bedtime in preparation for my 5:30am call which sounds a lot like, “MORNING MUMMY! Time to get up now!”
And the day begins again….
