Being a tutor is easy but being a good tutor is both hard and frustrating. In Singapore if you want to thrive as a tutor your reputation is very important. Tutors with good reputations get a lot of assignments through continuous referrals from tuition agencies and through their students word of mouth. The assignments which they hold are also more enduring. Tutors with a bad reputation find themselves boycotted by tuition agencies their students never last more than 2 months and they are definitely not going to get more students through wordofmouth. There are five secrets you must know in order to become a good tutor.

You have to relate to the childs level

The method of teaching is very important but it is useless if the child refuses to respond to it. Children will reject your teaching methods if they do not like you in the first place. I have to say this again. The best teaching methods will go to waste if the child does not like you. One strategy for getting the child to like you is to show that you are similar to the child. We like people who are similar to us the same goes for children. You want to come across as a friend and not another boring adult who is telling him or her what to do or what he or she should be doing. Share your childhood experiences with the child; let the child know that you were once like him or her. Talk about the mischievous things you did and your view of adults and teachers at that time. This accomplishes a few things at a time. Firstly you have shown the child that you are like him or her. Secondly you let the child know that you are not like the other adults who do not understand him or her. The childs opinion of you would have changed

The importance of fear and respect

Respect is a mixture of fear and liking. Respect is liking with a tinge of fear. After you have gotten the child to like you you must make sure that the child develops a healthy level of fear for you. Otherwise your instructions will be taken likely the child will treat you like how he or she would treat his friends all control and discipline will be lost and you would not be able to enforce your teaching methods and get results. So how do you get the child to fear you? You have to enforce discipline when it is appropriate. The following criteria must be met for your discipline to be effective. Your discipline has to be appropriate for the behaviour the child has to know why he or she is being punished the child must be convinced that he or she deserves the punishment; the discipline must be enforced the moment the child has erred. If any of the criteria is not met the child would be resentful which will lead to passive aggressive behaviour in the future.

Be a responsible tutor

The future of the child is very much determined by the grades he or she gets in school and the schools he or she enters on the other hand the hopes of the parent lies on the child. So I am not exaggerating when I say that you as a tutor are entrusted with the future of the child and the hopes of his or her parents. Make sure you are serious about giving the child tuition. You have to look upon the childs grades as if they were your own. In every action you do ask yourself Is what I am doing adding value to the childs studies or is it just to earn a quick buck Also when the child has come to respect you he or she will look upon you like a role model. So make sure you are setting the right examples for the child to follow.

Speak in terms which the child can understand

A mistake a lot of tutors make while trying to motivate the child is to tell him or her how he or her will not be able to find a good paying job when they grow up. This makes sense to an adult because this is what motivates an adult. But not to the child. The child cannot see that far into the future and his or her world is filled with finding acceptance among his peers and playing games. It would be a better strategy to tell the child that if he or she does not study hard he or she will not be able to get into the same school as his or her friends or that he or she would be bullied if he or she were to enter a delinquent school. These are the concepts the child can relate to. Use them!

Dealing with parents

The parents are the one paying for your service so make sure that they like you as well. And to get them to like you you have to meet their expectations you have to show them that their money is well invested. Another aspect that is not to be neglected is that you show that you are able to control their child. A lot of parents have lost control over their children and thus turn to tutors hoping that the tutors can control their children for them. Have a close relationship with the parents update them on what you are doing and the progressive of the child. Do not leave room for any misunderstandings. With all that said. I wish you all the best in becoming a successful tutor.