Am I Qualified to Become a Tutor?

Introduction

Once you decide to become a tutor professionally or for some extra pocket money the first question that comes to mind is €Am I qualified to become a tutor€? Don't get bogged down with this question and gear up to take the challenge. As long as you have interest and knowledge of the subject, you can work out on rest of the logistics like submitting online tutor application, setting up the infrastructure. Below are few qualities to consider before you take up this profession.

Confidence in your subjects

If you are academically strong at a subject, it does not mean you will become a good tutor for that particular subject on the contrary if you have struggled through a subject you will have a better understanding as to what difficulties students face and can help them accordingly. You must be qualified and must have good scores in the subject. You should take extra steps to brush up your knowledge on the subject you have decided to teach. Once you feel confident in a subject then you are ready to become a tutor.

Patience and ability to listen

After becoming a tutor you have to communicate with students of different age groups and nature. You must be sure you are patient enough to repeat the same topic many times, if required for the clear understanding of the students. Do not be irritated if one or more students are taking extra time to understand. You must give them opportunities to ask their doubts. Listen carefully to them and understand the pattern of questions or doubts they are asking and try to incorporate those explanations going forward for the related topics.

Ability to understand requirements of the students

Always talk to your students and create a friendly environment, but never cross the limits of respect. Try to know as much as you can about your student's interests and subjects he or she likes. Use this knowledge while teaching your subject to make the sessions interesting and enjoyable. You should be able to make conceptual understanding of the topic so that they can use those concepts as a base. It may not be possible for you to go line by line with them so these concepts will help them learn on their own.

Learning along with tutoring

Although you are the tutor, your learning should never stop. There is a lot you can learn from each of your students while teaching them. Try to understand the common problem faced by the students and what you can do to solve their problem. Try to get accustomed with new tools and technologies. For example you can create a portal or a mobile/tablet app where the students can access your course material online. Try to find ways that the effort you have put once can be reused again, so that you are able to save your time and able to take up more students.

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