How mothers feel about student tutors
Private tutoring is a norm for late teens or young adults in Bangladesh, especially for university students who want to earn some pocket money each month. While it is a suitable way to pocket some cash, it also comes with a lot of drawbacks. The mother of the kid is the most arduous drawback you'll ever deal with.
These difficulties arise when an overly attached mom relies on you for her child's academic life, meaning everything starting from day by day routine to monitoring to grades are your, not your student's, results. Below I have outlined a few points which will indicate as to why private tutoring can be a stressful experience to you because of parents' misconceptions.
YOU HAVE NO LIFE; ONLY YOUR STUDENT IS REAL!
Yep, it may dawn on you that that is exactly how the child's mother feels about you. Apart from the weekly routine you scheduled to go over to her place to teach her child, you may also receive sudden calls at odd times which would be a plea to go over and help out her child with his/her homework or for an 'extra class' to help him/her prepare better. Not only that, she'll subtly ask you to cancel any plan you have to be at her service. Whether or not you have an exam the next day, or a family gathering, or any other work, your cries for being pardoned will fall on deaf ears. What they probably won't get is: you have a life too!
THE CHILD HASN'T DONE WELL? IT'S YOUR ENTIRE FAULT!
What mothers need to understand is: tutors are there to provide guidance and to help students grasp a better understanding of concepts, but it's not the tutor's responsibility to make him study at home, practice and do well in tests. When the child returns a poor grade, you're likely to be interrogated heavily. Furthermore, every time the child goes wrong in anyway, the blame will be pinned on you. Yes, she expects you to teleport to her place every now and then to ensure her child is following the proper routine.
YOU HAVE TO BE THERE ON DAYS BEFORE EXAMS.
No matter how well you prepared the child for tomorrow's test last week, going there today is a must! Mothers believe your presence on days before tests will influence the child to reap fruitful outcomes. It's like putting a massive effort into preparing him/her for exams beforehand is not enough. Sometimes you may wonder, "Why don't I sit for his exams as well?"
DON'T EVEN DREAM ABOUT GETTING A RAISE.
Private tutoring does not pay a fortune but when you're working overtime, you expect some sort of an increment right? Well, forget about it. You negotiated a fee and after you were sworn in as the right one to take the child forward, money shouldn't be an issue, doesn't matter how many hours extra you put it. That's what parents probably think.
Before anyone goes berserk over what I've written, let me make it clear that I am not ranting against students' parents disrespectfully. Of course, not every parent is the same but those who are, shouldn't be blamed either. It comes from love and concern for their child, but they should really consider the fact that tutors have lives too.
Tahmeed Chaudhury is a diehard Liverpool fan and procrastinator who dislikes being asked questions. Don't ask him questions at tahmeed789@gmail.com