For quite some time now tutoring has carried a very misrepresented reputation. It is often seen as something students turn to only when they are struggling or falling behind, permitting a sense of failure. But this view majorly overlooks and blocks the world of what tutoring can actually provide. Getting a tutor is not a sign of failure, but actually is a proactive step in building confidence and skills essential for a lifetime of learning.
Tutoring is not about replacing or adding to the work students do at school. Instead, it provides an opportunity for students to receive specialised support that is tailored to their needs. In a classroom, teachers have to divide their attention across entire groups of students, whereas tutoring creates a space to slow down, ask questions, revisit tricky topics and work through areas that may not have been fully understood the first time around. In reality, students seek tutoring for a range of reasons. Some start to grasp a hard topic, others want to push themselves and further their abilities or simply get clarification on their understanding! Theres always work that can be done.
Consider the worlds top athletes. Tennis players have coaches, soccer players have coaches. Nobody looks at the worlds top athletes and think they are bad at what they do because they have coaches, in fact its quite the opposite. In the same way, tutoring is coaching for the mind and it deserves to be viewed the same way.
Most importantly, asking for help should never be something a student feels embarrassed about. It is important to move away from the idea that tutoring equates to failure. Education is not about doing everything alone and sometimes the best learning happens when working with others. Having the right person beside you can make all the difference in building your academic standpoint!
