Tutoring Math: Tips & Advice for 16-Year-Olds

[kurt.math]

Hi,

I am thinking about tutoring in mathematics. I am just 16 but i am really good at math compared to the rest of my school.

How do I go about it? Do i just advertise? How?

 

[||spoon||]

Im not sure, but I would also like to know as I was also thinking about doing this myself, but for physics aswell, i am 19.

I heard that you may need a working with children certificate or something. Does anyone know about this? Also I am in Australia.

Cheers,

Spoon

 

[LuisN]

I don't know whether your school allows this or not, but try making a few flyers and post them on a few bulletin boards around your school. At my community college, I see these kinds of flyers all over the place and they seem to be effective. You can also try to gain business through word of mouth and with the internet if your school has a site that everyone is familiar with.

 

[Fearless]

You can always moonlight as a tutor. Put up ads where you will have potential pupils, tutor your friends etc.

If you have a will, there is a way. Besides if you got any "adult high-school"-variant, then you could probably get paid a great deal if you are good at making people understand what you communicate to them.

 

[danago]

When i was about to finish high school i decided that i was going to tutor for some extra pocket money. I had only planned to tutor about 2-3 kids as a side job. The first person i began tutoring was a friend who was a year younger than me. She was doing chemistry so i tutoried her in that.

The next person i began tutoring was somebody who my mum found, who needed extra help with maths, physics and chemistry, so i began tutoring him twice a week. And then from there it went crazy; word of mouth got around and ever since I've had quite a few people approach me for tutoring. At the moment I've got about 12-13 people i tutor each week, and I've had to do no advertising at all. It was 100% word of mouth. I had never planned to get so big with it, so now its pretty much my main form of income while i am at uni

There are a few websites around that allow you to post your name as a tutor and then let other people contact you. I've never tried these so i don't know how effective they are. I guess it depends where you live, but you may need a "working with children" licence. I never had one to begin with (even though i probably should have), but the high school i went to contacted me to hire me to do small group tutoring sessions, and so for legal reasons i was made to get one.

If you can, you could perhaps approach some of the teachers in the school and give them your phone number so that they can give it to any students who are seeking a tutor. I know that a few of my high school teachers were approached by their students seeking a tutor, so some people were able to get in contact with me through my old teachers.

 

[||spoon||]

That sounds great! I figured that people would only want tutoring during semester so haven't even tried to start tutoring (since it is holidays here at the moment). Do you find this is the case or do some kids find tutors during the holidays in preparation etc?

Do you think I should try start over holidays or wait until next year?

 

[danago]

That sounds great! I figured that people would only want tutoring during semester so haven't even tried to start tutoring (since it is holidays here at the moment). Do you find this is the case or do some kids find tutors during the holidays in preparation etc?

Do you think I should try start over holidays or wait until next year?

This is still the first year in which I've been tutoring, so i haven't even come to school holidays yet, but i think most people will not want tutoring over the holidays. I do have one person who has said that he wants me over the holidays to get ahead for next year, but i think he will be the only one.

That is at the end of the school year though, during the summer holidays; during the school year when they have 2 week breaks (in Australia), about half of the people i tutor still want tutoring. I am still really experimenting myself, like i said, I've only been doing this for less than a year so i really can't say whether i think you should start now or not. I guess its worth a shot, there might be someone out there who wants to get a head start for the next year :)

 

[||spoon||]

Thanks for the information. Hope everything continues to go well for you

-Spoon

 

[flatmaster]

Do it Kurt.Math It'll be something to put on/talk about for a college application. Not only that, but you're really solidifing your own math chops when you tutor. This will be invaluable should you keep down the math/science path. Also, don't be affaraid if in the course of tutoring, you don't know what to do on a particular problem. It's usually actually MORE engaging. You're actually working the problem with the person you're tutoring rather than knowing all the steps to begin with.

 

[symbolipoint]

flatmaster said this:

Also, don't be affaraid if in the course of tutoring, you don't know what to do on a particular problem. It's usually actually MORE engaging. You're actually working the problem with the person you're tutoring rather than knowing all the steps to begin with.

Be careful about how you handle that. Some tutees will conclude that you do not know enough about the topic and can become upset. If at all possible, study a topic (or restudy it) before you meet with your pupil. Other than that, in most cases, tutoring is great for your own experience and often enough useful for the pupil needing the help, since you spend more time covering topics of need than the pupil's teacher is able to spend.