Summer can be a booming time for tutors.  Many parents believe that the absence of class and other school-related commitments will enable their children to focus on tutoring.  Usually the purpose of summer tutoring is to either help the student “catch up” in certain subject areas, or to prepare for an upcoming standardized test.  No matter the academic reason, any tutor who has helped a student during the summer can attest that it is usually not easy to get him to concentrate.  With the bright sun and ice-cream truck bells in the air, many students want to be any place but in front of the books.  Here are a few tricks to help keep your students motivated:

Start early in the morning: Perhaps the best thing you can do to keep your students motivated during the summer months is to start tutoring as early as possible in the morning.  Tutoring students early not only keeps them on a more productive schedule (similar to waking up early for school), but also gets to them before more “fun” summer activities start.  As a tutor, you do not want to be competing for attention with afternoon kickball games.  Additionally, it’s likely to be cooler (temperature) in the morning which will prevent your student from getting fatigued during the lesson.

Don’t rely on homework: For as difficult as it is to keep your students’ attention while you’re there by their side, it is exponentially more difficult to get them to do homework when you’re not there.  Summer is supposed to be a “vacation” for most K-12 students and homework is the last thing on their minds.  So, it might be best to focus your tutoring sessions on being as productive as possible while you’re there.

Keep away from siblings/parents: If you are tutoring at the student’s house, summertime often means that other family members are home.  If that’s the case, try and find a quiet spot in the home where you won’t be bothered by the others who are also home on summer break.

Stress the importance of getting ahead during the summer: As a tutor, you can really talk up the advantage that extra summer help will have for the student.  Let the student know that the hard work and attention their providing during the summer months will pay off in leaps and bounds when the school year starts or when their test date arrives.

Keep the student hydrated: This may sound like silly common sense.  But trust me – dehydration will make your student cranky and unwilling to pay attention.  Just assure there’s plenty of water around.

Like most tutors, I am a very patient person and do not like to give up on my students.  However, there are situations when a tutor may be better off “firing” a student than slogging along in an unproductive working relationship.  When is it appropriate to fire a student?

There are several instances when it is immediately justifiable to dismiss a student.  These “obvious” scenarios include when the student threatens violence or openly engages in illegal activity.  Additionally, a tutor should not remain a tutor if he/she has never been compensated as originally agreed upon, or if there exists any credible physical, mental, or emotional threat to the tutor.  However, most situations are more subtle and require discretion when determining whether to stay or leave.

Readers of this blog know that I love making lists and guidelines regarding how to handle certain situations.  However, the decision to leave a family requires more nuance than a simple list can provide.  So I’d rather just provide context when it may or may not be appropriate to make the decision.

In my opinion, a tutor should not dismiss a student just because he’s pushed a little harder than originally planned.  Particularly, novice tutors may learn that helping students is a lot harder than expected, so the best thing is to stick it through and become a better tutor by dealing with a challenging student.  However, a tutor should be weary about being “taken advantage of.”  My friend was once hired by a family for SAT math tutoring, but was soon given a hard time because he was unable to meet at times they did not agree upon and could not help with the student’s AP English class.  Though my friend patiently explained he was unable to help in those areas, the family unfairly turned abusive toward him.  The student soon dismissed the family.

Additionally, a tutor should consider speaking with a parent if he does not feel he is adding value to the student’s learning.  I know of several unscrupulous tutors who will continue tutoring a student and earning a hefty paycheck though they are well aware they are not adding much value to the learning experience.  Once, I was tutoring a student in geometry and was helping the student prepare for tests.  However, we came to a new subject where the student was able to absorb the material without my assistance.  Instead of just “milking the clock” during my session, I spoke with the parent that I did not think I was needed during this subject matter.  Though I did not dismiss the family, nor did they dismiss me, I charged them a discounted rate and they appreciated my honesty.  Doing so helped me win their favor for additional tutoring assignments.

Do you have any stories when you had to dismiss a family?  Please email them and we’d love to share on our blog!