Tutoring in the Summer

I will be working in the Summer. I will be offering math, reading, writing, and handwriting clinics. This is a great opportunity to get ahead or review. I have low group study clinics if your interested in being tutored in a group atmosphere. Call me! My prices are very affordable.

WHY I DON'T SCHEDULE FREE INTERVIEWS.

I felt that I had to address this question because a parent had ask me to have a meeting with her but was not interested in being tutored. She wanted to just interview for ten minutes. I do not drive to a location and wait for an hour for someone to meet me there to interview me and then call me back to decide if they would like to hire me for a tutor.

I had a parent call today and booked an hour of my time but did not tell me she was just interviewing me. I booked her in my schedule and then she emailed me that she was going to be late. I said I would charge her the full hour if she was late because I had booked a tutoring session. She emailed me back saying she was interviewing me for a tutor and wasn't planning on paying me! I clarified to her that I do not book interviews but just tutoring sessions. She was upset? She explained that she was a potential customer.

I have come across sneaky parents and I just don't want to have them as my client. They will say they are interviewing but they bring their daughter or son and of course the math book and then ask me if I can teach their child to see if they like me. They don't pay and the result is that they are just plain rude, difficult, and feel your time isn't worth anything. My answer is I don't book free time. OF COURSE, THEIR STUDENT IS RECEIVING AN F IN MATH!

My advice is that if your a difficult parent not even your child's teacher is going to want to help your child and the money isn't worth it! Lesson: DON'T BE A DIFFICULT PARENT.

SKYPE 101

The last month I've been Skyping as I tutor and I love it! It's really cool to be home in my room and tutor my student. I have no gas expense and my husband watches the kids while I tutor in my room. I love Skype tutoring so much that I'm thinking of charging 20.00 an hour for the students who would like to Skype. It's really easy to just be home and Skyp. I have excellent bandwith and I can see my student clear. However, I did notice that my student also has to have excellent bandwith or they will not see me clear and occasionally freeze but I haven't had any complaints from my students.

Skype also allows me to tutor any part of the country. I just have to figure out how I want to market myself to other parts of the country or state to tutor. MMmmmmm...... not sure yet. I'm enjoying the online tutoring bit more than just going to the library.

Okay next week, I have dedicated my time to study for my CSET:Math Exam. I really need to pass this 6 hour exam. I'm still subbing about 2 or 3 times a week just depending on my family's schedule and my other part-time job as a surveyor. I just spend 2 hours writing about my opinion on xxxx and getting paid 100.00 NICE!

A Gift From A Student

I was so excited to receive my first X-mas present from a student. It was a real nice COACH bag! I was so shocked. I had made cookies for all my students. On Wednesday night after tutoring, I was presented a bag. I had just thought it was school supplies because I'm always short of pencils, erasers, and markers. As I unwrapped the wrapping I saw the purse and I gasp.. I couldn't believe it! I have always wanted a COACH bag but I simply couldn't justify spending so much of my money in a purse. My girls usually come first and they are always in need of something so I just keep putting myself off. It was a nice gift. I said,"Thank You!" I use the bag everyday.

I also added Skype to my tutoring. I just think it would be easier if the student just called me Skype and we did a video conferencing. It's really hard when the parent has to drive out to the library or wait for me to tutor. I'm going to try it. We purchased a new computer and the video conferencing looks real. It's like I'm right in the room. We are now 6 days from Christmas and my shopping isn't complete. I need to finish stuffing my kids stockings. Merry Christmas

Home Economics 101

I'm currently substitute teaching for the following school districts Tustin, Santa Ana, and Long Beach USD. I pay for daycare 2x a week on Monday and Wednesday. Today, I was asked to teach Home Economics until Wednesday. I knew I would enjoy Home Economics and Sewing. When Catherine was younger I would always sew to keep my mind occupied. Today, I watch the students work on making a blouse. As I walk around the room I can see that many of the students want to be here because it's a hands on project. Fun! Fun! Fun!

I walked in this morning and the Tenure Instructor had inform me that her husband's leg was being amputated and she would have to be in the hospital till Wednesday. She ask if I could stay over and I said "Yes". She was surprise about my listening skills because she said I was the first one she was able to tell her situation without being interrupted. I do try to make it a point to listen to people because we all have our own struggle in this world to overcome. I will be here till Wednesday.

I thought about looking for my own place to tutor at but then after much consideration I'm going to stick with the coffee shops, Borders, and Barnes and Noble to continue tutoring. I just don't make enough to pay any overhead. I do believe I'm fair of my rate however many people are currently struggling with their employment situation and this recession has affected everyone. I know that I have been working excessively due to Christmas and having to pay our health co-pays. This week alone we payed over 100.00 on co pays and medicine.

To Homeschool Or Not?

I tutored a well behaved homeschooler today. This brings me back to when Catherine was a child and I thought about homeschooling her because I thought this would be a great idea that would allow us to spend more time together as a family. I did eventually send her to public school and I find myself tutoring her about 3 to 5 hours a week on the material she learns in school because there are many students in her class. The ratio is now 30 students to 1 teacher. When I substitute teach the elementary levels I can feel the extra kids in the classroom. YES! 10 more extra kids. I quickly pass out the work and then quickly explain it and then quickly collect this again. I do this about 8 times in a day. As you can read, I feel like I spend more time passing and collecting papers then I do explaining the material. I know why Catherine could fall behind in class if I didn't spend the extra time tutoring her.

However, I chose not to homeschool because of my own selfish reasons. I felt that I could trust the school that she attends. At the end, I know that it is my responsibility for Catherine to learn the material given to her in class. I congratulate the parent of the student who I tutored today. This mother really cares about her kids. Math is a difficult subject to teach and if she ever reads this then I would be happy to teach her how to teach math to her son.  As for now, I have added them to my schedule of clients to tutor.

I would like to add something about how I tutor to my blog. I tutor from a variety of sources and books. I want my student to be exposed to a variety of sources and opinions. I believe a child learns best when the information comes from many sources and not just one textbook.

My Perfect Schedule

I actually recieved an offer to tutor at Dana Point today.  It will be a couple of hours and he is willing to pay for travel time. I'm not sure if I want to be that far away from home. I enjoy tutoring five minutes away from my house at the local library or at Barnes and Noble. The librarians and the employees at Barnes and Noble know who I am and that I tutor. They are so nice and pleasant to me. I was checking in to one of the study rooms tonight and the librarian was commenting how much time I spend here. I was thinking I know if I can only just do pleasure reading instead I'm looking through math books just reviewing until my next client enters in the room.

I'm on a set weekday schedule now. I have my regular clients who I tutor. Today I was tutoring my high school student. I thought it was really cool how her mom bought me a Diet Coke. I felt like family. I enjoy teaching their daughter math.

I had someone call me today and ask if I do the tutoring myself or if I have someone else do it. I thought it was kind of odd because I would do the tutoring to make sure the student is learning. I'm not all about the money! I started researching because that made me think about tutoring in general. I started looking online and I can see many tutors say they are certified to teach and then send one of their staff out to tutor. I get it! They pay this low wage non-credential person to tutor and then they keep the money and they are the ones credentialed. They never tutored someone else did it and they were a student. They are not teachers or even have Bachelor Degrees. Now I know why so many parents ask me if I do the tutoring myself because I am a legitimate teacher. I just want to reassure everyone that I do the tutoring just me who holds a Secondary Education Credential and can be looked up on the teacher's state website.  I can't think of it but you can google.... California teacher look up and then type my name in Patricia Flores