Sentiments of a Tutor

Have you ever found yourself so emotionally attached to your clients in a job that you momentarily forget it's just a job? Hold on, don't let your mind wander into inappropriate territory. That's not what I mean.

I have a relatively easy job, at least when compared to professions like road-kill collectors. I work as a tutor, and my main responsibility is to reinforce lessons for my students, who are essentially my clients, helping them better comprehend the material.

Tutoring is similar to classroom teaching, with one key difference—when tutoring, you develop stronger emotional connections with your students since you often work with them one-on-one. Unlike in a classroom setting, where you might unintentionally overlook certain students. When I say emotional attachment, I mean becoming friends with them. Not in a creepy Michael Jackson kind of way, of course. Sometimes, they feel like family, almost like younger brothers and sisters. And that's where the challenge arises.

Forming such a bond with my students can be difficult. I find myself struggling to enforce discipline, perhaps because I constantly remind myself of the pressure they're already under. Maybe I want them to relax a bit while studying with me. After all, their enthusiasm for learning has its limits, and I don't want to push them beyond that. Should I challenge them more? Maybe I should. That's what I'm being paid to do.

If they don't work hard, they receive low or failing grades. And that's a blow to my ego as well. Their academic failure becomes my failure as a teacher. The parents might complain and wonder why, despite all the money invested in their children's education, they still see poor grades on report cards. During these moments, I don't worry about losing my job or facing reprimand. My concern lies with the students' emotions. I worry about how they'll handle the failure and how I can guide them back on track. Can you see the dilemma I face?

Then there's the challenge of staying on top of the subjects I teach. I don't know everything, and I often need to study in order to teach my students what they need to know. Sometimes, I struggle to grasp the lessons myself. Contrary to popular belief, not all Math majors are math wizards. Not knowing what to teach and having limited resources can make me feel inadequate. It's in these moments that I realize this is still a job. Regardless of how close I become to my students, they remain my clients. They're the ones I work for, and they're the ones who compensate me for my services. At the end of the day, my competence matters, and the possibility of being fired is always looming.