The most memorable experience that I have had as a tutor entails the same scenario that has been enacted over and over again from my tutoring activities in the private sector, my tutoring duties for the No Child Left Behind Program in the public school system, and tutoring rendered to college-bound students, veterans, and senior citizens. The trend to which I am referring is related to sharing based on a heightened self-esteem. It has been my experience that when most students are tutored to the point that they realize that someone else actually cares about them and their well-being (not just academically, but overall), their self-esteem is boosted and they actually want to “pay it forward.” That is, the tutored student for which a light has been turned on runs to share that elation with others. They pass it on – letting others know that there is a place where they can go or there is that person on which they can depend to bring them out of a particular fog. Not only do tutored students share this source information, but I’ve seen them (from the youngest 5 year-old to the oldest 70 year-old) endeavor to share what they have learned. Even if it is working a difficult math problem or attaching a document to an e-mail, the student is delighted with sharing something of what he or she has learned. Amazingly, these students do not hoard the information (or its source) selfishly, instead they want others to have the same opportunity to learn and succeed as they are afforded.

Before I would convince a friend and/or relative to become a tutor, I would describe how I see tutoring, explain what it is all about, and then ask whether he or she has any desire to be a tutor. For effective tutoring, it is not always the degree of technical or book knowledge that a person possesses that is most important. A good tutor should possess excellent interpersonal skills and characteristics such as empathy, tolerance, and patience. I would ask my friend and relative as tutor candidates whether they love to see the light go on in a student’s eyes after a long duration of darkness and whether they could be patient with a student who still does not quite understand after being instructed or shown over and over again. Could they hold their tempers, keep their voices low and regulated, and keep their facial expressions relaxed with little sign of tension or frustration? Could they persevere when a particular student has to be reminded of prior lessons learned similar to the character played by Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates – forgetting the events of prior days and starting over again each day with an erased slate? If my friend and relative can honestly answer, “Yes, to the best of my ability;” then, I’d say that students of all ages are awaiting their arrival as an academic coach. I would tell them that if they would only become tutors, the world could be a better and brighter place for students who are currently agonizing over certain academic challenges. I would tell them how gratifying it is to give students not “just a fish,” but also provide those students with the know-how and encouragement to possess their own rod, reel, and bait and thus strive to bring in the largest marlin that their fertile minds could ever imagine. Finally, I would inform my friend and relative that tutoring could enable some individual’s dream to become a reality.

Academic Coach (Reading, Math, English Mentoring/Tutoring)