Good think I like the deep end

[tacit]

I tend to blag a lot. If I want to do something, I have a tendency to convince people I can already do it, and then I learn it on the job. It's worked well for me up til now. I can't stand boredom and I like a little pressure.

Sometimes I worry a bit, though. Like with tutoring. My progression of students has been... steep.

1st student? Bright 16 year old, willing to listen, did what I said, learnt loads fast, went from a low D to a high B in ten hours of lessons plus homeworks. An ideal first student, really.

2nd student? Slow 15 year old. Utterly bewildered by things he managed five minutes ago. I have to explain everything a minimum of five times before he understands why he's doing what he's doing. That's ok! I like a challenge. Our third lesson is tomorrow, and we're making progress.

3rd student... severely dyslexic 10 year old who hasn't been in full time education for three years, is way behind on everything and needs to catch up with his peers before he starts year 6 in three and a half months. He's not in school right now - three hours a week with me is all he's going to get. I start on Friday - PRESSURE!

I mean - I'm going to rock this gig, because failure is not an option. I'm devising literacy tests and exercises, picking reading books, writing maths tests and trying to condense the national curriculum syllabi for years 3 through 5 into a summer of Must Have lessons. In some ways it feels fantastic and I am brimming over with energy and mania enthusiasm. In others I am slightly freaking out.

*waves weakly*

Would it be better or worse if I pretended this feeling was unfamiliar?!

Comments

[me-maneuver.livejournal.com]

OMG Scary! You are going to do great! You have already proven that you can teach and that you are patient to deal with slow learners. This might be a challenge, but you are still going to ROCK it!

I'd be more worried if you were like, Yeah, this will be fine. How hard can it be? Ummmm... yeah...

You rock!

[tacittype.livejournal.com]

I am having so much fun! The 10 year old is great - he's bright, he's engaged, he keeps trying to lead me off track or convince me to ditch the boring, horrible English and go back to the fun maths, but he does it in such an amusing way that we're both still enthusiastic at the end of 2 hours... I luf him! He'd never been taught how to divide, ffs, and he picked it up in, like, five minutes. And he could still do it an hour later after a bunch of English exercises in between. He's smarter than my year 10! his writing's terrible, but he listens when I correct him. Plus his mum paid me extra for travel - this job might become my favourite!!

This evening I have to teach GCSE English to a panicky 16 year old whose exam is next week. I am enthused! I've condensed poetry interpretation into one A4 page of notes, and I kinda want to study English again myself. I AM GETTING SO INTO THIS TUTORING THING!!