The Advantages of Tutoring as a Student

“Do not give them a candle to light the way, teach them how to make fire instead. That is the meaning of enlightenment.” - Kamand Kojouri

Are you a hard-working student, earning high marks in your chosen field? And, are you passionate about the concept of knowledge transfer? If so, have you considered that you can earn money as a tutor by coaching other university and high school students?

Research conducted by the US Department of Education, Washington DC has shown that “well-designed tutoring programs… can be effective in improving… [student’s academic] …skills.” And, the raison d'etre behind education is, in its purest form, to teach children and adults life skills so that they can find gainful employment and earn a living to support themselves and their families.

This concept is further emphasized by the quotation mentioned above by Kamand Kojouri. Other age-old adages like the following proverb also provide the same impetus for the need for education.

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."

Thus, the rationale behind tutoring is that it has merit both to the tutor and the tutee (someone who is being tutored). Therefore, let's look at some of the benefits and advantages of using tutoring as a vehicle to earn money and to help school, college, and university students who are struggling academically:

Facilitate the knowledge transfer process between tutor and tutee

As highlighted above, tutoring helps both the struggling student and the tutor who is also a student. The tutor prepares a lesson plan that will help the student cover the educational material that needs individual attention and extra explanation.

Provides a unique learning experience

Because the tutoring is on a one-to-one basis, the student will receive individual attention with the emphasis on the student’s academic weaknesses. This individualized attention will not, and cannot, occur in a classroom setting. There are just too many students with one teacher or lecturer.

Improves academic performance for both student and tutor

Tutoring prepares the student and tutor for tests and exams. The tutor will go over problems and challenging learning areas that the student is battling with.

Also, because the student is in a position to highlight which areas are problematic, the tutor can go over this content until the student understands and can answer all possible exam and test questions.

Provides a positive and safe learning space

Because the individual tutoring environment is a space where the student is encouraged to feel comfortable asking for help with any academic problem, the student soon learns to relax and work on problem areas without feeling inadequate. This scenario then results in a positive learning experience, which will help the student cope within the classroom setting.

Learn self-study skills

A vital part of the whole tutoring experience is to teach struggling students on how to approach new academic material. Thus, allowing the student to become more competent in self-management and self-teaching skills.

Improve classroom behavior

A student who feels threatened by the academic material presented in the classroom is likely to act out and misbehave. This is primarily due to poor self-esteem. And, in turn, will result in poor social skills and behavioral problems. One-on-one tutoring will go a long way towards improving self-esteem and reducing behavioral problems in the classroom.

Final thoughts

As emphasized by this discussion, the tutor’s primary aim is to provide academic support to the tutee. This results in a win-win situation for both parties. And, as a result, struggling students should be encouraged to engage in one-on-one tutoring sessions.