New Tutor Anxiety

What am I most nervous about with regard to tutoring? If I had to describe my substantial anxiety in this area with just a few words, I would use the following three questions:

Will I be able to sit there and listen, or will I find myself from jumping in too soon?

I am the mother of six children, three of them with autism, and I am very used to jumping in and fixing things before they get out of hand. I have had to advocate for my sons, build teams of educators for them, solicit special services to address their specific needs, and maneuver my way around the medical insurance labyrinth to get coverage for the specialists who served them. Quietly waiting is not something I have always been good at.

Then again, I have been able to sit with a child, one-on-one, and read to them. I found that to be a fun and rewarding experience. Maybe I can survive without being the “Answer Fairy.” I think I’ll bring in my magic wand to remind myself to listen more.

Will I be able to communicate well enough with the people I meet?

I teach art to students at an elementary school, and some of them are used to speaking languages other than English. I think I understand them pretty well, but getting information back to them sometimes becomes difficult. I don’t always know the right words to say. I have learned how to ask for vocabulary words in Spanish. Can I do that with English classes?

There have been many times when I have looked over a homework assignment and helped a child to better understand the instructions. Maybe I will be able to do that with college students as well.

Will I be able to give my tutees the accurate information they need?

I feel like I know so little about teaching adults. Will they know that I don’t know what I’m doing? Will my limited knowledge and experience frustrate them? Will I scare them away from tutoring, or make them want to quit college all together? I don’t want to make things harder for them.

I’m not sure, though, that adults are really that different from children. Yes, they understand so much more about life. But every human being wants to be respected, to understand what is required of them, and to feel successful. All it takes to help a child learn something is time and opportunity. I have a feeling it is the same for “big people” as well.

When I started teaching art four years ago, I was given an art curriculum book and a classroom schedule. I had to jump in and go without much more help than that. Over time I was able to figure things out, like the lesson I gave the 5^th graders wouldn’t work for the 2^nd grade students, and 6^th grade behavior traits were eerily similar to those I saw in Kindergarten. I knew enough when I started teaching to be able to just “wing it” until I was more comfortable.

I am hoping it will be the same with tutoring. Maybe I can “wing it” in here with the knowledge I have already acquired and the training I am getting from Claire and others.

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GUESS WHAT?

I jumped in today and helped people, and everyone survived. Yes, I was nervous, and I did forget a few things, but overall it was a good experience. I think this could actually work out.