I’ve been a tutor for around five years, mostly helping students with their university application and I worked with teenagers in the Netherlands, where I grew up, to pass their final exams in English. However it never sat right with me that I was only supporting students from wealthy backgrounds that could afford tuition.
I wanted a more fulfilling tutoring experience and came across Get Further. I was in my first year as a PhD student and I wanted an extra source of income. Tutoring with Get Further was perfect as I was able to do it alongside my PhD.
For around a year I’ve been tutoring a small group of students that needed to pass their GCSE maths exam to progress with their college courses. Maths is a subject that some students disengage with because they find it difficult or feel that it doesn’t come naturally to them. A lot of my time is spent boosting their confidence, and giving regular and specific feedback. This personalised tutoring helps them to increase their confidence.
At the start of each session we go through the homework that I’ve set them, giving compliments when they’ve done a great job or going through it with them if they found a particular task difficult. We then do quick fire rounds, like times tables, followed by longer exercises like fractions, solving equations and geometry.
I really enjoy tutoring, it can be great fun. I like helping students develop their understanding of maths. A lot of the teenagers I tutor have never had personalised tuition, whether that’s a teacher or a parent. When you see first hand a student engaging with you and getting excited about the subject, it’s brilliant. Some of the pupils have said they really enjoyed the maths lessons with a very surprised tone to their voice. It was so unexpected to themselves that they actually enjoyed maths.
After my PhD I would like to continue my career in academia at university, especially as I can teach students alongside doing my research. That would be a real bonus.
I would thoroughly recommend tutoring with Get Further. It’s a lot more fulfilling than other tuition jobs. You’re trained very well and the hours are flexible to suit your lifestyle.