I'm a private English tutor in a non English speaking country. I currently teach two students, one is an essentially fluent 7 yo boy and the other a 4 yo who knows a few words and can sing the alphabet. My male student is great, and I see him 5 times a week. We have fun conversations and he is focused, for a 7 yo. Most questions he can't answer are met with fart sounds or 'poopie?'.
My 4 yo student has hardly made any progress in 6 months. Her father is absent and her mother works all day. I have noticed severe discontent with her mother abandoning her, and resent that her mother keeps telling her 'you need to learn English because you are American-Chinese, Daddy is in America waiting for us'. Her mother doesn't have time to review with her and I feel more like a babysitter/playmate than a real tutor. But I wing it and make the child happy. However, I really feel like she is better suited in a class with other children. I hate being paid for my work and not seeing results.
I've done the math and realized that if I taught the boy 7 nights a week (his grandma initially wanted me to) I would just be making 30 dollars less a month...hell, if I stopped eating at Papa John's then the $30 won't matter. The child would be happier in a class, I would have more free time, and possibly find a more fulfilling student. How do I approach her mother with this?
I have reviewed my teach style with this child over and over, and honestly I've come to believe that private tutoring just isn't for her. She's lonely, and she focuses most when her neighbor comes to have class with her, another child her age.
>>17166983
Please respond
>>17166983
Just tell her mother what you told us
kill the mother
>>17167023
It didn't sound off, and my reasoning was good? I'm worried about coming off as just wanting to cancel the class because her daughter is bossy/demanding.
>>17167025
ok
>>17166981
I'm an English tutor as well, living in SEA. My students are mainly teenagers & adults however I have taught kids in my previous jobs.
In all honesty, someone that young should not be privately tutored. You need to talk to the mother and give it to her straight. Explain that over the last six months her daughter has not made any progress and that letting her continue will only make her more miserable. Her mother clearly doesn't have a good enough judgment to figure out that out the fact her daughter needs to be with other kids. In groups, students tend to get "tricked" into learning through games and activities. They have an incredibly short attention span and one-on-one style tutoring will never, ever work. I'm sure you've tried multiple ways of teaching her and have come to the conclusion that she needs to be with others.
From my experience, many Koreans and Chinese parents have this retarded "Put my kid in tuition. My kid will be smart" attitude, thinking that enrolling them in 10 different classes will turn them into geniuses. They do not realize the emotional holes they're creating by not being there for their kid.
More importantly, why the fuck does the mother feel the need to send her off to classes anyway? She's only 4, she would pick up English a lot better and a lot faster in America itself, being immersed by the language and culture. Let the kid play, let her have fun, she'll adapt once she moves. Tell the mother to get her child enrolled in something that would stimulate and improve her social skills, she has plenty of time to pick up a fucking language. I hope you manage to find inner peace, anon.
>>17167064
Funny I'm in China. I know exactly what you're talking about, and you helped me a lot with putting how I felt into better words. Her daughter comes off as very bossy or demanding, but that's just because she is bored and doesn't feel excited about the language. I'm cheaper than a training school but she'd just be so much happier.
The mother is a manager at a trading firm, so her career is entirely too new right now to consider relocating. I suspect she also wants to strengthen her english beforehand.
>>17167149
Why don't you work in a language school? I've had colleagues move to China for better salaries and paid expenses.
I suppose her mother's intentions aren't necessarily bad, regardless of how they come off. She merely doesn't understand the implications of her actions. I think, if she isn't a complete fuckhead, that she would appreciate your honesty and do what's best for her daughter. That is, if you manage to get through to her.
