7 Reasons Why Tutoring Children Benefits Future Teachers

My student's success is also my success.

As an elementary education major, I am constantly searching for opportunities to strengthen my role as a future educator. I tend to gravitate towards children who need my academic assistance. There is something special about witnessing constant improvement within a child's area of difficulty in school. Also, working one-on-one with a student allows me to focus on him or her and eventually apply what I have learned to a larger scale.

I have learned so much, personally and academically, from tutoring various students in different content areas. I believe all teachers should experience the benefits of tutoring a child to add to their list of professional experiences.

7. You are able to actively apply what is being taught in your college classes.

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During the semester, you are enrolled in various education classes and/or courses that are pertinent to your subject(s) of concentration. For example, if you are in a Tutoring Writing course, you can easily apply the concepts you are learning with the students you are tutoring. Also, if you are taking an education course that involves composing lesson plans, you can apply those skills to the lessons you need to create for your student.

I often realize that what I am learning in college coincides with what my students are learning in school. There are often days when my professor mentions a historical event, and then the student I tutor brings home a packet on that same event. Crazy enough, these experiences happen almost once per week.

6. You are able to see a clear path of progress and improvement in the child’s academic abilities.

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From working one-on-one with a child, you are able to clearly observe his or her improvements in various aspects of their learning process. You can easily target where the student is improving and where the student needs extra practice. From these observations, you are able to easily adjust your lesson plan in favor of the student's learning abilities.

Even though I am only tutoring one student per session, I am preparing myself to teach my future students on a much larger scale. I am learning how to accommodate for a particular child and teach him or her effectively. In the future, I will have the knowledge to efficiently tend to the difficulties of each child due to the lessons I learned from one child.

5. You witness the child’s “Ah-ha!” moments when they finally understand a concept.

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If you are a teacher, tutor, or in college to become a teacher, you know this is the best moment you can witness.

When a student finally grasps a concept they were once struggling so hard to master, it is the most-rewarding moment one could witness. I have experienced a decent amount of these moments with either the students I tutor or students I have assisted in past field experiences. I am overly excited to witness moments like this when I am teaching every day.

4. You notice you are educating yourself, not just the child.

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From all the time you dedicate to reading summer books and reteaching yourself math concepts, you are also educating yourself. You notice that you are revisiting old lessons and rereading required elementary books in order to effectively teach the content to your student. You find yourself learning new things and remembering lessons you were taught many years ago.

From these tutoring sessions, I am filling my brain with the knowledge to teach my future students. I am analyzing books that I may want to use in my future classrooms, visiting educational websites that may help compose my future lesson plans, and creating comprehension questions and skills worksheets to improve my ability to assess my future students.

3. You create a close bond with the child.

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When you visit a child once or twice per week throughout the entire summer or school year, you begin to form a special bond. After weeks of tutoring, you can easily compare the child's openness towards you to your first session together. The child feels more comfortable and experiences less stress during academic tasks due to your constant guidance.

From personal experience, I witnessed a child start off as timid and quiet to a student who is eager to learn and engage in thought-provoking conversations. The child also becomes excited to tell you silly stories and all about their school day, which shows their level of comfort with you as their mentor.

2. You are rewarded in various ways while doing something you love.

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Yes, you may get paid for the hours you dedicate to each student, but the spiritual and educational rewards are even more rewarding.

It is amazing to be paid for a service I love performing. I am forever grateful for working with such respectful families that pay me for teaching/tutoring their children. Even if money was not involved, I would still be eternally grateful for the hours spent with my students. They teach me so much, even though I am the one teaching them. I am able to apply what I learn in school and try new methods of teaching that I create on my own. Tutoring also boosts my confidence and exposes me to new things that I would not experience if I did not perform such a position.

1. You create a strong foundation for your future teaching career.

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I believe that effectively teaching one student is a step towards effectively teaching a classroom filled with students.

During each tutoring session, I am gaining more knowledge on how to assist a child with his or her academic and personal growth. I learn how to incorporate the child's interests into the skills that need to be retained by the end of the lesson. I also use this opportunity for trial and error. I try new methods of teaching and assessing the content each week in order to narrow down the methods that work best for myself and my student. I am able to teach myself how to gather, organize, and present the content needed for the student to succeed throughout the school year.

As a tutor, I am blessed to work one-on-one with such amazing children who teach me about myself and my future career. I believe my presence and the skills I have embedded in their minds will remain with them throughout their school years. I am glad to reach the hearts and minds of students who happen to struggle with specific concepts in school. In the end, the student's success is my own as well.