I had my first volunteer tutoring session yesterday, although it’s weird saying ‘yesterday’ because I’m yet to slumber. It’s 5:28. And no, my sleeping pattern has not yet returned to normal.
As I sat, excuse me, on the toilet, I pondered upon the session; I thought to myself…. What am I getting myself into? Why did I choose this as a career? What if I’m not good enough?
Then those thoughts dissipated as I remembered that I had taught before, and it went fine. In fact, I completed a CELTA course (a training course to teach English). I taught for 6 hours total, 45 minutes x 8 sessions, not forgetting the 2 x 20-minute introductory lessons for each level (I taught 4 lessons to pre-intermediate, then 4 lessons for upper-intermediate). I remember the very first 45-minute lesson. It was a writing lesson, and it went terribly! I was speaking to my classmate, and I was considering quitting the course. Did I mention I taught up to twenty students in front of my three other classmates and tutor, who would give feedback after we’d all taught. That was a humbling time in my life. I got good feedback, but now and then, they would say I had no rapport with the students. No kidding. I was petrified! I’m just glad I got through it and it’s over. That ended last October. Wow, this month makes it a year ago!
Then, I taught a group (or should I say the two students that showed up) English. They knew very little English but seemed to know the answers to the questions I posed. That volunteer experience wasn’t the greatest for me because I didn’t get to create any materials. I taught from an interactive online book which has audio. But I value the teaching experience I gained.
Now to yesterday. I taught GCSE Combined Science: Biology. My career goal was to create and sell KS3/GCSE science and maths online courses. I never fully finished them (I began the journey all the way back in July 2022, and here we are in October 2025!). Anyway, those materials came in handy for teaching. I just needed to tweak them to support a one-to-one session. My next session is on Monday (84 hours from now). Boy, do I know just how fast time flies! I need to fully prepare the slides and get exam paper questions as well as some MCQs.
You’d never guess when I applied to tutor… last year! There was an issue with my DBS, so I had to fill it in twice, each with the subsequent waiting time. I’m just glad the second one went through. In fact, I was so sure it wouldn’t go through after waiting months and months, that I applied to another company.
So, the student I’m teaching is in year 10. So she just started her GCSEs in September. I truly believed they would’ve started with cell biology. So, that’s what I was prepared to teach. However, she told me they’ve been learning about the digestive system. My heart sank. Why? I’m ashamed to admit this, but I’m not fully acquainted with the material. I know what they learn in the GCSE; however, when answering certain questions, my mind goes blank as if I’d never learned it before! My plan is to stay one step ahead of the student. It’s good for me because I’m truly diving deep into the material now, which will help me when I decide to start tutoring for payment. This is way off, though, because there is so much that I don’t know! Perhaps by next year, September, I’ll start tutoring KS3/GCSE, but in the meantime, from, say, March, I can start group coaching on my website. I want to list some coaching courses before the end of the year.
Ok, it’s 5:48, and I’m going to get back to revising GCSE English Language.
Until next time!
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