The thought of becoming a tutor can be daunting, but it might be easier than you think. Sure, you need to know what your students are learning to be able to help them learn it, but you might be surprised to know that there are other skills that are just as, if not more, important to be a great tutor. The smartest person in the world would struggle to tutor if they didn’t also have these skills. Below, we dig deeper into the skills that Vecinos Unidos volunteer tutors demonstrate every day.
Patience
As tough as tutoring is, learning can be just as tough. When we’re struggling to learn something, we inevitably make a lot of mistakes; that can be so deflating. That’s why patience is a key skill for great tutors, not just at Vecinos Unidos but anywhere. You have to be able to remain calm and hide your frustration when your students keep getting something wrong. Even more, when your students are having an off day or are in a bad mood, it’s up to you to encourage them and keep them on track. By being patient with them, you will help your students become more confident and get to watch them succeed.
A Willingness to Listen
One of the secrets to being a great tutor is being able to develop a connection with your students. In order to do that, you have to be willing to listen to them. Let them tell you about their day or why they’re feeling frustrated with math. But more than that, “listen” to what they’re not saying. Keep your eye out for body language and subtle signs that might let you know what your students need. Each person is unique, and students are no different. As our volunteer tutors at Vecinos Unidos know, if you keep your ears and your mind open when working with your students, you’ll see progress in them before you know it.
Creativity
There are a ton of tools and resources out there to help tutors: worksheets, tips and tricks, you name it and it’s out there. But like we just talked about, each student is different and even each day can be different. At Vecinos Unidos, we provide all curriculum materials to our volunteer tutors, but sometimes what we had planned just isn’t going to work and our volunteer tutors have to be creative and adapt. When adapting, it can be helpful to keep the end goal in mind. If you’re working with your student on their writing skills, does it really matter if they follow a prompt you had picked out? Or is it more important that your student is engaged and enjoys what they’re writing? Maybe scrapping the writing prompt and choosing random words to make up a new story will be better for your student.
Or maybe you’re working with two students at once, but they’re on different levels. Trying to do two math worksheets at the same time is probably going to take more time and be flustering for you. Instead, maybe you can have the students answering separate math flash cards catered to their level and turn it into a competition. If you’re able to adapt when your plan isn’t working and you are able to think outside of the box, you’ll find that your tutoring sessions always feel engaging and productive.
Consistency
A skill that is easy to overlook in tutors is consistency. At Vecinos Unidos, this is the most important skill for our volunteer tutors to have. Even on the frustrating and less productive days, it’s important for your students to know that you show up for them. It tells them that you care. It’s also an important part of building connections with your students. This doesn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to have a sick day or go on vacation; your life is important, too. It just means that you don’t give up on your students and that they know you won’t. When your students know that you’re in their corner, you will be amazed at how much they’ll blossom before your eyes.
Knowledge
You may be surprised to find that knowledge is the last skill we’re talking about that’s important for great tutors. It’s not just because knowledge in a subject doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be a great tutor, though that’s also true. It’s because at Vecinos Unidos, our students are all in elementary school and many of them are behind their grade level. They’re still working on skills in basic math, reading, and writing. If you can add and subtract, read, and write, you have all the knowledge required to be a tutor at Vecinos Unidos.
You do not need to be perfect to be a great tutor. It’s okay if you are still working on becoming more patient or if you don’t have a lot of creative ideas for how to change things up when the plan isn’t working one day, that’s what the Vecinos Unidos Board is there for. At any given session, there will always be at least one board member present, and there is often more than one. Our volunteer tutors do not need to be perfect in all of the skills, especially not on day 1. To be a great Vecinos Unidos tutor, all you need to do is show up and care, and we’ll handle the rest.