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Tutoring during the pandemic has caused me to reflect deeply on my own practice. I have thought hard about the purpose of being a Classics teacher in such times. Indeed, the pandemic has caused everyone, teachers and students alike, to reassess what we seek and need from education. Tutoring is a small part of the picture in Britain. However, it is one that I believe has a particular role to play at this time. It seems that more and more people are turning to tutors for support at the moment, and understandably so.

The Challenges

Despite the extraordinary efforts of schools and teachers across the country, teaching during a pandemic has been full of challenges. As well as the many social and pastoral issues children have faced, the best case scenario has been moving online. This brings all the inherent limitations of the virtual classroom. When schools have been back, they have had to operate complex bubble systems, negotiating staff and pupil illness and self-isolation. Many have felt a constant feeling of falling behind. Combined with the uncertainty over how and when GCSEs and A Levels will be assessed, it has been a draining and stressful time for teachers and students alike.

I had many years’ experience of 1:1 online teaching when I first started teaching whole classes virtually. Nevertheless, I faced a learning curve in how to transform this into delivery to large groups. There are significant pedagogical advantages to online teaching and learning: sharing resources, online quizzes and games, the chat and whiteboard functions, to name but a few. Nonetheless, restless exhausted children, missing their friends and lacking focus and goals, posed new challenges.

The Virtual Classroom

Despite its limitations, the virtual classroom has been a saving grace for many over the past year. In spite of this, I know of few teachers who would say it was ideal. For 1:1 learning, however, I believe it to be a highly successful method of delivery. It shares few of the issues posed by whole classes meeting online. Everything we have learned about teaching, studying, and communicating online has only strengthened my conviction and, indeed, improved my tutoring. At a time when many students are struggling, I am certain that online tutoring is well-placed to help.

The Benefits of Online Tutoring

There are obviously advantages unique to lockdown that online tutoring brings, as opposed to other methods. While the law, the risk, and the health of families restrict tutoring at home, teaching can be delivered safely. We have all got used to Zoom and Skype for all our communications in the past year. It is no longer an unusual experience to meet somebody initially and, indeed, solely, online. Finding a tutor is no longer limited by geography, or by feasible travel time after school. This means that selecting the right tutor for every student has never been easier. Even once life returns to normal, I would argue for tutoring, whether online or in person, will remain valuable.

The Tutor-Tutee Relationship

Tutoring is all about relationship. I offer clients a meeting before they commit to paying for lessons, because it’s essential that the ‘fit’ is right for every student. Tutees spend a lot of time in conversation with their tutor, answering questions and discussing topics in depth. There needs to be trust for this to be comfortable and constructive. In my experience, however, the relationship between teacher and pupil develops quickly and happily with a good tutor.

Through no fault of any school teacher, developing such relationships in a virtual or even a socially-distanced classroom is challenging. This was perhaps my biggest concern when I was that teacher. For children who have felt this loss strongly over the past year, there may be particular benefits to tutoring. One of the great strengths of tutoring is instilling confidence and independence, while also focussing exclusively on the needs of a single individual, the tutee in front of the tutor at that moment.

The Benefits of 1:1

When teaching 1:1, I believe in getting to know every pupil as well as I possible can. I need to find out their strengths and weaknesses as soon as possible. In this way, my teaching can be directed to their particular learning needs. The tutor is able to teach every pupil according to their particular needs alone. I can tailor my teaching on a person by person basis. This is far harder to replicate with more than one child in a lesson. Unlike in a group situation, 1:1 teaching allows pupils to raise gaps in understanding, without fear of their peers’ reaction. I found that pupils found it more difficult to seek help in a virtual or social-distanced classroom; similarly, it was harder as a teacher to spot those who were struggling. This is almost never the case when learning 1:1.

Right now, countless children feel that they have fallen behind or that they lack motivation. These, too, are issues that a tutor can help address. In some cases, working with a tutor can also support pastoral needs brought about by the pandemic,; we can offer the affirmation many children have struggled to find away from their friends and teachers.

Tutoring as Part of the Picture

In none of these claims for tutoring do I wish to suggest that school teachers are not doing an amazing job in incredibly difficult circumstances. Until this year, I was one of them. I have experienced just how challenging teaching during the pandemic has been. My colleagues are doing all they can to provide the best possible education in the face of unprecedented hurdles.

All I propose is that tutoring may offer something that adds to and complements what schools can offer. For a Classics tutor like me, this may include the exciting fresh challenges of studying a new subject. At a time when many pastimes have been curtailed, this can offer relief from lockdown fatigue. However, most obviously a tutor can help make up lost ground. They can give the individual help that exhausted school teachers cannot provide. A tutor can begin to restore confidence in children whose whole world has been turned upside down.

Tutors are absolutely only part of the picture. However, right now, we are a part that wants to – and can – make a difference.

Author: Clare Coombe, February 2021

If you feel that tutoring in Latin, Greek, or Classical Civilisation may be beneficial to you or your child, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We understand that tutoring can feel like an expensive option in straitened times, so we may be able to help with reduced fees in cases of hardship.