# Private tutoring: Any Advice?

Category: Jobs and Employment

## Post 1 by HauntedReverie (doing the bad mango) on Friday, 30-May-2014 22:40:39

probably not the most glamorous job in the world, but I love tutoring one on one with students. I work a trickle of hours at the local community college, but three hours a week isn't nearly enough. A former student of mine wants to privately tutor with me this summer. I trust her completely and have no reservations because I know she's trustworthy.
I would love to put myself out on Craigslist or some other local community forum to have other students, but I feel wary for all the usual reasons. How do I prevent them from stiffing me on payment? I'm creative at managing without a textbook, but what if I absolutely need it and it's not on Bookshare? How should I handle someone who is completely awkward working with a blind person?
so my question is, has anyone done private tutoring before? I worked for Brainfuse, an online company for a while, but their policies and restrictions sucked my soul dry. I would be willing to work via Skype and e-mail, but I feel like that's weird for a local meeting, and if it's not local, the payment stiffing still applies.
thoughts on this? any zoners looking for an English/science/history/nutrition tutor? :D

## Post 2 by Deadnight Warrior (Zone BBS Addict) on Saturday, 31-May-2014 1:06:53

Can't contribute much, but I'll be teaching some one on one music lessons over the summer and would love to know more from others' experiences about what you asked. The students I've found came through posting stuff on Facebook and most are the younger siblings of my friends, as well as some friends who passed my information on to friends of theirs who were interested. I'll post back with some of my experiences once I get started as well.

## Post 3 by forereel (Just posting.) on Saturday, 31-May-2014 15:57:49

I did this in college, and learned that blind didn’t matter if you knew what you were talking about.
Payments.
Several methods to dealing with this.
Get yourself a PayPal account, and ask that you be paid this way. Many know about PayPal. PayPal makes it easy to accept even credit card payments. Explain the process if they don’t know after you know it.
You will have a laptop or your phone, so you are set to take these payments.
If you take cash, get yourself the money reader app on your phone, and you are again set.
Meetings.
Libraries, schools, Starbucks, are public places, and you can conduct your business there easy. Once you get to know the person, have them come to your home or go to them, if that is suitable.
Materials.
As you know tutoring is mainly teaching the person how to learn the subject, or making suggestions on how, for example, a paper might be written.
Most students are doing this on their computers, and the paper could be easily emailed, or if they bring a thumb drive, looked at on your laptop.
You know your subjects, so you don’t have to actually read the book they are reading from.
Example, if you tutored history, and they were reading about world war II, well you’d read about it too, and conduct your session on information. So, you understand, you don’t have to read what they are reading.
Last, back to payments. If you give a session, and you are not paid after that session, you don’t give another until you are paid. Worrying about your payments is cut down by simply not working for people that don’t pay you after you have finished the session. The serious people will pay you, and you’ll not give up many free sessions.
If they promise to have your money next time, ask for it before you start the next session, but I don’t think I’d even attend until I was paid for the first one.
What are you losing?

## Post 4 by forereel (Just posting.) on Saturday, 31-May-2014 16:02:17

Forgot to add. Get a secont email address, and if you are not willing to give out your number a second number as well.
There are services, can't think off the top of my head, that allow you to have dummy phone numbers that come to your regular phone.
I don't think that will be a problem though.
Go ahead and run adds anyplace you wish. This is a business, so conduct it as such.

## Post 5 by infinite (Generic Zoner) on Sunday, 01-Jun-2014 16:15:32

Hi HauntedReverie,
Post on a place called ESL Teachers Board. It's free of charge.
I agree with For Real. Get a Paypal account.
I solve a lot of payment problems by selling packages of lessons. Every student gets a demonstration class.
Some teachers choose to give a full-length class. Since I teach English and Spanish, mine last about 20 minutes. These are free of course. This is or tutor and student to get to know each other and find out about the student's needs. I have al o my students pay before their sessions begin. I they do not pay, they get no lessons.
I do not tell them I am blind until I have taught a few classes. This also varies widely from culture to culture.
IF I can be of any more help, let me know.
Lizz

## Post 6 by forereel (Just posting.) on Monday, 02-Jun-2014 20:14:24

How do you get away with them not knowing you are blind?
I'm interested?

## Post 7 by infinite (Generic Zoner) on Tuesday, 05-Aug-2014 3:21:19

Hi Forereel,
The answer to your question is it depends on which culture you are teaching.
If I'm teaching privately via Skype, I give a demo lesson sometimes on cam and neither o us mentions it. Often students will choose not to use a cam so there is no reason to tell them during the demo class.
After the student buys and takes most of their first package of lessons, I mention I'm blind. So long as they feel they are learning, most don't care.
If I'm applying at a school, I tell them after giving the demo class. I also use a headset so they can't hear the screen reader talking.
I hope this helps,
Liz