Day 349 of 366 (of 2024): No Longer a Full-Time Tutor, But Remaining True to the Concept
I must admit, receiving the phone call from the Director of Center S. has balmed the hatred I feel for Center F. and how things are run there. But, I believe the phone call has placed me into a deep depression of sorts. It might be time for me to leave tutoring. Or at least cut it down to maybe a few hours per week. Today, I think I have a session at Center F. The reason I say "think" is because I received no confirmation from my boss there. I intend to show up anyways.
When I First Was a Tutor
When I first began tutoring, way back in the fourth grade, it was only for one, maybe two hours per week each Friday afternoon. I still remember as another boy, named Watson, and I were paired up to tutor together. The two of us walked to a first-grade classroom, where the teacher assigned us two boys to tutor from her class. The four of us then went to an empty cafeteria, where Watson proceeded to tutor the boys. I remember sitting quietly most of the time and just "being there." We had maybe three or four sessions like this. One of the boys later become a friend (and playmate) of mine. I don't even remember the other boy or his name.
My Opinion of Tutoring
This experience has shaped my perception of tutoring ever since. It is only a side activity, not a career. Tutoring is something done to help others "catch up." (called corrective tutoring) In both tutoring centers for which I work, I believe most students are not there to simply "catch up" but "get ahead" (which is called extension tutoring). Students who utilize extension tutoring are those who do not really "need" tutoring but want it. They tend to be academically-stellar students. Speaking of being academically-stellar, fourth grade was my best year academically about of all of my twelve years of schooling.
Tutoring Center Directors
I believe that neither director understands the viewpoints I have outlined here. Moreover, neither director seems to have undertaken much business training. I believe one is a trained as a primary school teacher while another is a STEM-obsessed aspiring physician. Having a specialty in two or three things is great. Having a hyper-specialty can be great in certain circumstances. The main complaint with both directors here is that they lack the general skills on how to run a business for the long-term. They are OK to good at running business processes but they lack skills on how to motivate and lead people.
Another Balm for Depression
Yesterday evening, I was able to play with my two nieces for a few hours. It was great. We played so many games together. With my three-year-old niece, we drew funny things on her Etch-and-Sketch... and then drew doorknobs on everything. Doorknobs on doors. Doorknobs on houses. Even doorknobs on the Sun. At one point, I placed on of her Squigz on myself to simulating having my own doorknob. With my one-year-old niece, I had go down her slide in various positions. She went down right-side-up and then upside-down. Both times resulted in smiles. At one point, my then-cranky three-year-old niece was crying because she had tripped on something and for a few moments, my one-year-old niece began crying in solidarity with her. The whole episode was just cute.
I was able to fall asleep early last night (around 9:00 PM) and I was able to have a very nice dream. So, that's another good thing. To summarize this entry, I think it is best to remain "true" to what tutoring really is.
Learning
Probability Theory: not much yesterday.
Series 6: up to 30.8% done
Connecting and Analyzing: some, but not too much.
1.) I am thankful for my own health, overall well-being, and understanding my life.
2.) I am thankful for having income, a healthy family, and life security.
3.) I am thankful for having an all-electric vehicle.
4.) I am thankful for being accepted at a firm and being sponsored for an exam.
5.) I am thankful for my ability to learn new skills.
Until next week,
Just Jack