John

I am a retired teacher aged 73, but for all that still enthusiastic about helping people who want to improve their academic achievements and develop their study and examination skills or are seeking a grade improvement. I believe very strongly that learning should be enjoyable and in that way the learning process is made much easier. I also believe that the learning process should be a shared experience and that my part of the bargain is to help students to overcome their worries, anxieties and uncertainties about their abilities and to face the oncoming challenges with confidence. I have found that one-to-one contact in the family home is ideal for this.

Tutoring Experience

I was a full-time teacher for 34 years before I retired, ending up as the Head of History at a school in Middlesex, which received an excellent inspection report back in 2003. Although my major subject is History, which I am passionate about, I also get a lot of satisfaction teaching Government & Politics and International Relations, all of which are closely related to each other. I did a spell of teaching near Vancouver a while ago and there I helped to create a new department in Careers Guidance, a subject which was neglected until then. On my return to the UK, I found that the Canadian experience had enabled me to further develop my inter-personal skills which I am still putting to good use.

Tutoring Approach

The main advantage about tutoring is that it is more flexible than the classroom, although I did enjoy the latter as well. I have always believed that education is a partnership between myself and the student. This can be carried out more effectively in tutoring because I can respond more readily to the student's immediate needs; an essay which has to be done by the next day or alleviating the 'I simply don't get it' situation to name but two. It does give me enormous pleasure in helping students to overcome their difficulties and to see their confidence grow as their results in school improve. Finally it was my policy as head of the History department to give the students as wide a choice as possible over their options, and it is a reason why I can offer help in most examination courses, ranging from medieval topics to modern history.
Due to the current lock-down, I now provide online tutoring which includes Skype, Whatsap, Zoom and Teams. I am also offering tutoring on an international basis, currently China, UAE, Netherlands and Italy.
On a more personal note perhaps, I remember that exam time was always a time of struggle for me and therefore I specialise with students who for one reason or another feel they are being left behind but would enjoy the subject more if they were able to better understand and get more out of the subject intrinsically as well as the need to pass the exam.