Hey RealiseNothing
. I appreciate your comments in response to my post. As a debater, i feel as though i have to respond to some of the claims/allegations/opinions presented in your argument. Ill be the part in bold.
Not only are you completely wrong, but your perspective on private tuition is terrible.
1) It's a business. Plain and simple. You don't know her, she doesn't know you.
pretty much So up until you begin tutoring her permanently and establish a tutor-student relationship, everything you do, everything you discuss, it is all business and nothing more.
yes, I can completely understand someone declining a tutor based on what they're looking for but the manner and attitude in which she presented herself in i consider unacceptable After a negotiation she decides your services are not for her? That's fine, move on. If you offer a worthwhile service you should be well off enough to be able to have a few declines without it having any affect on you whatsoever.
tbh, it doesn't affect me, i cannot satisfy everyone's needs You don't have anything worthwhile to offer or any incentives that make you stand out?
this is a bit rude on your part Matthew (if i may address you by your name). i do have a lot to offer, i used to give free incentives such as free trial lessons, i gave my notes for free, etc but to explicitely demean someone by saying "You don't have anything worthwhile to offer or any incentives that make you stand out" is a bit rude Bad luck, it's business, it's the way it works.
2) You call a potential student a "bitch"? But you care about your students right?
everyone I meet/talk to, I will always talk to them with the up most respect and in a friendly and appropriate manner but again, her attitiude on the phone was unacceptable and i will not be tolerating that (even if she was a troll) She'd rather some one with better credentials to help her do as best as she can, which is the essence of tutoring, so you should be happy shouldn't you that she's striving to maximise her potential?
rl example lets assume you got 98 as your final mark in your mathematics extension 1 exam and i only got 96 (still both 2 very good solid marks). why does having those 2 extra marks make one a better tutor/mentor than another, i ask? i also read that on one of your threads that you were "2012 UNSW ICAS Maths Comp Medallist which placed me 1st in the state" among other things (congratz btw) but it seems like the rationale behind many people on bos is that "if my tutor is a state ranker, then that must absolutely, certainly, mean that i will get good marks (correct me if i am wrong). in essence it really comes down to wheather one can teach maths/science/whatever. i have some experience tutoring students in my classes and cohort and they found it beneficial, some even improved drastically in a short period of time. Despite me ending up 2nd MX1 i still had helped many students but the guy who was first (he's very smart, just brilliant) was not able to communicate with the other students but some how beat everyone in exams Oh, you only care about her "
doing the best she can!" when she's your student, paying you the money. Let's not forget the privileged white kid or chink James Ruse tutor. To re-iterate point one, you really don't handle rejection well.
are you some sort of psychologist or something?
3) You also seem a bit jealous/bitter over successful tutors
i really don't care about the success of other people, if they (or anyone) seams like a good person i would be happy for them, conversely if they are full of themselves then things go south. That's definitely not the attitude you want to have going into the tuition industry, but you're probably only doing it for the money anyway
why does anyone do tutoring, partly for the money. I found it pleasing that i could help someone understand something and now (well previously i thought i could make a business out of it) considering you have like three different for sale threads
what does this have to do anything? . I remember the title of your advertising thread in fact, and if I recall correctly you had misleading info to catch the attention of potential students
i did not mislead anyone or have misleading info ti entice anyone. That's a great way to run a business! Let's trick students into reading my advertisement, that'll definitely gain their trust! /sarcasm. You really should realise
is this a pun? how important trust is between a tutor and their student. Not only does the student have trust in their tutor to know the content and teach it correctly, but they also have trust in them as a human being. Attracting students with misleading titles really does not secure any sort of trust.
4) Learn the meaning of
value. dont understand what you mean You say students only look for "overpriced" tutors. Ever heard of the saying "you get what you pay for?"
i assume this is rhetorical, but ill answer it anyway: yes. but is someone's time really that pricey? i mean they aren't a doctor who rips off $hundreds for 10 minutes of their time? This applies in the tuition business to a very large extent. Offering your services for such a cheap price won't only devalue your own services
disagree, but it will also attract students who are just looking for a tutor who will magically boost their marks. These aren't the students you want, they will be lazy and complain when you aren't getting them the marks they want without any effort on their behalf
if a studnet slacks off of doesn't require my services anymore, then either party can decline the service. it's not like i am going to threaten someone "hey! you must get tutored". You want the students who know they are paying for a worthwhile service, and are willing to go that extra mile (with you guidance) to obtain their dream results and hopefully ATAR. Value. Learn it.
still dont understand what you mean
5) Most importantly, advertise yourself as a genuine tutor
i did (i think) can you explain further. Not much else to it. You say the only people who get students are the 99+ ATAR's, James Ruse graduates, who charge $40+?
off topic, I don't think you (or anyone else for that matter) discloses their "side tutoring business" to the ATO. and before you accuse me "you don't either" i can assure you that i do. i have an expense report of every papal/cheque/bank transaction that i engage in and i disclose this to my accountant every financial year. Think again. For example I do not fit any of these categories (no where near in fact), yet have had quite large amount of inquiries and students who have stayed on as my permanent students. Why? Because I genuinely care about my students, not only their results, but even as far as them as people.
good for you I don't go around ranting when an inquiring student decides to change their mind (I've had this multiple times).
it's not the fact that a student changes their mind (i have had this many times) but again it was in the manner in which she when about it that was unacceptable
Mature a bit and things may start going your way for your tutoring aspirations.
Overall Comments:
- fairly weak argument/structure
- no evidence to back up claims
- Nice signposting
Looking forward to your counter-argument
