A few times I de facto taught a course on ‘calculus with proofs’ to a few students who wanted to learn from someone who seemed smart and motivated. I didn’t get any money and they didnt get paid. We met twice a week. I could give some lectures and they discuss problems for a few hours. There was homework. We all took it very seriously. It was clearly not a small amount of work but I frankly found it invigorating. Normal classes were usually not invigorating.
I will say I found tutoring much more invigorating than teaching courses. When a student comes to you for tutoring they tend to REALLY wanna learn the material fast. Often there is a test coming up. They pay attention. If you are good they are grateful for your attention. And you feel grateful to them too! Its wonderful to see someone learn fast. Many students will be genuinely sincerely thankful to their good tutors. It makes sense the tutors were trying to help them learn as efficiently as possible!
I think teaching is soul crushing because neither the student nor the teacher is properly motivated. Teachers are not providing their students with optimal learning environments, they aren’t even trying (where as a good tutor is actually trying. Even at a commercial tutoring center). And the students aren’t trying all that hard to learn.
This is my usual conclusion but the issue is not lack of skill in most cases. Its lack of ‘actually trying’ and lack of ‘minimal attempt at good practices’. Professors/teachers just have to teach whoever shows up and needs the class. This is true in tutoring centers too, to some degree. But in tutoring there is much more expectation students will find a tutor they vibe with.
Education could be fun and invigorating for both sides if both sides came into the experience with a sincere attitude to try. But unless goals are aligned where could such an attitude come from. And goals are often not aligned.
I will say as a professor I also wanted to help my students. But the obvious way to help them was to uhhhhh ‘give them as high a grade as I could possibly get away with’. If I could id have given them all As but the amount of flexibility I had varied. But it was just too soul crushing to not go into teaching with a sincere desire to help my students not judge them.
This thread honestly reminded me I live in a college town. I wonder if anyone needs high quality help with their analysis or algebra classes. I could probably charge some reasonable rate and im a very good tutor if the student has the right vibe. and by right vibe I dont mean exceptional ability I just mean something like ‘gets along with sapph as a person. Sapph is good natured but very high energy and clearly a little insane. Ideally the student finds this charming’
Yes, I often thought of this as a potential explanation before, but in this experience the students definitely wanted to learn. It was basically an elective and they’re all seniors already on track to graduate, so they were under no pressure. They just wanted to learn! So in this case it wasn’t soul crushing because the students weren’t properly motivated, they were absolutely motivated, and so was I. In fact, I think it wasn’t soul-crushing for the students. But it was still a little soul-crushing for me!
You absolutely should try tutoring! I’m sure you could find some students who are a good match and who would really appreciate it! :)
Did the students really want to learn?
A few times I de facto taught a course on ‘calculus with proofs’ to a few students who wanted to learn from someone who seemed smart and motivated. I didn’t get any money and they didnt get paid. We met twice a week. I could give some lectures and they discuss problems for a few hours. There was homework. We all took it very seriously. It was clearly not a small amount of work but I frankly found it invigorating. Normal classes were usually not invigorating.
I will say I found tutoring much more invigorating than teaching courses. When a student comes to you for tutoring they tend to REALLY wanna learn the material fast. Often there is a test coming up. They pay attention. If you are good they are grateful for your attention. And you feel grateful to them too! Its wonderful to see someone learn fast. Many students will be genuinely sincerely thankful to their good tutors. It makes sense the tutors were trying to help them learn as efficiently as possible!
I think teaching is soul crushing because neither the student nor the teacher is properly motivated. Teachers are not providing their students with optimal learning environments, they aren’t even trying (where as a good tutor is actually trying. Even at a commercial tutoring center). And the students aren’t trying all that hard to learn.
This is my usual conclusion but the issue is not lack of skill in most cases. Its lack of ‘actually trying’ and lack of ‘minimal attempt at good practices’. Professors/teachers just have to teach whoever shows up and needs the class. This is true in tutoring centers too, to some degree. But in tutoring there is much more expectation students will find a tutor they vibe with.
Education could be fun and invigorating for both sides if both sides came into the experience with a sincere attitude to try. But unless goals are aligned where could such an attitude come from. And goals are often not aligned.
I will say as a professor I also wanted to help my students. But the obvious way to help them was to uhhhhh ‘give them as high a grade as I could possibly get away with’. If I could id have given them all As but the amount of flexibility I had varied. But it was just too soul crushing to not go into teaching with a sincere desire to help my students not judge them.
This thread honestly reminded me I live in a college town. I wonder if anyone needs high quality help with their analysis or algebra classes. I could probably charge some reasonable rate and im a very good tutor if the student has the right vibe. and by right vibe I dont mean exceptional ability I just mean something like ‘gets along with sapph as a person. Sapph is good natured but very high energy and clearly a little insane. Ideally the student finds this charming’
Yes, I often thought of this as a potential explanation before, but in this experience the students definitely wanted to learn. It was basically an elective and they’re all seniors already on track to graduate, so they were under no pressure. They just wanted to learn! So in this case it wasn’t soul crushing because the students weren’t properly motivated, they were absolutely motivated, and so was I. In fact, I think it wasn’t soul-crushing for the students. But it was still a little soul-crushing for me!
You absolutely should try tutoring! I’m sure you could find some students who are a good match and who would really appreciate it! :)