Krav Maga

Recently I opted to take a little private tuition myself. I chose Krav Maga as it seemed a good form of self-defence that gets straight to the point and came highly recommended by a friend.

There was myself and two French brothers taking the class. The warm up was six minutes long but felt like 30 minutes of intense exercise with a few moves in there that reminded me how much I lack co-ordination. It is probably a well known fact that when a self-defence instructor asks for a volunteer that one should keep quiet but after a long day at work I wasn’t quite that sharp and put myself forward. From strangling the man to being on the floor in pain took less than a second. This was definitely something that I wanted to learn; to have the power to have someone on the floor in seconds would be a considerable advantage on the streets of London. We went through a number of techniques including disarming someone with a knife and finished with a ‘stress test’. We were instructed to box against pads for a couple of minutes whilst another person pushed you about and threw insults. Once the exhausting two minutes were over we span in a circle to make us dizzy as though inebriated and then were attacked by two people for several minutes.

On completion I shook hands with the French as a form of truce for any over-enthusiastic punches that were thrown and left feeling invincible. I cannot advocate enough the benefits of tuition, from that which I give to that which I receive it always gives a feeling of accomplishment and value. You can choose anything in the world and start learning from masters and enthusiasts.

On a business front things are looking up, google is beginning to recognize us and promote us up their ranks, our pages are receiving thousands more visits than ever before and we are looking strong for the ramp up to September.

We do however still have a few subjects without tutors in certain areas and will be advertising these on our facebook and twitter sites in order to fill those gaps.

Best wishes,

Ed

Director Tutorlink.org.uk Ltd

The final push to exams

April is here, the days are longer and optimism is in the air. However, if you are preparing for summer exams, this can come as more of a hindrance or distraction rather than anything remotely positive. This is the final challenge of will power, you have worked through the cold dark winter nights and whilst everyone is starting to enjoy the outdoors you have a metaphorical chain tying you to your desk.

This is the point where an organised routine can really help, if you have set out to do 8 hours of work in a day and a timetable is rigorously followed the last few hours of the day can be enjoyed with some exercise outdoors or even just a quiet dinner in the fading sun. Another option is to get outside bright and early and enjoy what many call the best part of the day. A stroll through a park or the open countryside can really get you in a positive mood to start the day’s work.

It was about this time, a few years ago now admittedly, that I had my first session of private tuition. Sat in the garden of the V&A with pot of tea following pot of tea, I had an eight-hour day of tuition in the sunshine. Whilst this was a rather idyllic setting, the benefits of private tuition became very clear and I wished I had had more. That eight-hour period was far more productive than a whole week’s work in gaining a deep understanding of the material.

So other than wishing those revising all the best for the tough couple of months ahead, the only other thing to do is to urge as many people as possible to sign up as a tutor. This is the time that the students really need your help and we still have a few subjects without any tutors.

Introductory video

We have put together a brief video for students who want to know how to search for and contact a tutor. We hope that you like it:

Business update - Photos, food and running.

January is drawing to a close and finally, although still cold, we begin to see the days lengthen as we head towards spring. This is an exciting time for Tutorlink as we take several gambles at once.

We have launched the UK universities photographic competition, hosted on our facebook page www.facebook.com/tutorlink to enter just post your photo on our wall. The theme is ‘reach your potential’ and entry is completely free. Anyone can then vote simply by, “liking” the photo. The top prize is £100 and last time I looked we only had 3 entrants, so get posting now.

Secondly we have secured advertising in Waitrose Food Illustrated throughout March so look out for us there.

And finally we have recently shaken on a deal with Imperial College London to take on the sponsorship of the cross-country and athletics teams and the newly named “Tutorlink Hyde Park Relays”. We are very proud to be sponsoring the largest student relay race in Europe promoting a healthy body and a healthy mind.

All in all, not bad for a month where badgers are still hibernating.

Best wishes,

Ed

Director

www.tutorlink.org.uk

How's business?

I have been standing somewhat taller this week since discovering an article in the London student rating tutoring with us as the best part-time job: 5/5 for pay, 4/5 for career enhancement, 4/5 for flexibility of hours and 5/5 for fun. Ref: page 19, http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1ikox/Issue5LondonStudentN/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F102153%2FIssue-5-London-Student--Nov-16th-2009-%3Frefid%3D4384

I was buzzing with adrenaline on finding out that the company that I had put so much of my time, money and effort into had been recognised for the service that it offers. In a time where graduate unemployment is rocketing and where graduates are caught in the catch 22 of not having work experience so they can’t get work to get work experience to get work... With us, undergraduates and graduates can get work experience and can earn money befitting of their ability, whilst developing the skills of themselves and others.

The outlook seems bright; the number of our facebook fans is currently lying at 796, our twitter followers now number 232 and the number of tutor profiles on the site just hit 170. Not bad figures for about six weeks of trading.

We have a need for more tutors with enhanced CRB checks and so from now until Christmas we are offering six months free subscription to those who come to us with an enhanced CRB check that is less than three months old from another company of to those who purchase a CRB check through us. (Currently £41.50 for those who live in Scotland and £55.60 for those who live in the rest of the UK)

As always we really value your feedback so if there is anything that you would like to share with us please just drop us an e-mail to ed@tutorlink.org.uk

Best wishes,

Ed

Director Tutorlink.org.uk Ltd

Tutorlink.org.uk Ltd. University of Leeds Union, Lifton Place, Leeds. LS2 9JT

Registered company number: 06978456

Creating www.tutorlink.org.uk

Hi Everyone,

Now that our new website has finally launched I thought I'd give you a little insight into how we have got to where we are today. Tutorlink started in 2006 when, at a slight loose end during a long summer holiday, I spotted the gap in the market and decided to go for it. Students were working for demeaning wages and the prices of private tuition had soared to ridiculous heights.

The first tutorlink was naive to put it mildly; heavy on the paperwork and slow to connect tutors. It did however spread from London to Leeds as Leo joined the team in 2007.

In 2008 however, we decided that it was time for a re-think and a re-fresh so we shut down our operations and started planning the tutorlink of today. We fell in with some not so good developers and lost a year to them. Then early this year we found some new developers whose portfolio included work for the "dragon" Deborah Meaden and we were back on track.

After an intense development period of caffeine fueled late nights along with all the other elements to launching a company such as legal documents and marketing etc... we finally managed to launch just under a month later than intended.

As with any new site there will be a few teething issues but we hope that it will revolutionize this industry and make life a great deal simpler for both those who want to teach and those who want to learn.

We are really keen to keep you happy so if there is anything that isn't working or that you don't understand or you think we could do better please let us know at either leo@tutorlink.org.uk or ed@tutorlink.org.uk You can tell us about the good stuff too if you like ; )

Feel free to add posts to our facebook page or by this blog if you want to give any public feedback.

Good luck with your futures,

Ed

Director

Tutorlink.org.uk Limited

Less able kids - By Mr. Chips

How do we view underachievement in less able students? How do we even define what underachievement means for these kids? Within the classroom or tutoring environment, these kids usually create a ‘marmite response’ in educators. Many (especially younger teachers who still feel more attached to their subject rather than education) feel that these students are hard work, and frustrating, as you may have to repeat principles many times to ensure comprehension. In contrast, some educators revel in the opportunity to make a real difference in students who otherwise would be a lost cause within their subject area. It is important in the case of students who are not as capable in the subject area you choose to teach to realize that this does not mean they are incapable in all areas. It is our job to expand our own teaching horizons to encompass other skills to help these students attain the success that their ability allows. There are many strategies to aid this, ranging from old favourites such as the mnemonic through to integrating your subject with more creative pursuits or using IT as a tool to aid learning. There is also a place, even as a tutor on a one to one level, to use practical techniques to aid comprehension, as many students who seem less able in a traditional classroom environment may however simply be kinaesthetic learners, who will quickly absorb information and principles if presented to them in a novel fashion.

Drawing on a sporting parallel again, any sports fan will appreciate the frustration of watching a sportsman underachieve. A popular mantra in many sports is also that of “a great player does not make a great coach” based on the principle that for someone who found their skill completely simple and natural, it is difficult to appreciate the struggle someone less skilled may be going though at points in their career. We must remember this as educators, and also consider that for all the frustration naturally felt when we have a student who is continually struggling, the student will be feeling far more frustrated and even embarrassed by their struggles and underachievement. It is important therefore to support these students and channel our frustration into helping the student (and ourselves as teachers) achieve. We must try to do this in the most sensitive way possible for the student in question. In most cases the strategy to avoid most is to use any variant on the phrase “this is simple” and demonstrating to the student how simple it is for you. Even in the most humdrum situation such as trying to thread a needle or trying to find the end of sellotape, most people will suffer from acute irritation when someone else then finds the same task simple. If we scale this situation up to a whole classroom situation, it is easy to understand less able students becoming disruptive within this environment as they aim to deflect the attention away from their deficiencies.

How does this relate to underachievement? Well I believe for students who are less able it is important to first enable achievement, then once you are in a situation where you are able to help them learn, then this is the time to judge goals and targets for the student. From this point forward it is important to keep supporting the student, and make the learning process as easy as possible. By ensuring this, you will avoid the idea of a constant struggle in your subject, a concept that appeals to very few, regardless of ability!

Underachievement - By Mr Chips

Given that my last blog was somewhat critical, I felt that it would be appropriate to write some pieces about criticism. I intend to give some thoughts on the overused phrase ‘underachievement’. I’ll break this into three sections which I believe the press enjoy spreading liberally across their media; schools, bright kids, and less able kids.

Bright Kids

We so regularly perceive underachievement as being a complete lack of achievement. For example we consider Tim Henman and Mark Ramprakash to have underachieved when their talent and potential are considered, and thus judged as failures. This black and white picture is one propagated in academia mainly by an obsession with higher education. If a student doesn’t achieve the grades required for a university place, they have a feeling of failure, and forget that they have achieved anything at all. This is a mentality which has percolated throughout secondary education and one which eats away at student confidence. Most schools now have a ‘Gifted and Talented’ programme which aims to identify and stretch talented students. When run poorly this scheme sets high expectations of students, and when these expectations are not met at each assessment of their learning, they are told they are ‘underachieving’ and not meeting their potential. Why do we do this? As teachers we rarely put this much pressure on C/B grade borderline students, instead we provide support to help them breach the boundary. By behaving like highly competitive fathers on the football sidelines, educators create additional pressures for talented students. We view the unfulfilled sports talents above with a warm heart when we consider the pressure they came under, both from the public, the establishment, and most importantly themselves. Pundits talk of ‘big game players’ and how so many sports are played mostly in the mind. It is important for us to consider this when dealing with students who are underachieving. They may have peripheral issues which are affecting their performance, and most students have more than enough pressure without us adding to it, so instead of criticising students in this situation, it is important that we give them the support and guidance they need to fulfil their potential and for both you and the student to enjoy this achievement.