Everyone can be a private course tutor. A full-time teacher, lecturer, or even a college student can be a private course tutor. Seems so easy, but actually it has quite big challenges and responsibilities. A good tutor has to understand its student’s problem very well and give a solution for it. He also has to adapt faster with a new student and understand its characteristic as well as its needs. He also has to be proactive in term of student monitoring to know his student’s progress according to parent’s request.

For those who are new in private tutoring world, the first day of teaching must be the hardest and you may feel nervous, a little shy, or confused. In fact, the first meeting is the most important one because it shapes the first impression and will determine the future impression. To be able to handle the first day of teaching, you need to know some tricks, such as:

Knowing your student’s background

The first thing you have to prepare is your student’s background such as its name, school, education level, address, and the subject that you are going to teach. Make sure that you remember every information so you can make a casual conversation to chill out the situation.

Make sure you mastered the course material

Private course is not necessarily started in the beginning of the academic year. Your student may ask you to teach him about an advanced material. The first thing that can make you be more confident is when you have mastered the course material. Hence, you will not be hesitating when the learning process is started. In this state the student will also make the first impression. So, prepare your best and try to not looking up at the book or module.

Prepare the teaching module and tools

f you require some tools to teach such as books, exercises, or experimental tools or laptop (if required). Prepare all of those tools before you go. Check and make sure there is nothing left behind. Stop preparing everything in last minutes.

Come early

To minimise your nervous, you better come earlier than the schedule. Check the student’s house beforehand if it is necessary. By doing so, you can estimate the travelling time and make it on time.  You can get panic when you are late and it will break your concentration.

Dress properly

A teacher can be said as a role model. Although the learning process is done in your student’s house, but you have to dress politely. Wear your blouse and trousers or skirt can be the best combination in your first day.

Have a chat with your student’s parents

It is important to do a brief conversation in the first day of work to know about the goal of your student’s parent and what your student needs. Parents usually will tell you about their child’s characteristics and its problem so you can socialise with them easily.

Chill out the situation before you start the session

If you are done preparing, start your main job to teach. It is better if you start to make a conversation with your student, you can talk about his hobby, extracurricular activities, updated movies, or about the actual news. If you have engaged with your student, try to ask him about his problem and give the course material in a fun way to make your student feels comfortable and the material is delivered as well.

The nervous feeling that you are facing in the first session will decrease along with the learning process. Read the characteristic of your student as well as their studying style, whether he is a visual type, audio type, or audio-visual type. By doing that, you can arrange a studying scheme in the next session and make a planning for the rest sessions. Don’t forget to solve his studying problem and make him feels being helped. This will be your first step to be a successful tutor.