A common question you’ll find parents asking all the time before they sign their kids up for tuition lessons: ‘Are your tutors qualified?’. Honestly, I can’t remember the number of times I’ve been asked this question. Let’s just say it’s too many times. 

Always remember, parents will try whatever they can to get the best deal out of you i.e. best teaching for the lowest price. And this is one tactic that they use where they want ‘qualified’ teachers to teach their kids. Once I remember, I was being really low-balled during negotiations, but I wasn’t having it. So, I said to the parent: ‘You would like a ‘qualified’ teacher and yet you’re only willing to pay £5 per hour? Did I understand that correctly?’  That was my way of implying that how can you expect to get quality teaching for when you’re only willing to pay the bare minimum.  

I understand it can be difficult with money, especially when there is a cost of living crisis, economic downturn and high inflation. An average household has around 2 kids and every little bit adds up. But for some cultures it is worse as these communities tend to have bigger families. This only makes things financially more challenging for them, so they look to save money wherever they can.

But education and tuition services are here to stay, and parents will continue to invest in their children for their better future. But why? 

Well the answer lies with how governments run their respective countries. Their aim is to establish functioning economies, for which they need educated people with a variety of skills, to create value in society and help improve the standard of living for the public. This creates jobs and opportunities. So education isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

So what would you look for in a tutor if not the ‘qualified’ status? 

There is no simple answer for this one. But more importantly, I always categorise tutors into what I call the ‘4 buckets’. These will serve as a good screening mechanism to get the best tutor possible.  

1. Can they teach? 
2. Do they have subject knowledge?
3. Are they likeable?
4. Are they committed?

Let’s explore these in more detail.

1. Can they teach? 

Here the focus is very much on their ability to be able to transfer their knowledge to the kids in a manner they can understand best. Here are a few things to look for:

1. Can they demonstrate authority and confidence whilst teaching? Only then will students take them seriously.
2. Is their pace slow enough so that kids understand the content
3. They don’t assume that kids understand everything. That’s more at university level where a professor will walk in, deliver their lecture and then walk out.
4. Engage kids and teach on a board for clarity and future reference.
5. Prior experience in teaching also helps with their ability to teach

2. Do they have subject knowledge? 

The focus as you can imagine is on the subject expertise. Here are a few things to look for:

1. How much content do they know and at what level.
2. Knowing more content is beneficial. Students will have confidence in the tutors ability.

3. Are they likeable?

The focus here is whether or not students want to learn from their tutors. Here are a few things to look for:

1. Are they approachable?
2. Are they easy to talk to?
3. Can students talk about sports, politics with them etc.
4. Will students be comfortable talking about the latest video game that has just come out?
5. Do they command students’ respect?

4. Are they committed?

The focus here is whether or not they want to push themselves to deliver results. There are tutors who would simply walk in a min before time and walk out on the dot. But there are others with a great attitude, an attitude with which they are willing to do more in the given time. They’re not simply there to kill time, assign questions to students and to go home afterwards. 

These 4 buckets are the most important factors to consider when looking at tutors. The rest doesn’t matter. 

When kids go home and tell their parents that they really enjoyed their lesson, no parent in their right mind will discontinue lessons (unless financial reasons). All they want to see are results – that’s all.  

Initially, the parents would be sceptical if a qualified tutor is not the teacher, but this will go away once they see the value you add through commitment and dedication. More on this in future blogs. 

Let me tell you a story

There was a tutor who used to teach young kids (KS1, KS2 class). And I desperately needed a tutor for my GCSE Science class that year. I knew they were doing their Phd at the time, and ticked all 4 buckets, except they lacked experience in teaching older kids. Going from teaching KS1 students to GCSE students is no joke. It takes a change in approach and focus. So naturally I was sceptical at the beginning. 

My brother also knew who this teacher was, but he wrote them off saying that they don’t have the experience to do the job. You need confidence, you need experience, you need this, you need that etc. etc. etc. 

But my philosophy has always been to give people a chance, and that’s what I did. What happened next was amazing. They excelled at teaching older students and the class was full of students; so much so that we were considering hiring another to help out with the class. 

Interestly, I had another tutor who taught both at my tuition centre and my brother’s. One day they reached out to me and said: ‘I would like an opportunity to teach older kids. Think I am better suited at a higher level’. They were teaching younger kids at the time. 

I remembered the success from my earlier experience and am a person who believes in giving people an opportunity. So naturally after further discussions, they were given the opportunity they were looking for. And truth be told, we both haven’t looked back ever since. They proved their worth and students are doing very well.  

Amazing things can happen when you give people an opportunity. And the only way to find out is by giving them an opportunity and support. If you can do that – I guarantee your tuition business would run without issues.    

Conclusion

In this debate between ‘qualified’ and ‘non-qualified’ teachers, it is important to understand that it’s ‘only’ the parents who think they should have qualified teachers to teach their children, but it is our job to demonstrate to them the value and quality we can bring to their children’s academics. 

You don’t have to be a ‘qualified’ teacher to bring value. It’s merely a perception created by the parents in their mind. Once you are able to overcome it, it gets easier. Ultimately, the goal is for kids to improve in their academics. Whether it comes from a ‘qualified’ teacher or not, it doesn’t matter, because what matters is the academic results. 

I’ve had university students and Phds who teach at my tuition centres. Like any business, some have been very good and others not so much. But that’s part of running a business. 

Your job as the tuition business owner is to simply make sure teachers have their ‘4 buckets’. 

If a university graduate or Phd can tutor, why would you want to hire a qualified tutor and pay them double what you pay others. It doesn’t make any sense. 

Qualified or not-qualified, focus should be on the 4 buckets for quality delivery. However, I would say one thing though, that the only time qualified teachers might be a good option is for older students i.e. GCSE and A-Levels and that’s because older kids are quick to build perception about teachers and their credibility. If they know they are qualified and teach at a school as their full time job, then chances are that they will be more comfortable and will settle in quickly. But it doesn’t mean that someone else is not able to bring the same level of quality. Unfortunately, as human beings we are quick to judge, so it may need to be factored into consideration.