I want to be a private tutor

[Familia]

Hello!  Has anyone tutored homeschool children in the children's own homes or at the library?  

My experience has been to successfully homeschool our two children through high school using IEW, Saxon, gobs of read aloud, and outsourcing online or private college dual-credit for those hard-to-teach high school classes like physics, chem, and foreign language.

I envision teaching/tutoring grade school children subjects such as writing (using IEW methods, perhaps 1x/week at their home rest via email), typing (using AVKO 1x/week visit with homework assigned), simple geography units, and even offering literature where I pop-in a few times a week to read aloud and teach simple analysis to children in order to give mom a break.  

These are my concerns:

Does there need to be insurance to do this in someone's home?

I am passionate about working one on one with children (or, for literature/geography, small groups), but I do not have the most 'warm/fuzzy' aspect.

How do I do a market analysis to see if it is desired in my (rural) area and how much to charge.

Thank you for any experience you can share or, please, your opinion is valuable to me too!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I used to run a tutoring business out of my home. My homeowners insurance would have covered any accidents on my property. 

As far as market analysis goes, how much do tutors or private lessons cost in your area?  I would do some googling to see. Or if there are message bosrds where people advertise (virtual or real) I would look there. 

Have you belonged to any homeschool groups?  What were the subjects that your friends wanted to outsource?  

[EKS]

I taught a homeschooled kid Algebra I for 9 months or so.  He came to my house twice per week for instruction, and I prepared and graded tests.  His mom corrected his work (well, actually, she told him if his answers were right or wrong, and then he had to rework problems until everything was right).

A few things to consider.

Teaching and tutoring are completely different things.  With teaching, you are the primary instructor with control over what you teach, how things are introduced, the pace, the output expectations, and assessment.  With tutoring, you have essentially no control--you are trying to backfill on the fly at the pace of an external class, and usually this means that you spend your time putting out fires, most often the homework fire.  I love teaching, and I hate tutoring.

Most people do not have the money to pay what a private teacher is worth.  There is a lot of prep that goes into teaching a class, even with just one student.  This is completely different from what a tutor does, which is that they simply walk in when the hour starts and do whatever is necessary until the hour ends.  If a tutor in your area makes $20 per hour, a good private teacher should make $30-40 per hour, with the higher amount for less contact time because you'll be planning lessons for a novice to deliver (either the parent or the student themselves) on top of whatever you do during the contact time.  But very few people will want to pay that amount because all they see is what is happening during contact.

Also, how you deliver lessons to other people's children might be completely different from how you deliver them to your own children.  I can't imagine teaching history to another person's child because the way I teach history is to (mostly) read aloud while cuddling on the couch, discussing as we go. Even if you omit the cuddling part, I think it would be unlikely that someone would want to pay someone else $30-40 per hour (insert whatever the appropriate amount would be in your area) for that.

[Familia]

Cost?  I guess I could go by the math tutoring or piano lessons we had.

Writing has been the most outsourced subject.  I do not have any homeschool friends now.  The ones I had were not into homeschooling for the education, so to speak.  Was really lonely as far are education sharing was concerned.  Great social life, but no academic sharing.  From mild observation, young homeschoolers today seem to be into co-ops for socialization.  I am glad I didn't have that available to me, because it only would have diluted the education/preparation I wanted to give.  

There are a few ladies at church that I do not know well who run a co-op.  When I try to talk tutoring with them, they hint that I could teach at their meeting.   I can't stand the thought of teaching at a co-op, Ack! Groups of children!  The co-op homeschoolers are the ones I hear about, but there must be families that are going it alone.  I do not know how to find them.

I even thought about Care.com or something, but I don't know how to find out about liability when tutoring in other people's homes.  That is my greatest concern.

P.S. I live far out in the country, and I have a heart for the busy mom with many or small children or those just needing a break.  So, I am willing to go to their house so that one less thing is a burden for them.  I know driving will affect my bottom line, but money is only part of why I want to do this.  I really want to help moms!  And, I believe that writing/typing skills, along with test prep and math, which I cannot teach,  are the keys to successful college prep.  College prep begins in elementary school!

Edited April 5, 2018 by Familia
Adding info

[FairProspects]

Is there a market for this service in your area? I see ads locally for dyslexia tutoring and many parents want help to catch their child up to the curriculum, but what you are describing is really more like private homeschooling. I personally wouldn't pay for that service because I homeschool so I can teach my kids myself. If I outsource, I'm looking for a class situation for social reasons, not an individual teacher. The only time I've done something similar was with programming, because I don't know computer languages, but I would think there might be less of a demand for typical subjects like math, science, writing, etc. I hope I'm wrong and that it works out well for you, but I think you should evaluate whether there is enough demand for this service to keep you busy and engaged.

[Matryoshka]

7 minutes ago, EKS said:

I taught a homeschooled kid Algebra I for 9 months or so.  He came to my house twice per week for instruction, and I prepared and graded tests.  His mom corrected his work (well, actually, she told him if his answers were right or wrong, and then he had to rework problems until everything was right).

A few things to consider.

Teaching and tutoring are completely different things.  With teaching, you are the primary instructor with control over what you teach, how things are introduced, the pace, the output expectations, and assessment.  With tutoring, you have essentially no control--you are trying to backfill on the fly at the pace of an external class, and usually this means that you spend your time putting out fires, most often the homework fire.  I love teaching, and I hate tutoring.

Most people do not have the money to pay what a private teacher is worth.  There is a lot of prep that goes into teaching a class, even with just one student.  This is completely different from what a tutor does, which is that they simply walk in when the hour starts and do whatever is necessary until the hour ends.  If a tutor in your area makes $20 per hour, a good private teacher should make $30-40 per hour, with the higher amount for less contact time because you'll be planning lessons for a novice to deliver (either the parent or the student themselves) on top of whatever you do during the contact time.  But very few people will want to pay that amount because all they see is what is happening during contact.

Also, how you deliver lessons to other people's children might be completely different from how you deliver them to your own children.  I can't imagine teaching history to another person's child because the way I teach history is to (mostly) read aloud while cuddling on the couch, discussing as we go. Even if you omit the cuddling part, I think it would be unlikely that someone would want to pay someone $30-40 per hour (insert whatever the appropriate amount would be in your area) for that.

I guess I've been private teaching rather than tutoring, lol.  I put my toe in last year and have had a really good response that's been ramping up.  I'm teaching Spanish pretty much all to homeschoolers, and I'm the one directing the lessons, correcting homework and giving tests.  I've actually also got one German student.  Some are small groups, some are individual. Some are at a local homeschool center, some are private. I have thought about advertising to do tutoring of kids at the high school as well, but haven't done that yet.  I hadn't even considered that I should perhaps be charging more than regular tutoring because I'm sourcing all the materials, lesson planning and correcting...  but I am really enjoying myself.

[Dmmetler]

I tutor, both at home for homeschoolers and at DD’s cheer gym. Homework help for cheer kids pays much better (I get the same $25/30 minutes that the coaches get for private tumbling or stunting, and am booked the same way). 

In my experience, homeschoolers tend to only want help when their kids have LD or motivation issues (or both). And often it goes like doing a coop where there is little follow through, and can pay less. I’m trying to move to doing groups/classes more, as opposed to individuals, because I can do an hour class for 5 kids and make $50, or Incan do an hour session for 1kid and make $20–and often the homeschoolers want the small group more. I trade my most regular tutoring service for house cleaning. I also have bartered math even for piano lessons, although DD’s piano teacher’s child graduates next month. 

[Familia]

This is such a helpful conversation, thank you.  It is helping me sort out my real motivations and expectations.  

I suspected that many homeschoolers might not want someone teaching their children unless they had issues, as dmmetler said.  I suppose I have seen a need among homeschoolers in my past experience based on what they say they want to accomplish, but fail to, because of many perfectly good reasons.  I know that I could help them accomplish it.  Whether or not they would be willing to pay for this help or want an outsider to step in is another story.  

It is important to add that I do not have visions of a flourishing tutoring/teaching business.  Helping even one family teach these subjects would satisfy me and fill up my time.  (Perhaps next school year when I get our new doggy's training going, but that is another story....) 

As I do not know any local homeschoolers (church members are not local), the family would be strangers, so, therefore, my concern about insurance.  I suppose cleaning ladies are 'bonded', or along those lines, because of the risk of them breaking/stealing things?

[Jean in Newcastle]

What kind of insurance do you want?  There is no insurance that protects you from being accused of a crime - abuse or stealing or whatever.  I protected myself by always having an open door where parents could see and hear me. 

[Familia]

1 minute ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

What kind of insurance do you want?  There is no insurance that protects you from being accused of a crime - abuse or stealing or whatever.  I protected myself by always having an open door where parents could see and hear me. 

That makes sense, thank you.  I had just always imagined that I needed some.  Now, reading your comment and thinking I about it...I guess I do not need that.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I guess I'll be the soggy blanket...I would say that you should not undercut the going rate too much. You seem to have a rather romantic view of what you'll be doing, but I can tell you from experience that if you are really putting yourself out (lowball price and driving to their homes for free), it's very easy to become resentful when you begin to find out the real reasons why the families aren't accomplishing their goals. 

If families can't adequately home educate their children, they can put them in school, or they can keep homeschooling with the help of virtual classes, hired tutors, co-ops...but whatever method they choose, it should cost what it costs. If there are a lot of discounts offered to persuade them to sign up, and people accommodating their lack of commitment, it only reinforces common (wrongheaded) beliefs that hs'ers are entitled to being put on a pedestal just for hs'ing, any kind of hs'ing is better than ps, and teachers aren't worth being paid much! As far as that last one, you could actually undermine the work of local professionals. 

If families can't afford private tutors but you want to teach their children, you'll need to know exactly what you're willing to offer and the value of your time and your work, and give them a way to earn or barter, as dmmetler mentions (she swaps tutoring for housecleaning, etc.).  If you want to do pro bono work, again, know how many hours of that you can afford, and carefully choose the setting and recipients.

And as I alluded to at the first, you'll have to be ready for the possibility that a lot of the talk about goals and dreams is a combination of wishful thinking and bragging and telling you want you want to hear (as regards why their 14yo can't read or whatever)...but when you actually get in there and roll your sleeves up, you might find that the reality is that their sons are not allowed to learn real science, their daughters aren't allowed to study until they've done several hours of housework, and their kids aren't really going to be allowed to attend college - which will be ensured by not letting them learn enough to go. What will you do then?

All that said, if you are ready to charge appropriately, for everyone's sake, and work out (up front) that you all have the same goals for education, and you know you really have the parents' support and commitment, then what you want to do is wonderful and I hope it works out.

[Familia]

Thank you, Tibbie Dunbar.  I probably do need my bubble burst.  I have been puzzled for years by acquaintances who want what we have accomplished in our own family, ask for the 'prescription', then tell me 6 months later that they are still not getting going until 11 and almost time to run to sports, for example.  I suppose I believe that I could really help - but, one cannot help those who are not committed.

Discussing things helps me think, and this is helping me think a lot!  I have considered the idea of becoming an IEW instructor, level lowest, whatever it is called, in order to get listed on their website.  Perhaps, having that accreditation, for what it is worth, would at least add the appearance of professionalism and, in a family's mind, justify my higher charge.  We do believe, from our other business experiences, that it is always best to charge more rather than less.  (Thanks for reminding me not to give my time/effort away)

The day has dawned with no homeschoolers under my roof, and I am thinking of what I can do.  I believe in read aloud, writing, typing, dog training, and elderly visiting.  That could make for a very interesting nursing home=)

[Laurel-in-CA]

I've been teaching at our co-op this year and last year. I taught a poetry class for 4th/5th graders....we had to do all our writing in class because parents didn't want the kids assigned any homework. That limited our teaching time, but it meant they got to share their work with each other. It turned out better than I thought it would. This year I'm teaching a high school class (all 7 students, one of whom has been rather unreliable; he lost his home in our firestorm and got a job so no criticism here) using Lightning Lit's Speech plus public speaking. I had at least one mom who was doubtful about having the homework (reading/comprehension questions for class discussion plus several 5-7 m in. speeches) but all the kids have risen to the occasion. There is wide variation in writing skills, but the parents are happy to have their kid getting outside feedback. I've found in my own experience that writing is one area where mom's feedback is often seen as personal criticism rather than suggestions for improvement and outsourcing it can really reduce tensions between parent and child. I am loving the small group teaching and the interaction--and they do too, but I do spend several hours a week outside of class researching rubrics, grading papers, creating weekly assignments (I handed out a 20-week syllabus at the beginning of class) and I am already leaning on a curriculum that I asked the parents to purchase as well as my previous experience with public speaking in 4H and with my older kids at the community college. Anyway, I'm charging $10/kid/class. 

My last is in high school now and I am wondering about options for using my english skills to teach small groups in our area or to tutor online...but I NEED to get paid for it.

[lewelma]

I've been tutoring for 3 years now and make about 30-40K per year.  The best kids to tutor are the private school students because the parents have the money to pay you.  I do not find that homeschoolers can actually pay me a proper rate because there is only 1 parent working. Kids come to me at my house, as I have no interest in spending the time to drive and not get paid for it.

I tutor rather than independently teach a class, but I am not a 'homework helper.' I design programs to clean up messes, and buy separate workbooks and assign separate homework to make this happen. I need to dove tail this in with what is happening at the school, which means that I am usually putting out fires.  I find it wonderfully fun!  I also spend a LOT of time teaching kids how to learn and understand how their mind works. Basically, a teacher distributes the content, but a tutor teaches kids how to learn the content. One is top down and the other is bottom up.

As for pricing, I make double the hourly wage of a local teacher (this is because I can only work after school hours, so it is limited).  And I charge separately for non-contact hours which I track. My standard package is 14 hours for a 10 week term (we have 4 terms here).  So 2 noncontact hour, 2 study-for-tests hour, and 10 hours for 10 weekly lessons.  I allow 2 make-ups per term *if* I have been given 48 hours notice or if a student is sick.  The study-for-test hours carry over each term but the make-ups do not. I bill twice per term (every 5 weeks) and write up where we are at, our successes, and our struggles -- basically a detailed school report.  I've gotten pretty strict over time because of some students/families who simply want me available but then didn't show up.

I have really enjoyed do this work and have tutored: Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, PreCalculus, Calculus, and English. Math is definitely the easiest to guarantee outcome, so I have focused on that.  Parents like to see that their money is well spent.

Happy to answer questions,

Ruth in NZ

 

[Meriwether]

I teach Spanish to two different kids at different times. One with my oldest, which makes it fun for her. One way across town when my third does tumbling a few miles from her home. We meet at the library once per week, too, which actually costs me money for parking. I don't charge anything. I thought I would, but I don't. I get enough satisfaction from blessing others at this point. When I have more time and kids in college, maybe I will do classes and charge. Maybe. I don't have a problem with other people charging for their skills, but I'm not good at doing so myself.

[daijobu]

This happened by accident, but I spent my first year tutoring/teaching math in a variety of situations, and it helped me learn what I like and am good at, and what I'm not.  I've supported students enrolled in AoPS online classes who need homework help, I had a small group of schooled kids who come to a center after early dismissal once a week, I had a pair of girls who were new to AMCs so I was prepping them on old AMC 10's,  I did some old MOEMS with a half dozen students out the home of a homeschooling family, and I worked at a homeschooling co-op.

I learned about myself:  I do not excel at classroom management, and I do better with 1-2 students at a time.  And I want to move to older students who are more mature.  Supporting the online AoPS kid was a great fit, too.  Now for next year I have a better idea of what jobs I will be taking.  It was a great year for self-discovery, although I hadn't planned it that way at all.  Good luck!   

[Targhee]

I really like reading the comments. I’ve considered tutoring and teaching private classes (I taught public school before staying home when my first was born then homeschooling, but it doesn’t interest now). A lot of good points brought up.

Have you considered teaching online (vs tutoring)? Or offering classes in person twice a week?  Along with comments about undercutting local rates I will add that commitment level usually rises in direct proportion to cost. Good luck, and keep us posted on what you decide to do!