About three weeks ago I took some certification tests to become enrolled in a paid tutoring web site.
Two weeks ago I got my first contact. A mother had a son in junior high who had been promoted to skip a math class, and now was struggling somewhat in algebra.
We exchanged information, and she established a PayPal account through the web site as required.
By last night I was in their kitchen, meeting the parents and the son.
The son was delightful. Very bright, engaging, confident, truly an ideal student. He was able to pick up several concepts and do math in his head.
For my part I was able to pick up some tendencies that were holding him back, and we drilled those.
It was a happy home. Mom, Dad and sister were there, all in good spirits as I met them... clearly having fun together quietly in another room while we worked.
By the end of the hour we'd made strong progress and we were all pretty fired up.
As I was leaving I asked her about how she got to the site. She explained that it had taken weeks of trying to connect with tutors recommended from school counselors and a district tutoring list, with no luck in finding someone who was available. Or in too many cases, who would even return a phone call.
So here we were, a fitting marriage of their needs and my interests. It's such a wonderful thing about teaching. There are no losers by nature. Both sides can win every time.
Oh, and she said that she's prepaid the account with $500.
As long as I'm charging $30/hr I'll need about 400 tutoring hours annually to get to my goal of $12,000 a year. As usual it's all in God's hands, but for all of my shortcomings, the wind feels strong at my back right now.
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