How does a tutor decide what they can and cannot teach?
I truly believe that, as tutor, I have an ethical responsibility to my students, including what I am teaching them. They have placed their trust in me and I work hard to deserve that trust. I ensure that the teaching materials I have created are well-researched and properly sourced. I also make certain that my knowledge of the subject matter is strong and that I am extremely familiar with what I am teaching. It could be argued that what I teach is my brand, and my students leave me as representations of my brand. However, to me, it is more than that. My students place their faith in what I teach them, that I would not lead them astray, and I would not be able to bring myself to knowingly betray that trust.
An example of this is English as a Second Language, a subject that I teach regularly. More than trusting me to teach them proper grammar and pronunciations, my students trust me to teach them to say things that would not be inappropriate. When they leave me and go out to business or formal settings, they trust that they have not been taught to say things that would offend or insult. I take that trust very seriously, which has led me to the decision to only teach with materials I have created or sourced myself.
Teaching with Pre-set Materials
When a tutor is asked to teach from materials offered by the company, there is no possible way to ensure the quality of that material. While a tutor can eventually become familiar with most of it, there is no guarantee that they will have gone through all of it, and how would a tutor know if materials have been altered or added? Can they be sure that they are always current with the entire library of resources?
How can a tutor be confident that an entire library of resources that they did not develop themselves is completely accurate, or even inoffensive? While what they are teaching today may be acceptable, what they are required to teach tomorrow or the week after may not be. What if an ESL student is being taught outdated and marginalizing phrases like, "the ball and chain," or, "the one who cracks the whip"? As a tutor, I may not come across this material until next week, but many of my colleagues may have already been teaching many of the students to say these phrases. And then, what if these students go out into the world and actually use these phrases? I am a strong advocate for social and gender justice; how would it not be a mockery of my work if I am teaching students phrases with strong undertones of gender and racial discrimination?
Original Materials
This was what ultimately led to my decision to only use original materials in my sessions. Although part of my intention for tutoring was to create my own library, I had not originally been opposed to working for companies that taught with prepared materials. If nothing else, I had thought it would inspire me with ideas of what works and what doesn't, leading me to create better materials for myself. However, when I realized that I could not have confidence in what I am teaching when I do not create or curate it myself, I realized that this was a part of my identity as a tutor. I cannot be proud of my work if I do not have agency over what I may be teaching tomorrow.
This is just one of the many experiences that are leading me to develop my pedagogical approach. Please join me again as I continue to write about more of my journey.
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