There are long-term students, short-term students...and now there are ad hoc students
I have already posted on "sprint" students as opposed to long-term students, but what about ad hoc students? I recently had a request from one of my companies to take on a student who is not interested in regular tutoring, or even sprint tutoring. This student would like to call me whenever they have an assignment to submit so that I can take a final look before it is submitted. The purpose is only to go over assignments and make suggestions if I need to.
The Disadvantages of Ad hoc Students
This is probably one of my least favourite ways of teaching. First, there is no creativity from my end. I would be helping only with homework, providing none of my original materials. I would also not be able to work with the student and help them improve over time. I would not even be able to help students understand challenging concepts before exams.
Secondly, there is no stability to this work. I would not know when I would be working and would not be able to plan my schedule around it. It is entirely possible that I would not be available when an ad hoc student needs me, if my schedule has already been filled by others. My regular students fill up my schedule quickly, and exam week means I have sprint students who are taking as much availability as possible over the next little while. With so many students planning ahead, I find it very challenging to find time to fit ad hoc students into my schedule.
Third, this type of student makes financial planning impossible. In fact, one particular student has rescheduled on me three times and requested that I meet with them at the last minute to help them complete an assignment. In order to have it done in time, they have shared it with me on Google. We were unable to find availability at the same time for 60 minutes before the assignment is due, so I have been asked to look at the assignment beforehand and meet with them for a half an hour. This means I would only be charging for a 30-minute session, but I would be expected to take time to look at the work asynchronously. Moreover, I feel like not much tutoring can be accomplished in a 30-minute session.
On some level, even if subconsciously, I prioritize my students in terms of scheduling, with ad hoc students frequently being required to schedule less than preferable times (very early in the morning or very late in the evening, for example). It does not make sense for me to leave preferred times available, even if the ad hoc student is a regular student, because I never know when I would be needed. But, if I am unavailable, I feel as if I have either not met the obligation of the company I work for or I have lost a source of income. In either case, I would not take ad hoc students in my private practice and would only do so for tutoring companies I work for; the extra challenges would not be worth it.
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