As teachers, we often hear about how lucky we are to have summers off with pay (even though our pay is actually just spread across the whole year) we are still lucky! However, those who have never taught, may not understand the importance of summer break. For some teachers, it’s a time of recovery from a stressful school year. And for others, it may not even get to be much of a break at all. They may need to work straight through the summer, for financial reasons. Other teachers may choose to tutor during the summer to supplement their income. Either way, it’s important for teachers to remember to take some time for themselves in the summer.
Here are a few tips to help you to do just that as you work * for yourself * as a summer tutor. Yes, I said, “work for yourself.” When it comes to tutoring, it is important to understand a few things. By working for yourself, you will make more money, be able to create a more flexible schedule and have more freedom to teach in the way that you want. Keep this in mind as you read on and ask yourself the following 3 questions. Your answers are the first steps to getting started to earn what you need to this summer!
So here’s a question you won’t ever be asked by a school district… How much do you want to earn?
Yes, you heard me right, “How much do you want to earn?” The first step in getting started is to determine how much you want to earn this summer. Now, this decision can be influenced by the reasons WHY you are working this summer. If it’s by choice, and not because you need the money, maybe you decide that you only need a specific amount. It can be motivating to set an amount that would help you to reach a goal. Such as saving for a vacation or a fun experience.
If you are working in the summer due to financial need, figure out how much you need to earn in order to make things easier financially. For both situations, this may mean figuring out an hourly wage. Or you may prefer to create a package deal. Either way, keep in mind that the hourly wage offered by schools for summer school or by private tutoring center for summer tutoring tends to be significantly lower than what you can earn on your own. So don’t feel that you are limited to that amount. Trust your skills, do your research and know that you have something great to offer families.
If you have a summer job where you work for someone else, you may not have too much input on your schedule. However, when you start up your own tutoring business, you can set up the hours that work for you.
Planning your own schedule is a huge benefit of working for yourself. You plan what your schedule looks like. And you get to plan what it doesn’t look like. If you need a break from waking up early, then you can plan to tutor later in the day. Want certain days off? Decide which days of the week you want to work. It’s still important to give families notice about any upcoming vacations ahead of time, and to be realistic about what you are able to work during the summer.
Owning your own teacher business also means that you decide the day that service begin and end for the summer. And those days are simply based on your own preferences and lifestyle needs. If possible, you might want to leave some time after your school year ends to decompress and take some time to relax. If you are going back to teaching in the Fall, I’d also recommend timing the end of your summer tutoring sessions so that you can take some time off before doing so.
PS- If you decide to start tutoring, you will need to set up a schedule that works for you.
Here is a link to a planner that might help you get started. My favorite part about this one is that it includes a 2 page spread for each month, so that you can see your tutoring schedule for the whole month, as well as a section for each day.
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Ok, here is the main question. It’s the one that you do need to answer in order to build your tutoring business around a focused purpose. It may be an easy one to answer, if there is a subject or skill that you love teaching and would enjoy tutoring in the summer. But on the other hand, this is something that some teachers need some time to think about.
There are actually two things to think about when we consider what to tutor: the subject or skill and the audience. You may know that you want to teach math. But at what level? Elementary? High school? It’s also important to consider your own experience and strengths once you determine your subject. Are you skilled at working with advanced students who get the main concepts, but need to continue to be challenged? Or are your passions and skills more aligned with helping students who struggle?
If you still need to determine what exactly you want to tutor this summer, set aside some time to do a brainstorming session. Ask yourself these questions: