February 24, 2012

The $1,000-an-hour Super Tutor

by Will Orr-Ewing, London Evening Standard, originally published 1/5/12

London tutor Will Orr-Ewing meets his American counterparts who charge as much as lawyers and finds out how they are revolutionising the profession…

In recent years, London’s private tutors have been enjoying a turn in the spotlight. Articles describing tutoring’s more glamorous features – from Gwyneth Paltrow’s search for a “multilingual all-round genius” to Tatler magazine’s showcasing of London’s top “supertutors” – convey the impression of an exalted profession with high standards and rigorous codes of practice. The reality is quite the opposite.

The London tutor is still characterised by his amateurism. Most tutors in London lack training, an established curriculum of methods and materials and a long-term commitment to the vocation. For many well-educated and ambitious practitioners, tutoring remains a part-time job, a stop-gap between university and more lucrative or prestigious occupations.

In New York, tutoring is conceived of differently. To become a tutor is to choose a career, and it is a career choice as revered as other esteemed and competitive fields. Having been featured in the Tatler article myself and having already made important strides towards professionalising London’s private tutoring industry, I went to New York to try to understand the key differences in our approaches.

To read more click here.

Filed under: Business Practices,Small Private Practices

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