The Clara James Approach to learning
When it comes to learning we are all individuals.
The past 20+ years have taught me that no matter our learning style if the child is engaged and relaxed they are more likely to learn.
If we just keep giving them the same resources, varied over and over again, all we are doing is giving them one place in their brains to find the information. However, by giving them a variety of resources we can make it more interesting, more relevant, and help them to create multiple memories so that when they need to recall the information, they have more places they can go to in order to find it.
If we can boost their confidence as well as their knowledge we will make their life and ours easier.
For 20 years now I've been fascinated by different learning styles: ASD, Dyslexia, ADHD. The purpose of this podcast is to share my findings with you, so that maybe what I've learned will be of help to you too.
Episodes
79 episodes
Coffee and a Tutoring Chat: Working with the child in front of you today
I think we sometimes come to a lesson with preconceived ideas.This was something I learned as a child when every teacher that had encountered my brother would point out that I'm not as clever as him...There is also the danger that...
We don't just share best practice. We create it together: Building the Clara James Franchise
I've been thinking a lot recently about how ideas travel.In many organisations, someone at the top has a great idea.That idea gets passed down through layers of management.By the time it reaches the people actually doing th...
A Tutoring chat and a coffee - Getting your first students
Putting yourself out there as a tutor takes a lot of commitment. Always in the back of your mind knowing that no- one may be interested. Each day you put one foot in front of the other and keep going in the belief that today will be the ...
Is tutoring about our success or the child that we are working with?
I had had a conversation with a tutor earlier this evening that has left me fuming. He is generally a fantastic tutor, but on this I did not agree with him.He had spoken to a mum about supporting her daughter. She was in the top set but ...
Tutoring Chat & Coffee: Where Is the Best Place to Work as a Tutor? Lessons from 14 Years of Tutoring
There are 4 different locations where you could base your tutoring from: at your home, online, at their home or in a general setting.We’ll go through each of these, and I’ll try and be objective…The most common form of tutoring in...
Helping anxious and neurodiverse children transition through the summer holidays and back to school
As we get closer to the end of term, many families are looking forward to the summer holidays - and rightly so. After a long school year, children often really need that break. They need time to rest, play, recharge, and just be.But for ...
When you start tutoring don't be taken as a fool like I was
There is something terrifying about openly admitting that you were a fool.Just a year or so into starting to tutor a company phoned me and promoted that they could provide me with a position on the first page of Google. He asked about th...
My biggest piece of advice if you want to become a tutor - be helpful
This probably sounds like I am stating the obvious, but if you are looking to start a tutoring business the biggest/best piece of advice that I can give you is to be helpful. By this I mean: if you are commenting on a social media p...
If you want to start tutoring in a couple of months time - bare this in mind
The other day I organised a "Tutoring coffee and chat". The idea being that people who were thinking of becoming a tutor or looking to grow their tutoring business could join the call and we could share ideas that could be helpful to get them s...
The Rollercoaster of Tutoring
At times tutoring can feel like a rollercoaster: its nonstop. Then suddenly you hit a bank holiday weekend, and the breaks are slammed on and somehow you have to pick up momentum again.You are running down the racetrack at a million mile...
Become A Tutor - the book's introduction
I've been trying hard to give away copies of my book "Become a Tutor" as a free gift. No strings. But it is proving so hard!So, I thought if I recorded the introduction people would know what it was about and migh...
A community for tutors
When I first started tutoring I asked tutors in the local area if they wanted to create a group where we could share ideas/highs/lows of tutoring. Work together and support each other.The response was a unanimous "no!"Yet it seeme...
Where to get advice to grow your tutoring business when you're starting out
Thinking back over the years some of the best advice I have had has been a nugget of something from a book or audiobook, or a child I have been working with.We can listen to everything, but if it doesn't work for us sometimes it's best n...
Why would you help your competitors?
Why would you help your competition? In a Facebook group that I am a part of about tutoring, someone recently asked why were people looking for help from their competition?That seemed like a bizarre concept that we wer...
A day in the life of building Clara James Tutoring
Thinking about becoming a tutor?In this episode, I walk you through a real day in my life as a tutor and what I do, how I structure my time, and what the role truly involves beyond the act of tutoring itself. It's ...
Sunshine, BBQ's and Tutoring
Something you may not consider when you start tutoring is the weather!This past weekend the weather has been incredible (by the usual standards of the UK in April). The sun was shining and many of the neighbours were having BBQs.
What makes a good tutor?
If you had asked me a couple of years back what makes a good tutor, I would have answered with what I thought a tutor needed to be. Confident, a qualified teacher, great subject knowledge and the degree to prove it.After 14 years of buil...
3 bits of advice I would give someone when their tutoring business is looking for a boost
There will be days when you are working on growing your business that you will feel like you have slogged away all day and question what you have achieved. Then other days you will do something that takes you seconds but will have you swinging ...
Getting started as a tutor: The highs, lows and in-betweens
Tutoring was never something I intended doing, however a friend talked me into it. I had no business experience (my background was education, specifically working with neurodiverse children). So a friend and I brainstormed what we would expect ...
When should I start tutoring?
As with most things there is no perfect time to start tutoring, so start today!That's a confident statement, but the reason I say that is because initially people will be oblivious of what you are doing. It will take time for people to r...
A Simple Way I Grew My Tutoring Business (That Cost Nothing More Than My TIme)
When I first started tutoring I hired a room for a couple of days (though I guess I could have done it here) for free through a local organisation, and offered free tutoring. My request was that the family put a donation into the tin instead of...
Growing Your Tutoring Business Without Losing Your Standards
I was speaking to a tutor who has been building his business over the past few years and is now considering taking voluntary redundancy to grow it full-time.He mentioned that many of the families he works with have started asking if he o...
Listen to everyone, but only hear what's relevant (when marketing your tutoring business)
Over the years I have found that there are so many people offering you advice on how to market your business. Each person saying something different. Each one equally justified because it's worked for their business. But is that business a tuto...
Why we started offering online lessons as well in person lessons
When I first started the tutoring business in 2012 I was very opinionated that every lesson should take place in the comfort of the child's home. They would be in an environment where they felt comfortable and it would make life easier for the ...