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.
The Clara James Approach to learning
Use your story to grow your tutoring business
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Every day someone else makes the decision to start tutoring. Some will be excellent, others will still be learning. But with so many people promoting themselves as a tutor, how can you be the one that stands out as different?
Is the answer better resources, more qualifications, a new expensive marketing strategy?
Often the answer is no, what they actually need to do is to focus on their story.
“I always thought my oldest daughter might be mildly dyslexic. After a training course I did the tutor suggested I had a word with her school. I plucked up the courage and approached them, and their response was that dyslexia is just an excuse for laziness! I didn’t have the confidence to fight my corner, so over the coming years I started to learn as much as I could about dyslexia and different learning styles so that I could help her myself, I also thought it would complement the degree I was doing at the time.”
This is how my story often starts. I didn’t begin to tell it because it seemed like a good marketing strategy, I told it because it gave me something I could say when parents got in touch looking for help. It was something I could speak about with the hope that it would justify my approach to tutoring.
I’ve realised though over the past 14 years since I started the business it gives parents the opportunity to get to know me. It shows that I can empathise with what they are often going through. The frustration of not being heard. But also, the realisation that we won’t just be mimicking what they are doing at school, instead we will do our best to make it fun, interactive and work with the needs of their child.
When you are talking to people you don’t want to parrot it off like a well-rehearsed script and you don’t want to change your story or reinvent yourself, instead just tell the part which is relevant to the person you are talking to in that moment.
I think most parents liked my logic, my reasoning. I was speaking to them as someone who didn’t claim to be a whizz at English or a mathematical genius, but instead someone who understood them and how we learn. Someone who would take the time to get to know their child and to work with them as an individual.
Telling my story started as a gap filler when I didn’t know what to say, but actually it has become more than that. It is an opportunity to explain your values and to explain your beliefs about education.
Please never dilute or change your story to please people, be honest and open. There may be many other tutors out there but not one of them can tell your story and present tutoring in a way that your beliefs have created your style.
If you’re building a tutoring business, ask yourself what do you stand for? What kind of learners do you care most about? What part of your journey has shaped your approach?
Over the years, telling my story has shaped not just my tutoring, but the way I support other tutors to. This year I made the decision to find the confidence to redevelop our tutoring franchise. As I go, I am writing a blog and telling our story each step of the way. If you want to follow along you will find the link here: Become a Tutor
Read the full article here: Use your story to grow your tutoring business