Last time, I was able to share with you my journey in applying as a home-based English tutor to kids and adults alike from a different country. The process was really fast as yesterday, I was already booked to teach my first class.
During the onboarding session, the trainer told us that we have to open at least 15 slots during peak hours. In the company, the peak hours are from 18:00-20:30 during weekdays and from 9:00-20:30 on the weekends.
My launching date was last Friday, May 7, 2021. During the onboarding session, we were required to open the required 15 peak hour slots (3 peak hours slots per day for 5 days, in no particular order). Since it's my first time, and I was not very confident enough, I opted to open my slots from May 10-14. So, I opened 3 slots per day. I was not really expecting any bookings before as far as I know, the slots opened by newly qualified teachers are not fully booked because our profiles are not yet very promising to students due to lack of experience and lack of ratings from previous students (since we don't have students yet). But lo and behold, on May 9, three students have booked my classes, one for each day: 19:30 on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Okay, I said to myself. I have to prepare for each class one at a time.
So, last Monday, I went to National Book Store to buy some materials that I will be needing for my 19:30 class. I went to the mall and bought these materials, then went home at around 13:30 to eat lunch. And then, at around 14:00, another student booked my 18:00 class. Mind you, I panicked.
Thankfully, I am able to preview the materials for our lesson for the day. I prepared some other teaching/learning aids that I can use for the booked class like letter cuttings, popsicle sticks, meta cards with the target words, etc. I am not so very artsy, my partner is not with me to help me, so, I have to depend on myself to be able to ace this job.
I finished preparing my materials at around 16:00, so I decided to take a shower and actually prepare for my class at 18:00. At around 17:00, I panicked because there seems to be a missing icon on my homepage. This icon is needed to be clicked 30 minutes before my actual teaching session, for me not to be marked absent. Thankfully, I asked my aunt (who is also an online English teacher), that the icon "start" would only appear 30 minutes before the start of my very first class.
I was able to breathe. But then again, time is ticking. Its' already 17:45.
It's showtime! I have to perform - become lively, energetic, enthusiastic, and fun! My first student was a cute little male kid who's Level 2 in English. Our lesson is reading a fairy tale focusing on phonics, particularly that of the pr- and pl- sounds. We read the story and pronounced certain words like the following: prince, princess, plums, place, etc. Wow! He could actually understand what I am saying/asking, and he was able to pronounce most of the words correctly! I asked him questions, and he was able to answer. Good thing, he was able to comprehend most of the things that we've learned. Btw, he is wearing a cute bow tie, and his mom was beside him all the time.
Anyways, my next class was 19:30, this next student is a cute girl with the same level of English as my first student. She was also able to read and pronounce the words/sentences correctly. I just to remind her of some minor lapses in her grammar. She was also enthusiastic and she always givens an answer to my questions. It was really fun. However, we almost hit the timer. We ended 25 minutes and 54 seconds. Whew!
My last class at 21:00 was with a very cute boy with Level 0 English. When I saw his background, I was a bit worried if we will be able to understand each other. But, well, he was exceptional. He was active and participative. Although there were instructions that were not very clear to him, he still pursued and persevered. Even though he is considered to be a Level 0 English speaker, he was able to impress me with his wit, energy, and enthusiasm to learn.
I hope the coming days will be better. I have 3 more bookings on Tuesday and another 3 on Wed, there are 2 on Friday, and 1 on Saturday.
It's true that being in this job is exhausting, the pay is not very promising (unless you open a lot of slots and these slots will be booked). I honestly am not sure why I need to do this. Maybe I am preparing for the rainy days, maybe I am preparing for a flood that might come my way. One thing is for sure, as long as I am helping these kids, and they are also helping me (in a way), I will continue.
I will continue to survive.
