Okay, so it's not sooooo bad. Right now my tutoring service includes one of each - first, second, third, and fourther graders. And it hasn't killed me. And I haven't wanted to kill (or even hit) the kids the way I sometimes do with my high schoolers. But here's the thing: I am not trained for this.
Two of my students are so young they often get tutored in their pajamas (bright yellow things with Sponge Bob on them or the Spiderman ones you can tell came with a removeable cape), as they have to go straight to bed 15 minutes after I leave. These students pout when they don't want to work. They cry. I don't deal with crying. I have NO tools in my teacher tool belt to deal with crying. Or wimpering. Or students who don't work well because it is PAST THEIR BEDTIME. I don't know how to respond when a kid (constantly) mistakenly calls me "Mom" - especially when it's the alternative to "Yes, Master." (I seriously have no idea why this kid keeps saying that but it annoys me so much sometimes I just want to get up and leave. He doesn't mean it in the rude, sarcastic way a high schooler would but I can't help that that's how I hear it.)
So, okay, I know enough by now to know I'm learning new kinds of patience through this experience. Maybe I'll be more understanding when it's my kids. Maybe I'll get better at hiding my frustrations rather than showing every emotion on my sleeve. Who knows. So far, I'm just getting by. I have one more week of my crazy schedule (teaching 9th grade all day, then tutor 2-4 hours after school) before I am back to one job for May and then no job by the end of June.
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