Private Tutor - Charleston, South Carolina

Student

A bright and curious boy, the child started attending a Montessori kindergarten in August 2022 where he is doing very well. The school day involves self-guided learning in the morning and spending the afternoon outdoors. This has helped him learn to socialize and be away from home during the day, and it has been beneficial for his behavioral learning and rule-following.

However, his parents do not think he is being challenged academically. Last year, his they engaged a tutor to work with him 1:1 and he really enjoyed this personally tailored format that focused on him being challenged, as well as encouraged his enjoyment of learning.

When he is in a new situation, or in a big group of people, the boy is shy.  When with his favorite people, he’s ebullient and talkative. A gentle, trusting child, he does not throw tantrums or behave boisterously as lots of young boys his age do. The family are close, and he spends time with his grandparents and cousins as often as possible. 

He loves building and inventing things, especially Lego. His intrinsic curiosity and creativity are high. He has a long attention span and can remain engrossed in a Lego project for hours.  He has completed invention lessons with Outschool but became frustrated about only planning and not actually building his inventions. He currently does a weekly extracurricular Lego & Robotics course, which also includes elements of 3D printing and robotics, that he loves.

The boy is very strong in mathematics. Having discovered ‘Numberblocks’ when he was 3, he quickly picked up basic arithmetic. He enjoyed learning about numbers, starting with multiplication to simplify adding, then squares, roots, division, exponents, and more. By 4, he was comfortable doing his times tables up to 12 or 13. He quickly picked up fractions and can reduce fractions and do basic fraction arithmetic. His insights into computations can be very advanced. At 5, he is already comfortable with 4th or 5th grade mathematics.

The boy’s reading and writing is average. He enjoys being read to and likes creating his own stories and making them into books, but he does not enjoy the process of learning to read. He began reading and writing early but when encouraged to learn to read more formally, he reacted negatively. He has been able to recognize and write all the letters of the alphabet since he was 3 and is now starting to sound out and write words. 

The boy has had an au pair from China since 2019 and is now a fluent Mandarin speaker. He can already read and write a few Chinese characters.

The boy enjoys arts and crafts and draws well. He likes singing and dancing and is interested in learning to play the guitar. He also enjoys cooking and baking, and often jumps in to help with simple recipes like banana bread. Having grown up next to the ocean, he is also a very good swimmer.

Role of the Tutor

This is a full-time, home-schooling role and so the Tutor must be a flexible, enthusiastic, and capable educator. The family enjoy travelling and plan to spend several months a year away from their Charleston home. Excellent organisational skills are required, both in terms of curriculum design and delivery, and in maintaining a tidy workspace and excellent records.

The Tutor must have a strong mathematics background. They will consolidate the boy’s current level and challenge him with middle school mathematics. They will understand abstract research mathematics and the abstractions behind elementary mathematical concepts. The family would also like to include learning about the people and history of mathematics. They seek a Tutor who can bring the subject to life and encourage him to view mathematics more as a game rather than a school subject. The boy’s father would be happy to participate in curriculum design, given his mathematics background.

The Tutor will have experience teaching primary aged children. The family want someone who can help him see the value in working hard at something even when it feels hard. They would like him to learn to love practice and learning. The ideal tutor will be someone who can adapt to the direction the boy wants to go, while gently guiding him through the curriculum – someone able to nurture his autonomy while building some discipline. A Mandarin speaker is essential; the family would like him to start learning to read and write in Chinese.

His parents would also like to introduce him to coding and programming. Encouraging him to participate in more individual sports like running, swimming and climbing is expected.

The appointed Tutor will be highly educated, intelligent, well-travelled, responsible, practical, and down-to-earth, with a strong sense of fun and a wide range of personal interests. They need to be physically fit and active.

Hours and Holidays

The Tutor will work with the boy for around 40 hours per week, with preparation in addition.

The Tutor is entitled to an average of two consecutive days off per week, normally at the weekend, but may need to be flexible regarding travel plans and the boy’s other activities.

The Tutor is entitled to a minimum of 9 weeks holiday (45 working days) per year, to be taken during school holidays and at times agreed upon with the family. The Tutor will be flexible regarding any changes in schedule and will adapt accordingly. The Client will try to give up to two weeks’ notice of any planned alterations to plans already agreed.

Accommodation and Travel

The Tutor will be housed either in a separate living space in the Client’s Charleston home (including a bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette, and its own entrance), or an apartment within walking or biking distance. The Client prefers the Tutor to be on-site.

Private accommodation will be provided when travelling. All expenses will be covered by the Client except for the Tutor’s personal phone bill and fuel.

While a car will not usually be provided, the Client will provide transportation allowance for use with ride hail and other forms of transit.

Miscellaneous

The Tutor must prioritise the safety and well-being of their charge, including taking precautions to minimize the boy’s exposure to infectious diseases and avoiding dangerous situations outdoors.  The ideal applicant will have plenty of experience, enthusiasm, and energy. 

They must be capable of adapting their teaching to fit the variable circumstances of working with a young boy at home or while travelling. The Tutor is expected to make use of all that Charleston has to offer in their work.

The family are looking for an inspiring individual who can help their son with his, but behavioral and social development as well as his academics.

For more information and instructions on how to apply, please visit: 

tijobs.net/546