Set Up a Study Plan With Your Tutor That Works for You

Set Up a Study Plan With Your Tutor That Works for You Tutoring is an excellent way to learn more in-depth about a particular subject, whether you feel youre falling behind in class or you want to get ahead. Since tutoring is extremely adaptable, its up to you to make your study plan the most effective it can be. Here are a few tips on setting up a plan with your tutor for your best chances of success: 1. Discuss purpose and end goals Before your first tutoring session, talk about your purpose and end goals. Are you trying to catch up or enrich knowledge youve already gained? How much familiarity do you have the subject? It can be helpful to show your tutor recent projects or assessments youve had in the class including specific problems or questions youre struggling with as well as discussing your classroom instructors teaching style. You may need tutoring for an upcoming test, like a school exam, or a standardized test, like the SAT. In that case, youll want to discuss a timeline for being adequately prepared, so that he or she can plan accordingly. 2. Structure your tutoring hour A great aspect of tutoringis the complete freedom to structure it however you and your tutor would like. Discuss any learning strategies that youve found helpful in the past, such as flashcards, practice problems, or timed writing. What kind of learner are you? Do you respond better to visuals, audio, reading/writing, or physical movement? Your tutor may include activities other than your obvious strengths, but this information would also be helpful for him or her to know. Have a conversation about splitting up the actual session time into activities like instruction, independent practice, and review. You and your tutor may even decide that tutoring sessions may look different from week to week. 3. Talk about curriculum and tutoring materials Besides the actual time spent with your tutor, youll want to talk to him or her about teaching and supplementary materials that would work best for sessions. Decide how closely youd like your tutoring time to follow in-class instruction. If youd like a direct correlation to class and homework, you might provide more of the material and ensure your tutor has access (before or during sessions) to your school textbook, workbook, and homework assignments. If youd like to enrich your knowledge with outside material, talk with your tutor about finding an outside text. He or she likely knows of some, and you could also ask your teacher for recommendations. Some subjects or study plans may not even require another text; instead, your tutor may plan activities and instruction without an additional book. 4. Communicate related classroom instruction Tutoring can be an extremely effective way for you to learn concepts and skills alongside regular school work. One key to this is making sure you communicate regularly about what youre working on in class and how your classroom instructor may be teaching specific information. Your tutor will be able to use this knowledge as a foundation for what he or she will practice with you. Also, discuss the pacing of your class and any change in test dates or projects with your tutor. Decide how and in what way youll communicate outside of sessions, whether by text, email, or phone. Talking about the above things with your tutor can set up clear expectations for the both of you, so that you can get the most out of sessions as possible. Dont forget to keep lines of communication open, as your purpose and goals may shift over time. Your tutor will be grateful for this clarity, and you will also benefit from it in the long run.

Make Your Text Structured through Proper HTML Techniques

Make Your Text Structured through Proper HTML Techniques HTML is the basic programming language to be learnt. It is used for making web pages interactive and for structuring text. This is not only necessary for academic grades and is also essential for creating neat online documents in an impressive form with enhanced usability. Learning HTML Techniques with an online tutor Learning the basics of HTML Techniques can be done through free downloads of the subject basics. To learn the intricacies of HTML,you need to search for an online HTML tutor. Tutor who knows the in and out of the subject . The tutor who can also help with the techniques that make your docs highly structured. Structured with headings, paragraphs, links, quotes, lists etc. The best part of learning from a virtual tutor is his white board interactions. His personalized tutoring session where he has the scope to highlight the use of HTML tags and tables in the proper manner. He can help students learn the secret of creating interesting and impressive web pages. @TutorPace Offers 10% Discount on Online #Assignment Help for Improved Grades http://t.co/P1NO7BttIg #backtoschool pic.twitter.com/vJs9iihJwU â€" Tutor Pace (@TutorPace) September 10, 2015 Coding in HTML is easy with the guidance of an online tutor who knows how to teach you the HTML elements. They are the building blocks of Hypertext Markup Language pages and knows what level of tutoring you need after evaluating your knowledge in the subject. This helps you ace HTML without any learning struggle. HTML assignment help-the necessity for it Make your HTML project a fantastic presentation. All your homework assignments flawless with right solutions through HTML assignment help online. The difficult areas of coding in HTML assignments can be done with ease. This can be done through experts who are veteran web designers with years of experience. The tutors with their expert knowledge in the difficult areas of coding. They will tackle challenging topics with valuable techniques. This helps you fetch good assignment grades. Why online tutors for HTML tutoring? Since HTML forms the base of creating web pages. It is better to learn the subject from an expert.   Expert who can be none other than an online tutor. His subject experience is awesome with the merits he showcases in his tutoring methods. Methods that are personalized to suit your demands to the core. Use his subject expertise for your benefit in one on one session. They get the best of the knowledge in the subject areas for maximum scores. They also get unique insights. Where To Avail Cheap And Handy Math Assignment Help Online Online tutors are ever available on web and you can interact with them at any time for clarifications and writing help. They resolve your homework issues in no time and help you through struggling moments. Help you in difficult parts of learning HTML with their working knowledge. Try online tutoring help for HTML to your best advantage and score at the top level for an esteemed rank in the class.

Learning About Learning

Learning About Learning Are you one to take notes meticulously during lectures? Or study one section of a textbook for a whole hour? Or always go to the same room to study? Contemporary research on brain psychology and memory retrieval suggests that those may not be the best methods when it comes to learning. Instead, researchers recommend the following tips: Interleaving learning: rather than drilling 50 algebra questions, you should solve a few algebra questions, a few graphing questions, and word problems. The key is to identify related skills sets to alternate. In the sports world, using basketball as an example, rather than practicing 50 free throws in one session, you would alternate between sets of free throws, jump shots, and three-pointers. Vary your study locations: where you study (your own bedroom) is often not the same place where you will be tested (your classroom). To make information more easily retrievable in places other than your own bedroom, study in three or four different locations. If you can, study in the room where that chemistry test will take place. Take notes after class: Instead of frantically trying to record every word your physics teacher or professor says, sit back and listen. After class, try to reconstruct the lecture from memory in your notebook. Forcing yourself to recall information is more effective than merely writing verbatim what is on the whiteboard.

How to make tutoring fun so that your students learn the best

How to make tutoring fun so that your students learn the best How To Make Tutoring Fun? ChaptersWhat Do Games Have To Do With Learning?Games For Every SubjectAdapt The Learning Games To The LearnerImprove General Culture While LearningThe industry of private tuition and tutoring is constantly evolving in the era of new technology we live in. Independent private tutors face a tough competition from big tutoring companies.That is why most independent private tutors are always looking for new ways to improve their lessons and make them more playful.More and more apps mix real drawing and virtual drawing to the enjoyment of children and to make sure they stay grounded in reality. (by Toca Boca)Engaging students is primordial.In an interview given to the magazine Challenges, Yann Leguillon (co-founder of Superprof.com) declared that “in France, 400,000 people offer private tutoring services, students, teacher or passionate people.” Tutoring opportunities are wonderful alternative jobs for teachers who want to get out of the classroom and make a difference on a one-on-one basis.From 2013 to 2016, 170,000 students joined Superprof to take a home tutoring lesson.When you are a private tutor, going from student’s house to student’s house, a key for success is to offer a playful and engaging lesson to each tutored child.Here are a few ideas to make your classes more entertaining.Learning through music is especially adapted to private tutored lessons.From Year 1, school education programs and pace can sometimes be too much for pupils having difficulties or disabilities. Lessons are compartmentalised, and children quickly fall behind the rest of the classroom.However, Year 1 to 3 are crucial for the rest of a child’s education and should not be considered lightly. This is when spelling and counting skills start to develop and the level of literacy of kids will be greatly affected by those years.This is why many parents and educators tend to use or recommend preschool games and activities to teach preschoolers the basic of letter recognition, thinkin g skills, language skills, number sense and recognizing meaningful concepts.A private home tutor is here for following up and helping the constant improvements of a child and his or her school results.It is also important to identify the type of memorisation that works the best for each child: visual, audio or kinesthetic.Up to 65% of children are more likely to memorise best using their vision.To be able to catch up with the rest of the class and the school curriculum, a child must be at the centre of its own learning, he or she must be engaged in each lesson that must be learned or each exercise that is completed.What apps are available to encourage this type of learning?Students must be able to self-assess their homework.It is pretty much self-teaching.A child must be encouraged to correct him or herself, by checking the answers of a calculus exercise or by reading and recording a French text to self-correct the pronunciation.“The essence of mathematics is not to make simple th ings complicated, but to make complicated things simple.” - Stanly Gudder,  Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics at the University of DenverLearning can be made fun using learning apps or educational games as long as it is guided by a parent or a teacher.Adapt The Learning Games To The LearnerOf course, each child is different and lesson, as well as games, should be adapted case by case.If it is not the case it will be hard to keep a student engaged.There are thousands if not more of game-based learning apps ranging from preschool level to secondary schools and even university levels, and kindergarten kids can learn math skills, shapes, simple addition and subtraction  through puzzles, quizzes or colouring while older students can tackle geometry, chemistry and improve their problem-solving skills for example.It is the responsibility of the tutor to use creative, original and playful ways to effectively engage the learner in the learning process.How to do that? By fin ding what makes a child tic. Finding out the interest of a child will be crucial in adapting the lessons for each student.Video games, films and TV shows, music, literature or science, there are no wrong ways to get students really interested in the learning process.Even though those interests are rarely in line with GCSE or A-level exams, each of them can somehow be linked to a subject of the exams.How to engage kids that are already behind their peers or who have learning difficulties?An individualized follow-up allows the teacher to adapt the subject of lessons according to the taste of the child and linking an interest to an actual school subject.Playful Education is actually a great way to;Have children enjoying to learnGive children a sense of fulfilmentGive children freedomGet children to have a relaxing learning environmentExplore new subjectsBoost children's self-confidenceHave fun!There are a lot of learning methods out there that are based on creativity and games and are used to strengthenthe skills and knowledge of students. The Montessori method being the most famous and efficient of them according to many.Siblings can now play and learn together with the last generation of educational gamesImprove General Culture While LearningOn the Internet, there are plenty of mobile apps aiming to extend or improve anyone’s general culture while learning concepts useful to school subjects.Play History Games or multi-choice quiz, true or false and so on, allows summoning many different school subjects in only a few questions.Children will literally learn as they play and will develop their critical spirit.“Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.” â€" Albert EinsteinBut A-level students taking A-levels in History or Classical Studies can watch historical movies or TV shows to reinforce his class learnings.Many movies include History and Geography and can be used for students to learn: The Schindler’s List, The Pianist, Goodbye Lenin!, 12 years a slave, Gladiators, The Color Purple, etc.Though it will be important to fact check the script of the movies, process that will also give a chance to the student to learn more about any subject.When studying English, why not analysing some of the incredible mini-series the BBC has been producing for the past few years: Bleak House, Cranford, North and South, Madam Bovary, He knew he was Right, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, are only a few examples.But with the advent of streaming platforms many more historical series can be viewed online; Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Vikings, The Last Kingdom, Father Brown and the brilliant The Crown.Now discover more ways to make learning fun for your students!

My Experience at Pomona College

My Experience at Pomona College The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Miranda received her Bachelors degree in Religious Studies from Pomona College. She is currently a tutor in Seattle specializing in Reading tutoring, SAT prep tutoring, Writing tutoring, and several other subjects. See what she had to say about her experience at Pomona College: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options.How urban or safe is the campus?Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Miranda: Pomona College is one of the five Claremont Colleges, and our campuses basically blend together you cross the street, and suddenly you are on a different campus. Each campus has a different architectural style, but that is pretty much the only way you can tell them apart. Pomona College is California Spanish style, with a lot of terracotta and stucco, as well as a lot of greenery. It is very beautiful. You can walk everywhere on campus, and it is only about a mile from the edge of Pomona Collegeto the edge of the most distant sister school. If you are injured, you can get a ride in a golf cart from designated injury drivers. That being said, a lot of people have bikes or skateboards, and cars are necessary if you want to go anywhere that is not Claremont. Claremont itself is also within walking distance. It has a few nice restaurants and vintage stores, but there is not a lot to it. Very cute, though. The campus is not urban at all, and it is incredibly safe, though we do have a bit of an issue with bike thievery. Otherwise, I felt totally safe walking around alone (even in the wee hours of the morning). VT: How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Miranda:The professors (who are also the academic advisers) are very accessible. Everyone holds office hours, but a lot of instructors are also willing to meet at whatever time works for you. Nearly everyone I met with was willing to spend a huge amount of time talking through whatever I came to them with, whether it was a paper, a class dilemma, or just to chat. In fact, a few were so willing to talk that I almost missed other appointments because I did not expect to spend an hour and a half there. There are no teaching assistants, but there are mentors who run homework/study sessions for the math/science classes. They help students work through problem sets or study for midterms. I almost never experienced this as a humanities major, but many of my friends were mentors, and they spent a ton of time on their mentor sessions, staying until the last person felt confident. The one time I had a mentor session, for my geology midterm, my mentor stayed for ages and answered every question several times over. So, basically, everyone is all about teaching and is very accessible. VT: How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Miranda:Pomona Colleges dormsare palatial. Not everyone has awesome housing their first year, but nothing is awful. I had a lovely single that overlooked a courtyard filled with birds of paradise, so it was pretty nice. The next year was my worst housing a smaller single that was less nice but still a single... and after that, just more large singles. In my senior year, I lived in a suite of four singles with my best friends. It had two bathrooms, a big balcony as a common space, and a working fireplace in my room. This overlooked a grassy courtyard that was a great gathering place for everyone who lived around it, and we hung a hammock there for a bit and studied on the steps. The dining options are pretty good. Four years in, you are going to get bored of dining hall food no matter what, but compared to any other school, our food was great. There were always tons of options for all dietary restrictions and taste preferences. I am vegetarian, and it was no problem. There is always bread, and peanut butter, and hummus, and cereal, and a big salad bar, and at least one vegetarian hot option usually more. There are also cafes and grills on campus for food outside of normal dining hall hours. Four days a week, there is a free snack at 10:30 p.m. in the dining hall to fuel your late-night studying. If you get bored of Pomona Colleges dining halls, or want something other than what they are serving that night, you can use your meal allotment to eat at the dining halls on any of the other four campuses. The dorms attempt to run events to help everyone meet each other, but that pretty much ends after your first year. In your first year, though, all the students are placed in sponsor groups, and each group has two sophomores living with them, to provide advice. They tend to hang out a lot and socialize together, and it is an easy way to meet your first friends. There are plenty of ways to meet people outside of that, though, so even when the dorm events peter out after your first year, there are classes, clubs, parties, talks, etc. VT: Which majors/programs are best represented and supported?What did you study and why? Did the university do a good job supporting your particular area of study? Miranda:Pomona College is pretty good across the board, and it is very supportive of all of its majors. Our Math major is particularly good, and there are a lot of Economics majors. I also think my department, Religious Studies, was amazing. I chose this field because it was what I was most interested in, and it turned out the course offerings were fascinating and the professors were both incredibly intelligent and just all-around great people funny and imaginative and great communicators. The college did a fine job of supporting us. While not the most popular major, we had some of the most popular classes and professors, who consistently won student-voted awards. We have a beautiful building, and the professors in my major had amazing and huge offices, with big windows and ceiling-high bookshelves with ladders. It made you feel wise just to walk in. VT: How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Miranda:It was pretty easy to meet people through my sponsor group and my dorm, as well as through other activities. Of course, like nearly anywhere, you have to put yourself out there a little bit, and you have to be willing to approach people or go to events. But if you do, people are outgoing and welcoming, and they make it easy. I think a lot of the first years do not even know that there are fraternities. There are, technically, but it does not look like Greek life usually does there are no houses, and they have little social capital or sway on campus. There are also no sororities, though one of the fraternities is co-ed. (You are getting the picture now, right, of how non-traditional our Greek life is?) Each house throws a weekly party on school property, and they are regulated/overseen by the school. Basically, if you want Greek life, the Claremont Colleges are probably not ideal for you. If you do not want Greek life, you have found your place. VT: How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services?Do many reputable companies recruit on campus? Miranda:I would say that the Career Center is not particularly helpful unless you are in a specific industry or looking at a specific job, for which you just want help with a cover letter or interview skills. Otherwise, they are very vague, and I have gotten advice like, Have you looked at a job site online? They are trying to improve. I think reputable companies do recruit on campus, but since I was not looking to go into consulting or any science- or technology-related industry, I do not honestly know. VT: How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Are they over-crowded, easily available, spacious? Miranda:There are couches all over the place, as well as outdoor seating, plenty of room at the library, lounges in most dorms, student-run cafes, and so on. Many of the academic buildings have lounges and libraries, as well. There is plenty of space to study, and plenty of variety between crowded and not, quiet and noisy, etc. There is nearly always a seat, and nearly always someone napping in public. VT: Describe the surrounding town. What kinds of outside establishments / things to do are there that make it fun, boring, or somewhere in between?To what extent do students go to the downtown area of the city versus staying near campus? Miranda:I already mentioned Claremont above, but its downtown is called the Village. So, as you can imagine, it is not big. There are a handful of restaurants, maybe two bars (more restaurant than bar), no clubs, a lot of vintage stores and boutiques full of kitsch, etc. There is a farmers market every Sunday. People do not really hang out in town, though people will go to the trivia night at the only bar anyone ever goes to. Our campus life provides enough or it has to, because there is nothing else. People will occasionally go into Los Angeles, but it is rare, in part because it is not easy. You have to have a car or take the train, and the train does not run late into the evening. It is not that cheap, and it is very slow. I am not saying people never go into Los Angeles, but it is not exactly a mainstay. VT: How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Miranda:The student body is very small 1,600 total. There are the four other schools, so that expands it a bit, but they are all the same size or smaller than Pomona College. I would say all the campuses add up to around 5,000 students. This does mean that people you do not even know sometimes know who you are dating three hours after it happened, but it is not too claustrophobic. For the first two years, you still feel like you meet a ton of new people. To me, it felt kind of homey, even if gossip traveled faster than the speed of light. Classes were also very small. Introductory classes might go up to 25 students, but most after that were 15 students or less. It was great. A few classes (like geology) are bigger, because people who hate science take that class to get their credit out of the way. But even the biggest classes get capped at 40 at the absolute most (usually less). VT: Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Miranda:My favorite professor was my academic adviser and thesis reader. She is a snarky, whip-smart lady, but she also cares incredibly deeply about both her students and her subject, and I learned a lot of life lessons from her. I also house-sat for her cats. I have numerous favorite memories of her, but perhaps one of the funniest was the first few days of Ritual and Magic in Childrens Literature. This sounds like an easy class, and a lot of people showed up looking to get a humanities credit out of the way. There were maybe 45 people in there, and they did not even fit in the classroom. My professor tells us that this first class will be short, and it is; she spends about 15 minutes talking about how high her standards are, how harshly she will grade, the heavy workloadnot just childrens books, but lots of critical theory, as well. She also says that your childhood nostalgia might be destroyed by some of the analysis we will do on the classic childrens tales. About 18 people show up to the next class. During this class, we had to read a Freudian analysis of the classic fairytales, that argues, in typical Freudian fashion, that they are all about sex. A few people argue that this cannot be true, and she tells them that it certainly is, s he is sorry if they are upset about it, and unless they can come up with a good argument against the theorist, they are just going to have to accept it. She also assigns a paper, due the next class, about this analysis. The next class, 12 of us show up, and things run smoothly. The class after, she asks us which paper we want to strike from the syllabus, now that she is done scaring people out of the class and has the most devoted students possible. A few weeks later, she has us over for wine and cheese. I also learned a ton from this class, made some great friends, and ended up writing my thesis on religious interpretation in childrens literature. Another favorite collection of memories pertains to the Philosophy department. Once a semester, even when he was on sabbatical, one professor cooked a huge, fancy, multi-course feast at his house he chose a theme each year, like Kenyan food or French cuisine. All the professors and any students involved in the department came over, mingled, talked, ate, and relaxed in a beautiful home. It was wonderful, and he was an amazing cook. Check out Mirandas tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Get Cracking Meaning Learn English with Harry ????

Get Cracking Meaning Learn English with Harry ???? Get cracking meaning explained in detail.Welcome to Harrys English in a Minute.Watch this short English video lesson with subtitles and improve your Englsih vocabulary.   Get Cracking - Meaning The phrase that I have for you today is GET CRACKING.Get cracking suggests that we have to move on, we have to do something.This is a short video, I’m going to get cracking. Meaning I’m going to explain it to you.Get cracking means get on with it. Okay?We’ve got to catch a plane. I think it’s about time we got cracking.Meaning let’s get the car on the road and let’s get to the airport.So get cracking, get on with it and just do it. Get Cracking - Related Words to beginto initiateto launchto take upto commenceto kick offto jump intoto start the ball rollingto hit the ground running Get Cracking - Examples Wed better get cracking otherwise we wont be finished before Mum comes back to take us skating.Weve not had the best start in the league, we need to get cracking.Christmas isnt too far away, so you should get cracking on your shopping list right away.Im so excited, and cant wait to get cracking on this.We  cant wait to get cracking  on with the next phase of our campaigning work.There arent many juniour positions available so get gracking and email your CV.

Advanced Vocabulary Booster #2

Advanced Vocabulary Booster #2 ? Previous 12 words On this page, you will find another dozen randomly chosen, low-frequency, high-impact vocabulary words that you can integrate into your speaking and writing. If you are preparing for the IELTS or the TOEFL exam, using these words correctly will give the examiners a good impression of the size and sophistication of your active vocabulary. Scroll to the bottom of the page to download a PDF of these words arranged onto cards. Print them out, cut them up, and play a guessing game with friends and family. See below for instructions. philogynist /fill-LOJ-in-ist/ Noun A lover of women uxorious /uk-SO-ree-us/ Adjective Excessively devoted to one’s wife in a submissive way eloquent /ELL-oh-kwent/ Adjective Having power to speak vividly and appropriatelyStirring or persuasive philomath /fill-LO-math/ Noun A lover of learning; specifically, a devotee of mathematics and science nubile /NOO-by-ull/ Adjective Of females: suitable for marriageOf marrying age meretricious /Meh-ruh-TRISH-us/ Adjective Showily attractiveOf the character of a prostitute lecher /LECH-ur/ Noun A lewd manA man addicted to lewdness lewd /L(Y)OOD/ Adjective Indecent, lustfulObscene misogynist /miss-SOJ-in-ist/ Noun A hater of women steatopygic /STEE-ah-tuh-PID-jick/ Adjective Having large buttocks misandrist /miss-AND-rist/ Noun A hater of men philandrist /fill-AND-rist/ Noun A lover of men Download and play the card game Download and print the cards and the card backs on a double-sided sheet of paper. Cut the cards along the lines and place them in a pile facedown. In groups of 3 or 4, take turns selecting a card from the top of the pile, reading the definitions. Player One takes a card from the pile and reads the definition and part of speech. The other players try to guess the word first. The first player to guess correctly gets the card, placing it faceup in front of him or her. The player to the left takes the next turn. If no one can guess the word from its definition, the player whose turn it is reads the answer and returns the card to the bottom of the pile, and selects another card from the top of the pile. The player with the most cards (and therefore the best vocabulary) at the end of the game is the winner. Advanced-vocabulary-card-gameDownload More words? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Please follow and like us:

Why teachers shouldnt be a last-minute hire

Why teachers shouldn’t be a last-minute hire It’s like anything really, leave it to the last minute and you’ll end up in a long queue with everyone else, waiting for whatever's left over by the time you get to the cake counter. (Yes, this metaphor will continue to revolve around baked goods ). Maybe you really want a Victoria Sponge, but you left it late, got stuck in traffic, and well, by the time you get to the bakery, it feels like everyone else has had the exact same idea. You stand in the queue, dread building, as you watch all the lovely sponge cakes walk off the shelf. Their smug owners are disappearing out the door and into the horizon. The lady at the till chimes “next,” so you take a deep breath, face the counter and try not to cry. There’s nothing left but a sad eclair. You probably haven’t been asked this question before. In fact, I’m 90% sure you haven’t… Do you want your teachers to be the Victoria sponge cakes of this world or, well, the sad eclairs? You might ask what’s so complicated about hiring a teacher? And I counter with this: what is so hard about buying a cake? It’s life. It’s tricky. There are often unforeseen obstacles. Maybe you spent your morning looking for the car keys while taming a toddler. Perhaps there was a traffic accident. There are so many things that can get in the way of buying a bit of sponge cake; a seemingly innocuous item on a to-do list. Those complications are only multiplied when it comes to hiring great teachers. Complications new teachers face that take time: Obtaining visas is no joke. You are going to want plenty of time for candidates to get their paperwork in, sort themselves out and sail past this hurdle. With a job offer, there’s unlikely to be any issues aside from actually having the time to go through the process. Booking flights can be pricey. This takes time, especially if candidates are footing the cost. Hiring far enough out that they can take advantage of cheaper flights will be a massive bonus for some. Nobody wants the stress of putting last-minute flights on their credit card right before they move to a new country. Finding and researching accommodation. You might have a fair idea of where teachers will end up living. But they don’t! So this will be a big concern. They will want some idea about availability, costs and if you offer a stipend. Other concerns will be proximity to the school and basic facilities, how the average kitchen is equipped, what it might look like. You don’t need hard-and-fast answers, but painting an honest picture of what teachers can expect in your country is something you need to have thought about. Because these are questions teachers will have. Packing up entire lives. Whether it’s forwarding their post, giving notice on apartments, finding suitcases, saying goodbye to family and friends, trying to get their lives under the weight limit of 50 kg… all of this is a headache and a half. Teachers need time to sort it all. You don’t want teachers arriving half-organized and stressed out of their minds, they need time to adjust to what is a significant life change. Giving notice in their current roles.Many great teachers are already teaching, which is wonderful - they have experience, they know what the job takes. Too often I see schools hiring teachers out of work, even though they may not be the best candidate. Great teachers often find their next role before handing in their notice, or start looking before renewals. That means you need to be on the lookout for teachers now, and not just when you need them. Researching your school. Some people will just go where the wind takes them, with little concern for logistics, school culture and all the rest. But most people want as much information as possible. They will need some time to google you, read online reviews and get a feel for the school and surrounding area. People can spend hours and hours researching a two-week holiday, imagine how long they can spend researching a place they’re planning to set their lives up in. Reaching out to other teachers at your school. This is one of the best ways to transition a teacher into your school. Set them up with a communicative, like-minded teacher who was either in their shoes or has enough empathy to understand what moving across the world is like. The new teacher is likely going to want to ask them a truckload of questions about the school, and well, questions take time… This might sound like an awful lot of hand-holding to you. But taking the time to consider where these teachers are coming from and the time it will take for them to make a balanced and informed decision is pivotal. You don’t want them to agree in a hurry and then jilt your school at the last minute. If they’ve had time to consider and become properly informed, they’re going to be a lot happier and better prepared in the classroom. Rushing it reduces the quality of teacher at your school I was recently chatting with a school that is struggling to recruit teachers in Moscow. They’ve got a strategy in place that they assured me “always worked before.” I bet you’re wondering what that strategy is? Well so was I! Naturally, I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions or make any suggestions without getting a feel for what was really going on, maybe something about their school was broken? It couldn’t possibly be as simple as a defunct strategy, maybe their website was down, or they were cutting spending on recruitment. After a few minutes it became clear what the problems were: Their recruitment strategy was too basic. It left too many rocks unturned and far too many teachers unaware of their presence. They left recruitment too late, so ended up hiring teachers by waiting for staff in other international schools in their area to jump ship. Yup, they were recruiting their competitors’ castoffs I’m all about reduce, reuse, recycle in the broader sense - but when it comes to teachers, I’m not so sure. If they just happen to be hanging about, and you happen to be hiring, how much of a choice are they making? Isn’t it better to hire teachers who have decided wholeheartedly to work for you? Who are excited to make a home there and see what you have to offer? Will a quick hire be the best possible teacher you could imagine working at your school? Just because they happen to be in your city…is a convenient hire, the best hire? Clearly they, or the school, were unhappy - and you have to wonder if they’re going to be able to stick it out at your school. Are you hiring quitters? Your strategy is SO 2000 and late...FIX IT! ? ….as the heading implies, trends do not last forever, and you need to stay ahead of them. Just when you get comfortable with your strategy, it is likely that there will be a new innovation or development that can enhance your recruitment. Finding a recruitment partner (like Teach Away..ahem! ) is imperative when it comes to keeping your school moving forward. Think about it this way… Why do parents choose to send their brood to your school and not your competitor? If your STEM teaching staff are made up of your competitors ‘castoffs’ and not the finest educators you can source, are you really going to remain the top choice? Do you personally rush into choosing a new role the second you have let your school know your intentions to leave? Or do you research schools and roles for months in advance, carefully constructing a hit list of desired locations and target schools? I’m guessing the latter. It’s only fair that you give your future teachers the same time and consideration you expect. That means - using recruitment solutions, social media, your website, better job postings and making your school as visible and transparent as possible. Don'tlet poor timing be the enemy of your school’s excellence. In case I haven’t hammered the point home already, all of this takes time. And it’s my job to help you find that time and make sure you get the best quality teachers teaching in your classrooms. If you’re curious about how to make recruitment easier, tweaking your strategy, or just having a general chat about whatever ails your school...feel free to contact me! I’d love to hear your thoughts.