I arrived at Literacy Advance a bit early so I could meet with one of the staff to discuss Ayodele’s* lack of interest in class. We decided that it was time for Ayodele to have a new tutor and me a new student. Our relationship had become too comfortable and quite unproductive. At the end of our discussion, I noted that, depending on how my class went today, it might just be our last class.
Ayodele was 20 minutes late and had done only a sentence or two of homework. I think she could feel my frustration so I decided to come straight to the point.
“Ayodele, this is going to be our last class. We’re only meeting every other week, and we’re not accomplishing as much as we should because of it. You’re trip to Africa is coming up in a few weeks, and I’m ready to take a break. Let’s make this our last class and when you return from your trip, you can call Literacy Advance and get put on the list for a new class.”
She cried. I felt bad about hurting her feelings, but I was tired of spinning my wheels tutoring someone who didn’t take the work as seriously as I did. I’m burned out and will be taking a break from tutoring all together.
* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.
