Describe an Experience of Teaching Your Friend or Family Member Cue Card

When was it?

I had taken a break from the existing job that I was doing. Thus, I agreed to tutor him until I get my joining date. 

What subject you taught?

He was a good student, but mathematics was the only subject he struggled in. His total grade was ordinary because he was capable of doing well in other areas but was nevertheless struggling in math. His mother, therefore, asked me to be his tutor. Since I was young, math has always been my favourite subject.

Explain how you felt about teaching this friend or family member?

We began with a fundamental overview of rational and irrational numbers. They then moved on to more difficult subjects like coordinate geometry, the Pythagorean theorem, etc. He had a lot of trouble with the fundamentals, which prevented him from understanding other subjects fully. I gave him some book recommendations and advice so he could brush up on his fundamentals. He mastered the fundamentals within a week. Then, we began resolving increasingly challenging problems. He was able to answer a few of them, but he was still not proficient enough to answer questions that got harder. Then, in order to improve his comprehension of that particular question, I showed him several different ways to solve it. He put a lot of effort into breaking each question down into smaller components before starting the query. He was able to find solutions for them in various ways. I gave him lessons for about a month. He was overjoyed when his results were announced because he had received the highest score in mathematics. His grades in other subjects had also been strong. I was praised for helping by his mother. I congratulated him on his success and was pleased to have been able to assist him in achieving a high grade.

When was it?

From my childhood days, I had an innate love for teaching. Teaching, I believe, can be rewarding and challenging at the same time. It happened two years ago when I had an intriguing experience of teaching my niece. She had come to stay with me for a couple of months.

Which subject you taught?

As I was working as a Software Engineer at the time. I regularly woke up and sat in front of my laptop to check my daily emails. Being the restless girl she is, she used to ask a bunch of questions, about what I was working on, or can she use the laptop. She pestered me into teaching her how to use the laptop, as she liked the clickety-clack of the keyboard keys. Finally, I gave in and on a Sunday afternoon, I started teaching her some of the basics of computers.

Explain how you feel about teaching this friend or family member?

I taught her how to switch on and off the laptop, send emails, and how respond to mail. How to copy files from one location to another, how to put the laptop on sleep mode, and so on. I also taught her to download an app from the Microsoft store. Even though she is a child, she could quickly memorize the instructions that I had given her. As she liked the sound of the keyboard, I asked her to type her favorite poem in Ms Word. I also taught her a bit of basic math and how to use the calculator. She was grasping everything quickly but often used to get up in between as she had a short attention span. I never thought that I could teach her so quickly as she is restless, but it was appalling to find out how easily she can grasp things. I felt happy and relieved that I could teach her properly and also that she wouldn’t nag me again for teaching her how to use the laptop.

When was it?

I was never a fan of teaching, as I thought it was a tedious job. Knowing my teachers and how much effort they put in while teaching the students always made me think that teaching is a difficult profession. But somehow I had an experience like this myself. I was studying in the third year of Humanities at Christ University. As he was desperate and wanted to score well in his final exams, I didn’t want to let him down.

Which subject you taught?

I taught him Geography.

Explain how you feel about teaching this friend or family member?

I taught him for about a month. I thoroughly explained to him the different physical features of India, the types of vegetation, types of vegetation and forest conservation, and so on. I also asked him to make small notes so that he could only revise those before his main exam. He diligently followed my advice and made proper notes and also revised each and every topic thoroughly. I was impressed by the hard work he put in to understand every topic. After his main exam, he called and thanked me for teaching him so well. After his final marks were out he again then called and told me how he had scored full marks in the exam. I was so happy for him and felt proud too. I used to loathe teaching but this experience changed my perspective of teaching as a profession.