Ruminations from a WyzAnt Tutor

Me, wearing my Doctor's (D.Min) Academic Hood

I only recently learned about the WyzAnt Searchable Database of Tutors Nation Wide and my WyzAnt account went active less than a month and a half ago. Since then I have secured two students. I have tutored three times for a total of five and a quarter hours, earning a little extra income. More importantly, I have already made a positive contribution to the lives and academic success of my students. Although I am certified in twenty subjects, I am currently tutoring my students, a seventh grader and a ninth grader, in Math. Eventually, I will also tutor the seventh grader in English and Chess.

I am restricting myself to students within a mile or so walking distance of my home in Ridgewood, NY, a neighborhood of the New York City Borough of Queens, in order to avoid transportation costs. This limits the number of students I can tutor but allows me to keep more of the tutoring fees I earn. While I would like to add another student or two, for now, I am happy with just the two I am working with.

Both of my students are above average. They live in good, stable homes. They need a little more individualized attention than they receive in public school, however. I am tutoring each one between ninety minutes to two hours, once a week or every other week, depending on our schedules.

The families of these students and I would not have connected without WyzAnt, and so far I am very happy with the service and support WyzAnt provides. I appreciate that there were no upfront costs. Other than the optional background check, which I paid for, I was able to begin tutoring with no financial investment or commitment. Being assured that clients have their payment information of file before I show up to tutor means that I enjoy the peace of mind of knowing I will receive payment for the tutoring I provide. Handling all initial email contacts through the WyzAnt site guarantees a certain amount of protection and anonymity up until tutoring actually begins. The direct deposit option means I do not worry about my checks being lost in the mail.

While I found some of the certification tests a bit simple, especially so in my strong areas, I also realize that one does not have to be a rocket scientist to help a teenager with their math homework or preparing for the New York State Regents Exams. Anyone with a few years of college, and especially an advanced degree or two, will certainly think the certification tests are easy. On the other hand, the tests do serve to weed out any potential tutors who have no knowledge of the subjects they desire to tutor.

I have already recommended WyzAnt to some of my colleagues looking for part-time work and income. I have posted WyzAnt Posters with my personalized code, available from WyzAnt, around the neighborhood. I have also distributed WyzAnt business cards, also with my personalized code and available from WyzAnt, to my students so they can distribute them to their classmates.

I look forward to finding more students, tutoring more subjects, earning more extra income, and, most of all, making a positive contribution to the lives and academic success of more students, thanks to WyzAnt.

Any tutoring I do through WyzAnt is independent of tutoring opportunities I find through other means.  So, if you or your child would like some indivualized tutoring in the privacy and convienance of your home, you  may respond to this post or sendme an email rather than going through the WyzAnt site.  Although I currently limit my WyzAnt tutoring to Ridgewood, I am willing to travel any reasonable distance accessable by subway or bus.  My current fee is $45/hr for a minimum of a one hour session, additional time available in 15 minute increments, for up to a three hour tutoring session.  I give a $5/hr discount to clients within a thrity minute walk of my home.