Adam Caller – founder of leading global tutoring company Tutors International – opposes superlative expression ‘super tutor’ used to label highly paid private tutors
OXFORD, UK: Further to a recent interview given to BBC Capital, Tutors International founder Adam Caller has expressed his concern at the increasingly widespread use of the term ‘super tutor’ to describe individuals working at the top end of the private tutoring industry.
The BBC Capital article written by Philippa Fogarty notes that at one end of the tutoring industry there are a small number of highly-paid people to whom the term ‘super tutor’ has been ascribed. Fogarty explains, “Around the world it means slightly different things. There’s the full-time private tutor, as exemplified by [Tutors International private tutor and employee] Melissa Lehan, in many cases used by affluent to super-wealthy parents working overseas who want to get their children in to top schools and universities in the US or UK. In East Asia it often refers to an expert in a particular subject who teaches groups.” Fogarty goes on to ask, “But beyond the premium pay packets, what makes a top-end tutor? What kind of skills do they have, why do they do it and how much work have they put in to get where they are?”
Adam Caller proposes that the term ‘super tutor’ inaccurately implies that there is a scale by which tutors can be measured, and that the term is therefore misleading and serves to glamorise a teaching role which isn’t widely understood. Caller notes, “It is impossible to benchmark tutor performance across the industry by using terms such as ‘super tutor’. As tutor Mark MacLaine commented in a Telegraph interview back in 2012, the connotation of ‘super tutor’ is that the role is all about being paid very large fees. However, this glamorous association with wealth deflects from the true role of the private tutor, which is to enable the pupils to perform to the best of their capabilities within their individual environments. What matters most is the outcome for the child.”
Caller adds, “It would be more valuable to establish regulation within the private tutoring industry, developing a private tutor qualification so that tutors can objectively validate their professional expertise and development. I would like to contribute to an industry thinktank to establish what this qualification would look like, as I have always maintained that there needs to be a regulated process in place for individuals to register as professional tutors. This measure of transparency would also provide parents with additional peace of mind when employing educators to work in their homes. It is concerning that many parents may not realise that individuals advertising themselves as tutors, ‘super’ or otherwise, are not required to conform to any regulations, hold any academic credentials, or have confirmed their DBS status.”
Caller also dismisses the notion that successful private tutors are in the role solely for the financial incentives. “No one goes into teaching for the money, and Tutors International only recruits from a select pool of qualified and experienced teachers.”
To find out more about Tutors International and the services it provides, including its thorough and extensive recruitment procedures, visit www.tutors-international.com. For career opportunities with Tutors International, visit www.tutors-international.net.
