Congratulations to Sujatha Narasimharaju!
She shares her experiences, details of her wonderful journey and success story as a tutor on UrbanPro. Given is the transcript of the interview with her:
Q. How and when you started to work as a tutor?
Ans. My passion towards teaching started way back in 1992, when I was a student doing my B.Sc first year, in Mysore University. Initially, I was teaching small children. As and when I was going ahead in my academics, I started increasing the number of students and started recruiting other students like me, who were interested in teaching. By the time I was doing my master’s degree, I was teaching up to XII Standard. From there, my exciting journey as a tutor started.I went to England in 2005 and started working as a Microbiologist. Since, teaching was my passion I started to look for tutoring options in the United Kingdom. It was quite different in the UK, I had to go through my qualifications and CRB check done, after which I was legally certified to work as a tutor. I started with one-on-one classes and gained 10 years of experience tutoring hundreds of international students.
Q. What do you think makes a great tutor?
Ans. To be a good tutor, you need to be honest which helps to establish a good reputation and it is also a stepping stone towards being a successful tutor. I believe flexibility is an aspect which helps to adjust techniques and approaches, to meet the learning requirements of a student.
- Being patient is one of the most important aspects because what is easy for you may not be so for your student. Your speech and body language also plays an important role.
- You need to be a good listener to understand what your student is feeling. A good listener will never dominate a conversation.
- Being professional is very important in every job, so I do the same with my profession. I keep all information of my students confidential.
- Sharing your experiences and lessons with your students goes a long way towards building trust and support. It helps students to build self-confidence.
- As a tutor, your ultimate goal should be helping the student to become an independent learner.
Q. How you came across UrbanPro?
Ans. In January 2013, we relocated back in India for good. Since, my kids were born and brought up in England everything was new for them here. I had to quit my career (as all women ultimately do), for my family.
That was the time, when I thought that maybe like in United Kingdom, here also there must be some agencies or platform where I can register and get students. I started searching in Google, and came across UrbanPro (then ThinkVidya.com). I registered myself and started getting national and international students. I still get a lot of teaching opportunities from international students (from America and Europe).
Q. How UrbanPro platform helped you to expand your tuition classes?
Ans. It’s been a wonderful journey with UrbanPro from the past 3 years. There was a time, when like most of the women, I had to sacrifice my career for family. At that point, UrbanPro played a vital role in getting it back on a whole new track. Although, I had 3 master degrees but I wasn’t able to utilize them. But today, because of UrbanPro I am proud for what I am! The most rewarding moment is when parents come up and share their experiences and changes they have observed in their children. And if the credit is given to the tutor, what more do you need! Q. What do you think you wished you had known early on UrbanPro? Ans. I wish I knew that uploading demo video classes helps to increase a tutor’s credentials.Q. What percentage of your work comes from UrbanPro?
Ans. 70-80% of my work comes from UrbanPro. I get many students through references and for the reputation I have created on UrbanPro from the last 3 years at J.P. Nagar, 2nd Stage, Bangalore. Q. One advice that you would like to give to new Pros on UrbanPro. Ans. My advice to all upcoming pros 'be honest and give your 100% dedication’. Be passionate about teaching and you will achieve great success! Check out Sujatha Narasimharaju's profile Sujatha Narasimharaju, is a passionate tutor who aims to raise the performance of her students beyond their expectations. She drives to provide a productive and enthusiastic learning experiences for her students. Sujatha has been tutoring over a broad range of subjects and she teaches students of all ages. Her ability to motivate and bring out the best in her students, makes her an amazing tutor. She brings a total of 21 years of tutoring experience and holds a Master Degree in Science from Mysore. You could be the next ‘Pro of the Month’, don’t forget to send your entries today - rachna@urbanpro.com
