There is no such thing as the daily grind for Sue Smith, who enjoys a flexible schedule as an English literature tutor and director of studies at ITS Tutorial School in Sheung Wan
I don't really have a regular routine. It depends on which lessons have been booked for me, but I need to be in the office a bit early to prepare. One of the most interesting and challenging things about this job is that every child does a different curriculum. I generally do between three and five lessons a day, but in busy periods it can be more.
I'm an Australian and a trained secondary school teacher. I've done quite a bit of study in the areas of English as a second language, linguistics and cultural theory. I came to Hong Kong as part of the Native English Teacher programme and I taught in a school for eight years. I had worked in the tertiary sector in Australia.
On the whole, tutors are just tutors and are responsible for teaching their students and perhaps suggesting resources we need. I've recently been promoted to director of studies, so I'm quite busy making myself into an expert in the exam regulations of various exam boards in Hong Kong and overseas.
I also supervise our administrative officer who is in charge of scheduling, making sure she knows which tutor a new student should have. Among other things, I need to return calls to parents and order new resources such as up-to-date exam papers and new textbooks.
Children come for one-to-one tuition and stay for an hour. It's quite a long time for them. We help children of all different ages. The majority of my students are secondary students.
