June 19, 2024 • 44 mins
Talking about tutoring is a new topic for our podcast, but we are finding that college parenting begins earlier and earlier, and parents are making many early decisions with future college potential in mind. In this episode, Vicki was pleased to be able to have a conversation with Celine Bewsher, Owner/Manager of Club Z! Tutoring in Cambridge, MA. Celine shared her insights about how tutoring can help students succeed, not just by helping with a specific subject at a specific time, but by helping students master the skills that they’ll need in the future. Celine helped us understand why starting to work with a tutor early can pay off as students approach test prep and the greater demands of college classes. Whether or not your student could benefit from tutoring, this conversation with help you understand better how your student learns and how you can support them all the way through school.
Thank you for listening!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Announcer (00:10):
Welcome to the College Parent Central podcast.
Whether your child is justbeginning the college admission
process or is already in college, this podcast is for you.
You'll find food for thoughtand information about college
and about navigating thatdelicate balance of guidance,
involvement and knowing when toget out of the way.
(00:31):
Join your hosts as they sharesupport and a celebration of the
amazing experience of having achild in college.
Vicki Nelson (00:50):
Welcome to the College Parent Central podcast.
This is where we talk about allkinds of things that have to do
with being the parent of acollege student, of someone who
is thinking about going tocollege and sometimes even
people who have graduated fromcollege.
My name is Vicki Nelson and Iam here today without a co-host,
but I am not alone.
I am very excited to have aguest to share with everybody
(01:14):
today, and I think you're goingto be very interested in hearing
about our topic, which has todo with tutoring and helping
students work on academics andall sorts of things.
So I am pleased today to bejoined by Celine Bewsher, who is
the owner-manager of Club ZTutoring Services in Cambridge,
(01:38):
M massachusetts, and that is acompany whose guiding principle
is coaching for success, and itis one of the premier one-on-one
tutoring companies in Cambridge.
R has a lifelong passion formotivating people with vastly
different backgrounds andlearning styles.
She's taught in Paris, F france, guiding American high school
(02:02):
students through the culture andhistory of Europe, and she has
led a worldwide team at EFEducation First, developing
academic pathway programs forinternational students.
Celine is also the mom of twodaughters, one of whom is
approaching the college searchprocess, so Celine is about to
(02:24):
enter this world of collegeparenting firsthand, so I'm so
pleased to have Celine heretoday to extend what began as a
casual conversation, I thinkwhile you were walking your dog,
when I said how are things atwork?
And you patiently answered awhole bunch of my questions and
(02:46):
I said this information issomething people can use and we
need to share it.
So here we are, C celinewelcome to the College Parent
Central podcast.
Celine Bewsher (02:58):
Thank you so much for having me, V vicki.
I am so happy that you and Ifeel honored that you have me
here on your podcast, so thankyou.
Vicki Nelson (03:07):
Well we're excited to hear what you're going to
share and you know, talkingabout tutoring is a new topic
for our podcast.
We haven't covered it before,but we're really finding that
college parenting, what we callcollege parenting, begins
earlier and earlier , andparents are making so many early
(03:28):
decisions with future collegepotential in mind.
So I think some of the thingswe talked about when we talked
before are really related topreparing for college and for
college.
So will you maybe start bysharing just a little bit about
your background, beyond thelittle tidbits I added, and what
(03:49):
brought you to this world oftutoring and coaching students?
Celine Bewsher (03:54):
Sure.
So again, thank you for theintroduction.
So just to add a bit more, Iguess in my background is in
terms of education, I've alwaysbeen personally very close to
cultural differences ineducation.
I've done my education indifferent countries, starting
from Istanbul to US, into France.
(04:16):
So that in and of itself hasbrought me personally in
realizing what the culturaldifferences come in to education
at different parts, fromelementary all the way to
university.
And, as you mentioned, I'veworked with Education, First EF,
and again sort of I've carriedthat passion of cultural
(04:36):
differences through education,let it be in providing cultural
experiences to American highschool students when they're
visiting Europe, to pathwayprograms to study abroad
programs.
And that passion of mine, wWhen I decided to leave EF with
(04:57):
the vision that I'd like to sortof take this next step and
maybe then take it into our ClubZ in Cambridge tutoring company
and be able to translate it andbe able to execute it in that
form of tutoring with students.
That's the one thing that wedid not do with EF when, I was
working at Education First, andso that's how we founded Club Z
(05:21):
Cambridge.
and, you know, I feel like thewhole mantra we have, which is
coaching for success.
It goes from it has been withme since my early years with EF
as a mom, into our company andit's you know, maybe I'll talk a
bit more about that , becausethat sort of is the foundational
(05:47):
stone to sort of what makes usdifferent in this field, because
Cambridge is full of tutoringcompanies.
I don't know if you want me tojump into that.
Vicki Nelson (05:58):
It's an academic mecca.
Tell us a little bit about ClubZ and what you do, and maybe
the age range of students youwork with or what kinds of help
and support you give to students.
Celine Bewsher (06:10):
Yeah, sure.
So the age range we work withreally starts from third grade
all the way to 12th grade, andthe reason why I say third grade
is not that we don't haveparents calling us in second and
first.
But I'll be very candid whenthey do call us for second and
first grade, I have theconversation with them and I
always sort of say you know what, you should just wait until
they're in third grade, andoften they take my lead on it.
(06:35):
So I have the conversation withthem two years after.
So that's sort of how we work.
That's the age range, and alittle bit of what we've built
in Cambridge is thisrelationship with the parents in
Cambridge and also Brookline.
And really, once they come tous in third grade, they tend to
(06:55):
stay with us all the way throughtheir SATs and college, which
is really rewarding for us,because then we get to see the
growth of the student that wenow met at 10 and I get to know
their story and hear whatcollege they went into, and the
parents even call backafterwards to let us know how
they're doing in college.
So, that's the most rewardingpart of sort of my role anyway
(07:18):
in this.
So in terms of subjects, weoffer pretty much everything,
but what really happens iswhat's in demand, right?
So I think the highest demandis really math.
It starts in third grade.
And then yeah it starts infractions.
Vicki Nelson (07:35):
I'd be there.
I'd raise my hand.
I'd be there.
Celine Bewsher (07:39):
Fractions and whatever else, and then it goes
on to AP, calc, whatever ittakes on to its journey all the
way through 12th grade.
After math, I would say we dohave a lot of English and
English.
Again, what we work with ismore learning how to write.
(08:00):
That's what we really do inmiddle school.
A lot of what we're doing isteaching the kids the writing
process so that they canconfidently write a five
paragraph essay.
So that's what we're reallyfocusing on with English more
than anything else.
And then, of course, in highschool, there's Shakespeare,
there's all of that stuff.
That sort of happens.
So we work with theircurriculum.
Mathematical sciences isanother one that is really big
(08:20):
for us in high school, sophysics and chemistry, and then
we've got, of course, test prepSATs not as much as ACTs.
A lot of SATs are now comingback post-COVID, so we have more
and more SATs coming our way,and then we have, you know, F
french and Spanish and theselittle things that we love,
Vicki Nelson (08:40):
Basically what whatever the students really
need to work with.
Yes, and you know it'sinteresting, you mentioned, with
the writing, you mentionedconfidence, that they gain
confidence and I think that goessuch a long way in terms of
students being able to do theirwork.
And it seems as though, youknow, I teach college, and on
(09:19):
that college level, so many ofthe students that I encounter
who are struggling, who seem tobe having a difficult time, it's
not strictly because of theiracademic issues, but life that
gets in the way.
It's the social issues, theanxiety, mental health, things
really going up these daysself-management, time management
, all of those things.
So, when thinking about youridea of coaching for success, in
addition to the subject matter,do your students help, or
(09:41):
rather, do your tutors helpstudents with some of these
other peripheral kinds of issues?
Celine Bewsher (09:46):
Yeah, that is such a great question and I feel
like that's been more and moreprevalent in our world ever
since COVID and the COVIDisolation, particularly with the
teens that we deal with, andreally in our approach to
tutoring, a big part of it iswhat I call a holistic approach.
So it's really trying tounderstand first the family.
(10:08):
Who is mom, dad, what are theirpriorities, what's on their
mind, why are they coming to us,what's important to them and
really their background.
This is where I go back to thiseducation and the cultural
piece, to understanding thediversity of the cultural piece
to it, understanding thediversity of the of the cultures
that we're dealing with, what'simportant to them.
(10:30):
And then from there we move onto the child.
So what's going on in thatchild, child's life?
So it's not really under, it'snot really the letter that we're
after, but it's really theletter.
But yes, but more than thatsort of what's happening to this
child and how can we helpsupport this student in the best
(10:52):
way possible, holistically, anda lot of that could be
confidence-related.
A lot of that could be givingthem the confidence to
understand they can do this,giving them the tools.
Sometimes it's not a questionof they think they're struggling
.
They think that you know, oh,I'm just, I just I'm not
(11:17):
intelligent enough to do thismath, and yet you actually break
it down.
You realize, hold on, it's yourapproach to the math problem.
Let's talk about how you canapproach this problem in a more
effective way.
Let's break it down, let's gostep by step.
You know what.
You're actually so much moreintelligent than you think you
are.
You're doing this in your head.
I need you to write this down,step by step, and once you write
(11:39):
it down, then you can avoid allthese silly mistakes that
you're going to be makingbecause you're trying to jump
quickly ahead to the answer.
So I guess, to answer yourquestion sort of more directly
yes, we pay attention a lot tothe approach to the study skills
, to how we can affect or alsomake them understand that they
(12:03):
can do this and be confidentabout it.
And often, you know, when we'retalking to our tutors, a lot of
this sort of is in the trainingbut also on field, because I
always have monthly reports onhow things are going with our
students, et cetera.
You know we always try toconnect to every single student.
(12:24):
I always say individually tryto understand who they are.
So if it's an athlete, they'reinterested in a bunch of sports.
Speak to them in thatterminology.
So let's talk about practice,let's talk about not giving up,
let's talk about stamina andrelate the work to almost the
(12:44):
work of an athlete so that theycan just pump up the confidence.
Vicki Nelson (12:47):
It's their world
Celine Bewsher (12:48):
Absolutely
Vicki Nelson (12:48):
and they can identify with it.
Celine Bewsher (12:50):
They can totally identify with it and you know
if it's a pianist.
Let's talk about how youactually, you know, get really
great on playing that piece andwhat practice means and what
breaking down a piece of a, of ayou know music by Satie, that
you're going to be playing itinto different parts and then
(13:10):
putting it all together.
So we really just try to makeit as relevant to their world as
possible and as personable aspossible.
Vicki Nelson (13:20):
Yeah, you know, it seems as though that's really
good advice for us as parents aswell, to think about what is my
student enmeshed in right nowand how can I, on their terms, a
little bit help them understandthings that are going on.
Wondering, when, when parentsare, when you're talking to
(13:46):
parents who are looking for atutor um, you know, not those
first and second grade graders,but a little older, I'm curious
what they're looking for andwhether, as you're describing
all of this peripheral work thatyou're doing with with students
, do you have to explain toparents that this is, this is
what we do and how we're doingit.
Do parents understand whatthey're really looking for when
(14:09):
they're looking for a tutor?
Celine Bewsher (14:11):
That's a really good question Again.
So sort of it depends, ofcourse, on the parents what
they're.
You know, when I have myinitial conversations and I
always find it so interestingevery time I speak to a parent
and learn about a new family andsometimes they don't know what
they're looking for.
They've just called me becausethe school has said your child
needs tutoring, so your childneeds support and maybe you
(14:32):
should get tutoring, and oftenthat's the starting conversation
.
And then sometimes they call mebecause they've heard about us
from another parent and thenthey know more about us.
So they call me and they say oh, I want so-and-so tutor of
yours that I heard a friend ofmine is working with, because
they're doing.
one-to-one Word of mouth can begood and not so good.
(14:52):
Yeah, and sometimes it'sactually the students who may
have heard from their friends.
So, depending on where theparent is in this conversation,
I always even if they do know, Ido always walk them through the
process because I think it's soimportant to have the parents
(15:13):
on board to make them sort ofunderstand how we approach it.
And I do always say to themthat you know, and again, I
always explain we're going to gobecause if I understand that
it's the grade which isimportant to them.
Sometimes parents,straightforward, say to me it's
not, I'm not after the grade, Ijust want to make sure they
(15:34):
pick up their confidence.
They're so much in tune.
So then that's a differentconversation.
But in either case, I alwaystake the point to explain that,
yeah, we're going to work on thegrade, because we're obviously
working on the content, but,more importantly, we're going to
work on the confidence.
we're going to work on theapproach.
We're going to work on makingyour child successful now and
(15:55):
into the future.
Give them strategies so thatthey can actually apply these to
life, because they're sort oflife skills in many ways.
And then I drive them into theconversation in terms of you
know what they can do as aparent to help support them at
home, and it may happen in theinitial conversation or it may
(16:16):
come later, because I again,it's an ongoing dialogue with
the parents.
I always connect with them on amonthly basis and give them
updates on how things are goingand you know, if I were to take
an example of a parent who werealized through conversation
that more than anything else, Ifeel like we should be working
on study skills with your child.
And we have a full study skillscurriculum that we do.
(16:36):
And in that case I will say,you know, some of the things
that you could do to supportyour child with this is, you
know, get involved early and askquestions and ask questions.
Get involved in their life, getinvolved in what they're doing.
For example, some of thequestions could be you ask about
what's going on in theirscience class.
(16:57):
They're going to tell you oh, Ihave this project that I'm
doing.
Then maybe ask oh, so what arethe different parts of that
project?
So all of a sudden, you'remaking them think the project
has different parts.
They may not have the answerfor it, but if they're, possibly
if they're working with ourtutor, they may or they may not
have gotten there yet, butyou're helping them think about
(17:17):
it.
And then they may say, well, Ihave to do lots of research,
okay, so what parts of researchare you going to do?
Where are you going to get thatresearch?
Break it down, break it down,break it down, Break it down.
H elp them break it down,because all you're doing as a
parent is making them understanda project has different parts
you have to break it down.
Has different timelines, so ifit's due in a month, you've got
to work on the different partsin different ways.
Vicki Nelson (17:39):
I'm still trying to teach that to my college
students.
If you can get the younger kidsto know that, we're ahead of
the game.
But it also seems as thoughthen, especially if they're
working with a tutor, they'rehearing some of the same
messaging both at home and intheir tutoring sessions.
(17:59):
So it sort of ties the thingstogether.
Oh, somebody other than my momsaid that.
Maybe I should be payingattention to that after all, and
it works that way.
you talked about o ftenparents reach out to you because
school has said you know theythey could use support, or or
(18:21):
you notice yourself that there.
Does it ever make sense forstudents to do some kind of
support, tutoring, proactively,before they begin to struggle,
to sort of bone up a little bitbefore they hit a difficult time
(18:43):
?
Celine Bewsher (18:44):
Yeah, that's a really good question too, and
it's such a big part of ourworld and that struggle, I guess
.
I guess yes, it makes a lot ofsense.
But the difficulty with it isfrom a parent perspective.
When do they know they're goingto struggle?
(19:05):
How do they know?
Do they know how muchcommunication is happening?
It sort of depends on, I guess,also the age of the child and
also the parenting style, howinvolved they are in the
parenting and there's differentstyles of parenting and they're
all different.
They're all good in their ownways.
So when the parent is involvedand they do realize, I think
(19:28):
it's phenomenal when thoseparents and I always tell them
when they call me in third grade, fourth grade, because they
pick up on the quickest thing onfractions, and maybe they're
not able to conceptualize thisand call us and I command them
for it and I say this is greatbecause we can jump on it right
away.
But you know, in the teen yearsit's so much more difficult
(19:48):
because sometimes conversationsare more limited, depending on
your involvement with the child.
Again, so sort of you'relooking at grades or you're
looking at teacher conferencesto understand and again, in
those cases I think it's greatto jump right away when you do
see the first flag of realizingand again it's sort of
(20:10):
understanding what does thismean?
Does B mean something for thischild or is it C?
You know it's knowing.
Where is that child, what's thenorm, what the expectation is
so it's really really vague to.
well, it's not vague, isn't theword.
It's very individualized foreach child.
So I think, depending on yourexpectation of your child,
(20:32):
whatever that might be, if theyare coming lower than that, the
minute you realize it, it'sgreat to jump right there and to
give you an example, sometimesparents call me it's a big
struggle and it's sort of maybetwo weeks left to the end of the
year, right.
(20:52):
So we get this emergency SOScall and I'm very candid with
them and I sort of at that timehave this discussion saying,
look, I'd love to help, but I'mgoing to be realistic, We've got
like two weeks left.
And then I sort of talk aboutwhat else is your child doing?
And if I hear a list of sportsand list of this after school
activities, and I sayrealistically, like how's this
even going to fit in theirschedule without turning them
(21:15):
into a total stress ball?
So it's all a question ofbalancing.
It's such a balancing act.
So I think the earlier thebetter.
And it's funny because in someways I also would say we have,
of course, this ongoing influxof students where, yes, they may
come in because they'restruggling at a later moment.
But the bigger part of what wedo in Cambridge excuse me is
(21:40):
really, I guess, these customersthat we've had these
relationships that we have whereit's stays, and what I mean
with that is they come in as asin, you know, in third grade,
and then what they need changesas they grow.
So then we're there, we're onit, we're working with them.
You know, in third grade we'redoing math and fractions.
(22:02):
By the time they're in sixthgrade, we're doing study skills
and we're teaching them how toeffectively study and apply it
to all of their work.
And then in eighth grade, maybewe're doing more advanced math
or we sort of know what themoving changes are so that it
makes it easier
Vicki Nelson (22:17):
and you've developed a relationship with
that student.
And so you begin to know andyou, I would imagine the tutor
can anticipate where the thingsare.
I talk a lot about to mystudents.
Again it's the college level,and we have a tutoring center.
Every college has a tutoringcenter.
And about you know, all right,you're taking physics and you
(22:42):
know this is going to be tough.
Don't wait until midterm examto go find a tutor.
But if you start at thebeginning of the semester, by
the time midterm exam comesaround, your tutor knows you and
knows your weaknesses and yourstrengths.
So building that, so jumping alittle bit, it seems as though
(23:04):
one of the places again you know, dealing with older kids that
parents often start to thinkabout support and tutoring, if
they haven't had the luxury ofdeveloping years of a
relationship, is when it comestime for SAT or ACT.
You know test prep, we've gotto get ready for that, and so I
(23:27):
imagine you get those students.
What's the difference betweenthe student that comes to you as
a sophomore or a junior toprepare for SAT and that student
that you've worked with overtime in how you maybe approach
it, how you work with them?
Is that a good reason forparents to perhaps think about
(23:51):
starting some kind of supportearlier so that they will have
that relationship by then?
Celine Bewsher (23:58):
yeah, so that's an interesting actually
comparison to make.
So if I sort of think about thestudents that we've worked with
for many years and think aboutthem coming on to SAT, we know
them so well and I think thebenefit of that is that we're so
much in tune, having coachedthem with strategies, that we
(24:20):
probably A we've given them alot of the strategies because we
bring it in to our tutoring.
So the transition from thatinto the actual standardized
tests.
It's so much easier for thatstudent to make, because they're
used to approaching a problem acertain way.
We've worked on that for many,many years so that transition is
(24:46):
easier From a contentperspective.
We know exactly when they areready, despite the fact of me
looking at transcripts andasking the parent okay, did they
do algebra II?
Did they do pre-calc?
I sort of know where they arein math, so I know the exact
time where it would make sensefor them to actually start the
SAT prep.
For students who are coming tous completely new on the SAT
(25:07):
prep, sometimes they're sonervous and they're so worried
and they will call me in 10thgrade.
And so I have this conversation, okay, and then I try to
understand.
My first point is I need tounderstand their math background
, so I ask a bunch of questionsso what math do they do?
Have they done Algebra 2already?
(25:28):
Have they done Pre-Calc?
and if they have not donealgebra 2, I will right away
basically recommend the parentsand say you know, I feel like
this is way too early, because Ifeel like they need to get
algebra 2 concepts under theirbelt, just so that your test
prep investment is not about usteaching them what they're going
to learn in the school.
(25:49):
And in an ideal world, I wantthe students to have Algebra 2
plus maybe two months ofpre-calc under them, because by
the time they do that two monthsof pre-calc, they basically
have pretty much all conceptsthat we need more or less for an
SAT prep.
So there's that timingconversation with parents who
(26:09):
are coming on to us new and thenyou know, we obviously will
make them do a diagnostic andlook at their strategies and how
they approached and analyzethat before we start working
with them, which might be a stepwe might not have to do for the
students that we've known forso long.
So there's basically thatcontinuity and knowledge, which
(26:30):
is a bonus and again, sort ofthey don't miss out the coming
new students.
But we'll have to spend a bitmore.
It's almost.
The onboarding is a bit longer.
There's some more steps areinvolved
Vicki Nelson (26:41):
You've built that up over time with the students
who've worked with you for awhile.
Exactly
I mean it's common sense.
It makes sense, but it'sinteresting to hear why and how
that difference exists.
So another question I had, andit's probably an obvious one,
(27:01):
you know, I would think tutoringworks best when the student has
the right attitude about it.
If they're resisting it, it'sprobably tough.
And I'm wondering from a parentperspective are there things
(27:22):
that you would suggest thatparents, at whatever age, can do
to help the student understandwhy this is important and really
support them in having thatright attitude that's going to
help.
Celine Bewsher (27:31):
It's such a great question and it's funny
because I think about it as aparent all the time, apart from
Club Z, and I think the onething I would put out there for
me almost personally as a parentthat has helped the most has
(27:53):
been involvement and involvementearly, early on involvement.
So you know, and I always say tothe, to the parents that are in
third grade that are calling me, involvement meaning not you
don't have to be a hands-onparent and in their, in their
life all the time, but what Imean is making time for that
conversation of asking how didthings go in school?
(28:15):
What are you learning?
What are you guys doing inscience?
Or what are you doing in math?
Tell me more about your English, what books are you reading?
So that almost and if you're avery busy parent, traveling,
still making that almostwhatever time works in your time
, if it's 15 minutes, if it's aphone call from Seattle to
Massachusetts, you know,whatever it might be, just
(28:37):
making that work, that ritualwork, where you have that
check-in time, let's call itwith your child, because the
minute you build it it's notpushed away when they're in
their teen years because it'spart of your relationship, it's
just a norm, it's not like whyare you all of a sudden asking
me these questions as a teen,would you?
Vicki Nelson (28:58):
know Right.
Celine Bewsher (28:59):
So then, within that, with those questions, you
can always, as a parent, I hopeguide them, depending on what
the responses could be, sort ofmaking them make the connections
, and then that's where sort ofyou know the connection to if
it's an athlete, if one is notwanting to do something and is
(29:21):
basically telling you, well,yeah, I've got this final coming
up, but I'll just sort of I'mgonna wait and I'll do it my
friends the night, and then youknow, that could be a nice
little conversation.
But, just listen.
How do you like?
How do you work with yoursoccer, though?
Like how often do you practicefor your soccer, making them
think about whatever it is thatthey're passionate about outside
(29:42):
of academics.
Or if they have a role model.
I mean for a lot of thebasketball players.
Caitlin Clark, great role model, you know, in terms of what
would she do if she had thisgame coming up.
So sort of you know, whateverthat might be, asking, bringing
the role model and saying butwhat about you know this person
that you really like?
How would they approach this,do you think?
giving them these points, or ifthey're tutoring with us, use
(30:06):
the role model of the particulartutor.
I always say if you're stuckbecause they really love
so-and-so that they're workingwith, just say how do you think
she would do this if she had afinal coming up?
Because they usually look up totheir tutor.
It's their role model, it'stheir coach.
(30:28):
They often want to be them.
That's the beauty in thistutoring relationship the role
modeling is so importantabsolutely they want to be them
yeah and that's part of thereason why they also continue to
tutoring because, the incentiveis almost that relationship,
because they want to be likethem.
They want to be and theycontinue that relationship over
(30:50):
and over, year after year.
I mean some of those parentssay I can't believe.
They're just telling me youknow, okay, so am I working with
so and so again this year andand in most cases they yeah yeah
, our retention with our tutorsis pretty high.
I can't can never promise itbecause they're humans, but
right where we can make thatmagic happen, then it's
(31:10):
beautiful for everybody it's sorewarding for our tutors.
It's rewarding for us, it'srewarding for the students and
the families.
Vicki Nelson (31:16):
Yeah, really important I want to go back to
we only have time for a couplemore, but you talked about
monthly reports that youcommunicate with parents, and
I'm curious those students whohave been with you over time,
(31:36):
who maybe started in third orfourth or fifth grade and now
they're high school, is there achange in how you communicate
with parents as students getolder?
Celine Bewsher (31:49):
Absolutely.
Vicki Nelson (31:51):
I guess that might be the answer.
How does it change?
Celine Bewsher (31:55):
And you know at the beginning, sort of when they
first start, they hear from meevery month, right.
And then I realize after awhile, as the kids are getting
older, firstly the parents maybedo not want to hear on a
monthly basis from me becausethey've been working with us for
so long.
There's an establishedrelationship and as they get
(32:18):
older though, sort of whenthey're in high school, for
example, when they reach highschool, a lot of the
conversations happen in such away where I will ask the tutor
to go back directly to our tutorto give the feedback directly
to the child, because in manyways I think they're so open to
(32:40):
it when it comes directly inthat mentoring relationship.
Then the parent hearing it andthe parent going to the child,
and almost like creating thistriangle which doesn't really
work very effectively at thatages like in high school.
I feel like we actually, youknow, I speak a lot with our
tutors and almost coach them onthat particular point, to go
(33:06):
back to the student and see howthey worked, and then, you know,
I will obviously let the momknow or the dad know, but it's
really becomes a much more of adirect feedback session.
Let's not call it feedbackdirect coaching session.
Vicki Nelson (33:19):
And that prepares students for college.
When it's, it is definitelymore appropriate for parents to
step back but, I, see so manythat can't quite let go.
And one of the changes I'veseen over time is, you know, we
used to have this image ofhelicopter parents.
You know the parents arehovering and the students are
(33:39):
trying to sort of push them away, but it's reversed a little bit
now.
I think students welcome a lotof that parent involvement and
so having that time in highschool where they have someone
like a tutor or a coach to helpsupport them and they're not
(34:02):
leaning so totally on theparents is really, really
helpful.
So we could probably do a wholeepisode on this.
So maybe, but just to touch onit because I'm I'm guessing that
you probably work as you workwith these older students and
high school students from somestudents who might benefit from
(34:26):
taking some time off before theygo to college and we talked
about SAT and ACT and all ofthat college prep and some
students you know taking a breakmight be a good thing.
So what do you think about theidea of a gap year and do your
tutors talk to students aboutthat?
(34:48):
What would you suggest toparents and students who might
be thinking would a year off bea good idea?
Celine Bewsher (34:55):
That's such a great question and I love the
idea of gap year for the rightperson and, yes, we do often
talk about it.
I talk to parents about it too,depending on the person.
So then again, this is soindividualized and I feel like
once we know the path and thestory of that student for you
(35:16):
know, since third grade we canhave really good input and
sometimes you know students arevery academically driven and
they do well and they loveacademia, and so when I see that
it's a full-on, just your pathinto college and continue and
then probably grad school, etcetera.
So you know that type of student.
And then you've got studentswho are super bright, who might
(35:38):
be 4.0, getting great grades,but really are looking.
They're much more hands-on,they're much more you know, want
to be involved in life and wantto get their hands dirty and
(35:58):
probably they're going to gointo a major which is going to
correspond to that too.
But that type of a student tome is a perfect student to then
hone in on their interests andtry to understand what really
makes them tick.
What is it that?
Where do they want to go?
Have these conversations andinvolve the parents and then
make a few suggestions for gapyear programs.
So I feel like for that sort ofa student, that's a great,
(36:18):
great year to take and myphilosophy around it is always
go through college process asyou normally would.
You know, get your applications, get your acceptance and defer
that.
So that you know you've done itand you know you're going to
take your gap here purposefully.
And then you've got somestudents who might be really
struggling and who might notknow where to go, not know what
(36:39):
to do, and maybe they don't havethe best grades, they don't
have the best GPAs.
With these students, you know,again, I sort of try to bring in
the parents and try tounderstand what their points of
interest might be and try toexpose them to different career
programs so that they can go andfind out what might be their
(37:02):
different paths.
And it might not be yourtraditional college, it might be
your trade schools.
Talk to them about all thesepossibilities and maybe get them
some conversations going withpeople in that trade so that
they can see, oh, this is how itwould feel if I were to become
going to carpentry and and then,based on that, maybe actually
(37:23):
talking to the parent aboutdoing some sort of an internship
in some of these fields.
That again, a purposeful gapyear program.
So it's so individual and Ilove and promote the gap year
idea, but it has to be for theright person.
feel like the the nightmarepossibility of a of a gap year
is a student who basically justdoesn't do anything and sits on
(37:45):
there you know, yeah, that's anightmare,
Vicki Nelson (37:47):
Mom and dad's basement playing video games I
think that's often the parentnightmare of what a gap year is
going to be, or that my studentis going to take a gap year that
is going to get them off thetrack and then they're never
going to get back on the track.
And it would seem to me thatoften a tutor or a coach who has
(38:11):
worked with this student,perhaps over years, is one of
the best people perhaps to beable to judge and estimate.
This might be a student whowould benefit from a break.
Celine Bewsher (38:27):
So totally, totally correct.
And I feel like you know, inour the, the tutors just know
their students so well.
In just very recent this year,you know one of our this
happened in one of ourrelationships where the tutor
knew this would be the rightthing, and then you know where
they've been speaking together.
They found a great program inspain and, uh, she, she, this is
(38:50):
a student who's totally wantsto go into languages and yeah,
humanities speak spanishfluently.
And there she is.
She's on her way next year todo a whole full year in spain
and I'm delighted for her
Vicki Nelson (39:05):
what a great story
Celine Bewsher (39:06):
it's, and you know this is.
It was all prompted by, againthe tutor-student relationship
and then, of course, plugging inthe mom into the conversation
when we knew this was happening.
Vicki Nelson (39:18):
We could keep talking.
It's wonderful.
I'm learning all kinds of newthings about this the whole idea
of the tutor relationship andthe coaching and over time.
You know, I think so many of usreally think of tutoring in
terms of right now my student isstruggling in math, I need to
get a math tutor.
The tutor will get that studentback on track and then we'll be
(39:42):
done with that process and tothink of it as an ongoing kind
of over time.
So just to wrap up, would youhave any advice for parents or
you know especially I mean we'rethinking mostly in terms of
high school parents and all ofthat if they're thinking about
(40:03):
tutoring and kind of what tolook for and how to go about
finding?
I know you mentioned I'm askingthe question and I'm answering
my own question, but, uh, youknow you mentioned word of mouth
and talking to other parents,but how do they go about finding
a good tutoring program fortheir kid?
Celine Bewsher (40:22):
yeah, um, I would definitely sort of
encourage them to speak todifferent call the different
tutoring companies and optionswhich are out there and find out
about their approaches and askthe questions about what is
their approach, because, again,it's not just about the grade I
(40:47):
feel like tutoring is so muchmore than that and as they have
those conversations they willfind out what the philosophy of
the tutoring company is.
I think most importantly forparents, it's really
understanding that philosophy sothat you can have the
continuity, Because I feel likein high school, wanting to help
out your child is such aprevalent thing.
(41:07):
Every parent, every mom wantsto do that, wants to do the best
for their child, especiallywhen all those changes are
happening and the teen attitudeis kicking in, and it's a
difficult time and within that,if we only focus on the grade,
(41:29):
that's coming home and make thatan identity for that child.
That grade becomes an identity,they're going to push away a lot
of the help that we're tryingto give to them.
So I feel like the tutoringcompany that's going to help is
coming in with this philosophywhere they're not going to make
the grade the identity.
(41:50):
You're a b student or you cstudent you're failing, you're
doing it it's really the wholephilosophy and the approach of
how am I gonna, how are yougonna help my child?
So this is, this is the story,this is where she's at and this
is what we would like.
How are you gonna get there?
And I think that open-endedquestion and what the tutoring
company is gonna say is is goingto give them the understanding
(42:12):
of is this the right one for meor not?
And after that, I would thinkit would be really important.
If it's a new, they don't knowenough about the tutoring
company, I would definitelyencourage them to speak to a
parent who's worked with them,because then they're going to
get a real sort of check on ohyeah, this is really how it
(42:33):
worked.
Vicki Nelson (42:35):
And I would guess any good tutoring company would
be happy to provide some namesof a parent that the parent
looking at would be able to talkto.
Celine Bewsher (42:48):
They absolutely should.
I mean, in most cases theywould need to get some sort of a
consent signed, and hopefullythey have some of those on file
already.
Yeah, great.
Vicki Nelson (42:58):
Well, and if any parent is looking, if they've
listened to this podcast, theynow have a lot of questions that
they know to ask a tutoringcompany that they're looking at.
So, Celine Bewsher, thank youso much for joining us today and
talking about so much that youknow.
And Club Z Tutoring inCambridge is your company and
(43:24):
perhaps you'll get some phonecalls who knows?
And you do.
I should have asked thisearlier.
The tutoring is all online.
It's all online, so it doesn'thave to be local to Cambridge.
No, Okay so that's reallyimportant for people who might
be listening.
So thanks so much for takingtime to join us today and thank
(43:46):
you to anyone who has beenlistening to this.
We hope it's helpful, and youcan find the show notes at
collegeparentcentral.
com/ podcast.
And we'll see you next timeThanks, thank you for having me,
V icki.
Welcome to the College Parent Central podcast.
Whether your child is justbeginning the college admission
process or is already in college, this podcast is for you.
You'll find food for thoughtand information about college
and about navigating thatdelicate balance of guidance,
involvement and knowing when toget out of the way.
(00:31):
Join your hosts as they sharesupport and a celebration of the
amazing experience of having achild in college.
Vicki Nelson (00:50):
Welcome to the College Parent Central podcast.
This is where we talk about allkinds of things that have to do
with being the parent of acollege student, of someone who
is thinking about going tocollege and sometimes even
people who have graduated fromcollege.
My name is Vicki Nelson and Iam here today without a co-host,
but I am not alone.
I am very excited to have aguest to share with everybody
(01:14):
today, and I think you're goingto be very interested in hearing
about our topic, which has todo with tutoring and helping
students work on academics andall sorts of things.
So I am pleased today to bejoined by Celine Bewsher, who is
the owner-manager of Club ZTutoring Services in Cambridge,
(01:38):
M massachusetts, and that is acompany whose guiding principle
is coaching for success, and itis one of the premier one-on-one
tutoring companies in Cambridge.
R has a lifelong passion formotivating people with vastly
different backgrounds andlearning styles.
She's taught in Paris, F france, guiding American high school
(02:02):
students through the culture andhistory of Europe, and she has
led a worldwide team at EFEducation First, developing
academic pathway programs forinternational students.
Celine is also the mom of twodaughters, one of whom is
approaching the college searchprocess, so Celine is about to
(02:24):
enter this world of collegeparenting firsthand, so I'm so
pleased to have Celine heretoday to extend what began as a
casual conversation, I thinkwhile you were walking your dog,
when I said how are things atwork?
And you patiently answered awhole bunch of my questions and
(02:46):
I said this information issomething people can use and we
need to share it.
So here we are, C celinewelcome to the College Parent
Central podcast.
Celine Bewsher (02:58):
Thank you so much for having me, V vicki.
I am so happy that you and Ifeel honored that you have me
here on your podcast, so thankyou.
Vicki Nelson (03:07):
Well we're excited to hear what you're going to
share and you know, talkingabout tutoring is a new topic
for our podcast.
We haven't covered it before,but we're really finding that
college parenting, what we callcollege parenting, begins
earlier and earlier , andparents are making so many early
(03:28):
decisions with future collegepotential in mind.
So I think some of the thingswe talked about when we talked
before are really related topreparing for college and for
college.
So will you maybe start bysharing just a little bit about
your background, beyond thelittle tidbits I added, and what
(03:49):
brought you to this world oftutoring and coaching students?
Celine Bewsher (03:54):
Sure.
So again, thank you for theintroduction.
So just to add a bit more, Iguess in my background is in
terms of education, I've alwaysbeen personally very close to
cultural differences ineducation.
I've done my education indifferent countries, starting
from Istanbul to US, into France.
(04:16):
So that in and of itself hasbrought me personally in
realizing what the culturaldifferences come in to education
at different parts, fromelementary all the way to
university.
And, as you mentioned, I'veworked with Education, First EF,
and again sort of I've carriedthat passion of cultural
(04:36):
differences through education,let it be in providing cultural
experiences to American highschool students when they're
visiting Europe, to pathwayprograms to study abroad
programs.
And that passion of mine, wWhen I decided to leave EF with
(04:57):
the vision that I'd like to sortof take this next step and
maybe then take it into our ClubZ in Cambridge tutoring company
and be able to translate it andbe able to execute it in that
form of tutoring with students.
That's the one thing that wedid not do with EF when, I was
working at Education First, andso that's how we founded Club Z
(05:21):
Cambridge.
and, you know, I feel like thewhole mantra we have, which is
coaching for success.
It goes from it has been withme since my early years with EF
as a mom, into our company andit's you know, maybe I'll talk a
bit more about that , becausethat sort of is the foundational
(05:47):
stone to sort of what makes usdifferent in this field, because
Cambridge is full of tutoringcompanies.
I don't know if you want me tojump into that.
Vicki Nelson (05:58):
It's an academic mecca.
Tell us a little bit about ClubZ and what you do, and maybe
the age range of students youwork with or what kinds of help
and support you give to students.
Celine Bewsher (06:10):
Yeah, sure.
So the age range we work withreally starts from third grade
all the way to 12th grade, andthe reason why I say third grade
is not that we don't haveparents calling us in second and
first.
But I'll be very candid whenthey do call us for second and
first grade, I have theconversation with them and I
always sort of say you know what, you should just wait until
they're in third grade, andoften they take my lead on it.
(06:35):
So I have the conversation withthem two years after.
So that's sort of how we work.
That's the age range, and alittle bit of what we've built
in Cambridge is thisrelationship with the parents in
Cambridge and also Brookline.
And really, once they come tous in third grade, they tend to
(06:55):
stay with us all the way throughtheir SATs and college, which
is really rewarding for us,because then we get to see the
growth of the student that wenow met at 10 and I get to know
their story and hear whatcollege they went into, and the
parents even call backafterwards to let us know how
they're doing in college.
So, that's the most rewardingpart of sort of my role anyway
(07:18):
in this.
So in terms of subjects, weoffer pretty much everything,
but what really happens iswhat's in demand, right?
So I think the highest demandis really math.
It starts in third grade.
And then yeah it starts infractions.
Vicki Nelson (07:35):
I'd be there.
I'd raise my hand.
I'd be there.
Celine Bewsher (07:39):
Fractions and whatever else, and then it goes
on to AP, calc, whatever ittakes on to its journey all the
way through 12th grade.
After math, I would say we dohave a lot of English and
English.
Again, what we work with ismore learning how to write.
(08:00):
That's what we really do inmiddle school.
A lot of what we're doing isteaching the kids the writing
process so that they canconfidently write a five
paragraph essay.
So that's what we're reallyfocusing on with English more
than anything else.
And then, of course, in highschool, there's Shakespeare,
there's all of that stuff.
That sort of happens.
So we work with theircurriculum.
Mathematical sciences isanother one that is really big
(08:20):
for us in high school, sophysics and chemistry, and then
we've got, of course, test prepSATs not as much as ACTs.
A lot of SATs are now comingback post-COVID, so we have more
and more SATs coming our way,and then we have, you know, F
french and Spanish and theselittle things that we love,
Vicki Nelson (08:40):
Basically what whatever the students really
need to work with.
Yes, and you know it'sinteresting, you mentioned, with
the writing, you mentionedconfidence, that they gain
confidence and I think that goessuch a long way in terms of
students being able to do theirwork.
And it seems as though, youknow, I teach college, and on
(09:19):
that college level, so many ofthe students that I encounter
who are struggling, who seem tobe having a difficult time, it's
not strictly because of theiracademic issues, but life that
gets in the way.
It's the social issues, theanxiety, mental health, things
really going up these daysself-management, time management
, all of those things.
So, when thinking about youridea of coaching for success, in
addition to the subject matter,do your students help, or
(09:41):
rather, do your tutors helpstudents with some of these
other peripheral kinds of issues?
Celine Bewsher (09:46):
Yeah, that is such a great question and I feel
like that's been more and moreprevalent in our world ever
since COVID and the COVIDisolation, particularly with the
teens that we deal with, andreally in our approach to
tutoring, a big part of it iswhat I call a holistic approach.
So it's really trying tounderstand first the family.
(10:08):
Who is mom, dad, what are theirpriorities, what's on their
mind, why are they coming to us,what's important to them and
really their background.
This is where I go back to thiseducation and the cultural
piece, to understanding thediversity of the cultural piece
to it, understanding thediversity of the of the cultures
that we're dealing with, what'simportant to them.
(10:30):
And then from there we move onto the child.
So what's going on in thatchild, child's life?
So it's not really under, it'snot really the letter that we're
after, but it's really theletter.
But yes, but more than thatsort of what's happening to this
child and how can we helpsupport this student in the best
(10:52):
way possible, holistically, anda lot of that could be
confidence-related.
A lot of that could be givingthem the confidence to
understand they can do this,giving them the tools.
Sometimes it's not a questionof they think they're struggling
.
They think that you know, oh,I'm just, I just I'm not
(11:17):
intelligent enough to do thismath, and yet you actually break
it down.
You realize, hold on, it's yourapproach to the math problem.
Let's talk about how you canapproach this problem in a more
effective way.
Let's break it down, let's gostep by step.
You know what.
You're actually so much moreintelligent than you think you
are.
You're doing this in your head.
I need you to write this down,step by step, and once you write
(11:39):
it down, then you can avoid allthese silly mistakes that
you're going to be makingbecause you're trying to jump
quickly ahead to the answer.
So I guess, to answer yourquestion sort of more directly
yes, we pay attention a lot tothe approach to the study skills
, to how we can affect or alsomake them understand that they
(12:03):
can do this and be confidentabout it.
And often, you know, when we'retalking to our tutors, a lot of
this sort of is in the trainingbut also on field, because I
always have monthly reports onhow things are going with our
students, et cetera.
You know we always try toconnect to every single student.
(12:24):
I always say individually tryto understand who they are.
So if it's an athlete, they'reinterested in a bunch of sports.
Speak to them in thatterminology.
So let's talk about practice,let's talk about not giving up,
let's talk about stamina andrelate the work to almost the
(12:44):
work of an athlete so that theycan just pump up the confidence.
Vicki Nelson (12:47):
It's their world
Celine Bewsher (12:48):
Absolutely
Vicki Nelson (12:48):
and they can identify with it.
Celine Bewsher (12:50):
They can totally identify with it and you know
if it's a pianist.
Let's talk about how youactually, you know, get really
great on playing that piece andwhat practice means and what
breaking down a piece of a, of ayou know music by Satie, that
you're going to be playing itinto different parts and then
(13:10):
putting it all together.
So we really just try to makeit as relevant to their world as
possible and as personable aspossible.
Vicki Nelson (13:20):
Yeah, you know, it seems as though that's really
good advice for us as parents aswell, to think about what is my
student enmeshed in right nowand how can I, on their terms, a
little bit help them understandthings that are going on.
Wondering, when, when parentsare, when you're talking to
(13:46):
parents who are looking for atutor um, you know, not those
first and second grade graders,but a little older, I'm curious
what they're looking for andwhether, as you're describing
all of this peripheral work thatyou're doing with with students
, do you have to explain toparents that this is, this is
what we do and how we're doingit.
Do parents understand whatthey're really looking for when
(14:09):
they're looking for a tutor?
Celine Bewsher (14:11):
That's a really good question Again.
So sort of it depends, ofcourse, on the parents what
they're.
You know, when I have myinitial conversations and I
always find it so interestingevery time I speak to a parent
and learn about a new family andsometimes they don't know what
they're looking for.
They've just called me becausethe school has said your child
needs tutoring, so your childneeds support and maybe you
(14:32):
should get tutoring, and oftenthat's the starting conversation
.
And then sometimes they call mebecause they've heard about us
from another parent and thenthey know more about us.
So they call me and they say oh, I want so-and-so tutor of
yours that I heard a friend ofmine is working with, because
they're doing.
one-to-one Word of mouth can begood and not so good.
(14:52):
Yeah, and sometimes it'sactually the students who may
have heard from their friends.
So, depending on where theparent is in this conversation,
I always even if they do know, Ido always walk them through the
process because I think it's soimportant to have the parents
(15:13):
on board to make them sort ofunderstand how we approach it.
And I do always say to themthat you know, and again, I
always explain we're going to gobecause if I understand that
it's the grade which isimportant to them.
Sometimes parents,straightforward, say to me it's
not, I'm not after the grade, Ijust want to make sure they
(15:34):
pick up their confidence.
They're so much in tune.
So then that's a differentconversation.
But in either case, I alwaystake the point to explain that,
yeah, we're going to work on thegrade, because we're obviously
working on the content, but,more importantly, we're going to
work on the confidence.
we're going to work on theapproach.
We're going to work on makingyour child successful now and
(15:55):
into the future.
Give them strategies so thatthey can actually apply these to
life, because they're sort oflife skills in many ways.
And then I drive them into theconversation in terms of you
know what they can do as aparent to help support them at
home, and it may happen in theinitial conversation or it may
(16:16):
come later, because I again,it's an ongoing dialogue with
the parents.
I always connect with them on amonthly basis and give them
updates on how things are goingand you know, if I were to take
an example of a parent who werealized through conversation
that more than anything else, Ifeel like we should be working
on study skills with your child.
And we have a full study skillscurriculum that we do.
(16:36):
And in that case I will say,you know, some of the things
that you could do to supportyour child with this is, you
know, get involved early and askquestions and ask questions.
Get involved in their life, getinvolved in what they're doing.
For example, some of thequestions could be you ask about
what's going on in theirscience class.
(16:57):
They're going to tell you oh, Ihave this project that I'm
doing.
Then maybe ask oh, so what arethe different parts of that
project?
So all of a sudden, you'remaking them think the project
has different parts.
They may not have the answerfor it, but if they're, possibly
if they're working with ourtutor, they may or they may not
have gotten there yet, butyou're helping them think about
(17:17):
it.
And then they may say, well, Ihave to do lots of research,
okay, so what parts of researchare you going to do?
Where are you going to get thatresearch?
Break it down, break it down,break it down, Break it down.
H elp them break it down,because all you're doing as a
parent is making them understanda project has different parts
you have to break it down.
Has different timelines, so ifit's due in a month, you've got
to work on the different partsin different ways.
Vicki Nelson (17:39):
I'm still trying to teach that to my college
students.
If you can get the younger kidsto know that, we're ahead of
the game.
But it also seems as thoughthen, especially if they're
working with a tutor, they'rehearing some of the same
messaging both at home and intheir tutoring sessions.
(17:59):
So it sort of ties the thingstogether.
Oh, somebody other than my momsaid that.
Maybe I should be payingattention to that after all, and
it works that way.
you talked about o ftenparents reach out to you because
school has said you know theythey could use support, or or
(18:21):
you notice yourself that there.
Does it ever make sense forstudents to do some kind of
support, tutoring, proactively,before they begin to struggle,
to sort of bone up a little bitbefore they hit a difficult time
(18:43):
?
Celine Bewsher (18:44):
Yeah, that's a really good question too, and
it's such a big part of ourworld and that struggle, I guess
.
I guess yes, it makes a lot ofsense.
But the difficulty with it isfrom a parent perspective.
When do they know they're goingto struggle?
(19:05):
How do they know?
Do they know how muchcommunication is happening?
It sort of depends on, I guess,also the age of the child and
also the parenting style, howinvolved they are in the
parenting and there's differentstyles of parenting and they're
all different.
They're all good in their ownways.
So when the parent is involvedand they do realize, I think
(19:28):
it's phenomenal when thoseparents and I always tell them
when they call me in third grade, fourth grade, because they
pick up on the quickest thing onfractions, and maybe they're
not able to conceptualize thisand call us and I command them
for it and I say this is greatbecause we can jump on it right
away.
But you know, in the teen yearsit's so much more difficult
(19:48):
because sometimes conversationsare more limited, depending on
your involvement with the child.
Again, so sort of you'relooking at grades or you're
looking at teacher conferencesto understand and again, in
those cases I think it's greatto jump right away when you do
see the first flag of realizingand again it's sort of
(20:10):
understanding what does thismean?
Does B mean something for thischild or is it C?
You know it's knowing.
Where is that child, what's thenorm, what the expectation is
so it's really really vague to.
well, it's not vague, isn't theword.
It's very individualized foreach child.
So I think, depending on yourexpectation of your child,
(20:32):
whatever that might be, if theyare coming lower than that, the
minute you realize it, it'sgreat to jump right there and to
give you an example, sometimesparents call me it's a big
struggle and it's sort of maybetwo weeks left to the end of the
year, right.
(20:52):
So we get this emergency SOScall and I'm very candid with
them and I sort of at that timehave this discussion saying,
look, I'd love to help, but I'mgoing to be realistic, We've got
like two weeks left.
And then I sort of talk aboutwhat else is your child doing?
And if I hear a list of sportsand list of this after school
activities, and I sayrealistically, like how's this
even going to fit in theirschedule without turning them
(21:15):
into a total stress ball?
So it's all a question ofbalancing.
It's such a balancing act.
So I think the earlier thebetter.
And it's funny because in someways I also would say we have,
of course, this ongoing influxof students where, yes, they may
come in because they'restruggling at a later moment.
But the bigger part of what wedo in Cambridge excuse me is
(21:40):
really, I guess, these customersthat we've had these
relationships that we have whereit's stays, and what I mean
with that is they come in as asin, you know, in third grade,
and then what they need changesas they grow.
So then we're there, we're onit, we're working with them.
You know, in third grade we'redoing math and fractions.
(22:02):
By the time they're in sixthgrade, we're doing study skills
and we're teaching them how toeffectively study and apply it
to all of their work.
And then in eighth grade, maybewe're doing more advanced math
or we sort of know what themoving changes are so that it
makes it easier
Vicki Nelson (22:17):
and you've developed a relationship with
that student.
And so you begin to know andyou, I would imagine the tutor
can anticipate where the thingsare.
I talk a lot about to mystudents.
Again it's the college level,and we have a tutoring center.
Every college has a tutoringcenter.
And about you know, all right,you're taking physics and you
(22:42):
know this is going to be tough.
Don't wait until midterm examto go find a tutor.
But if you start at thebeginning of the semester, by
the time midterm exam comesaround, your tutor knows you and
knows your weaknesses and yourstrengths.
So building that, so jumping alittle bit, it seems as though
(23:04):
one of the places again you know, dealing with older kids that
parents often start to thinkabout support and tutoring, if
they haven't had the luxury ofdeveloping years of a
relationship, is when it comestime for SAT or ACT.
You know test prep, we've gotto get ready for that, and so I
(23:27):
imagine you get those students.
What's the difference betweenthe student that comes to you as
a sophomore or a junior toprepare for SAT and that student
that you've worked with overtime in how you maybe approach
it, how you work with them?
Is that a good reason forparents to perhaps think about
(23:51):
starting some kind of supportearlier so that they will have
that relationship by then?
Celine Bewsher (23:58):
yeah, so that's an interesting actually
comparison to make.
So if I sort of think about thestudents that we've worked with
for many years and think aboutthem coming on to SAT, we know
them so well and I think thebenefit of that is that we're so
much in tune, having coachedthem with strategies, that we
(24:20):
probably A we've given them alot of the strategies because we
bring it in to our tutoring.
So the transition from thatinto the actual standardized
tests.
It's so much easier for thatstudent to make, because they're
used to approaching a problem acertain way.
We've worked on that for many,many years so that transition is
(24:46):
easier From a contentperspective.
We know exactly when they areready, despite the fact of me
looking at transcripts andasking the parent okay, did they
do algebra II?
Did they do pre-calc?
I sort of know where they arein math, so I know the exact
time where it would make sensefor them to actually start the
SAT prep.
For students who are coming tous completely new on the SAT
(25:07):
prep, sometimes they're sonervous and they're so worried
and they will call me in 10thgrade.
And so I have this conversation, okay, and then I try to
understand.
My first point is I need tounderstand their math background
, so I ask a bunch of questionsso what math do they do?
Have they done Algebra 2already?
(25:28):
Have they done Pre-Calc?
and if they have not donealgebra 2, I will right away
basically recommend the parentsand say you know, I feel like
this is way too early, because Ifeel like they need to get
algebra 2 concepts under theirbelt, just so that your test
prep investment is not about usteaching them what they're going
to learn in the school.
(25:49):
And in an ideal world, I wantthe students to have Algebra 2
plus maybe two months ofpre-calc under them, because by
the time they do that two monthsof pre-calc, they basically
have pretty much all conceptsthat we need more or less for an
SAT prep.
So there's that timingconversation with parents who
(26:09):
are coming on to us new and thenyou know, we obviously will
make them do a diagnostic andlook at their strategies and how
they approached and analyzethat before we start working
with them, which might be a stepwe might not have to do for the
students that we've known forso long.
So there's basically thatcontinuity and knowledge, which
(26:30):
is a bonus and again, sort ofthey don't miss out the coming
new students.
But we'll have to spend a bitmore.
It's almost.
The onboarding is a bit longer.
There's some more steps areinvolved
Vicki Nelson (26:41):
You've built that up over time with the students
who've worked with you for awhile.
Exactly
I mean it's common sense.
It makes sense, but it'sinteresting to hear why and how
that difference exists.
So another question I had, andit's probably an obvious one,
(27:01):
you know, I would think tutoringworks best when the student has
the right attitude about it.
If they're resisting it, it'sprobably tough.
And I'm wondering from a parentperspective are there things
(27:22):
that you would suggest thatparents, at whatever age, can do
to help the student understandwhy this is important and really
support them in having thatright attitude that's going to
help.
Celine Bewsher (27:31):
It's such a great question and it's funny
because I think about it as aparent all the time, apart from
Club Z, and I think the onething I would put out there for
me almost personally as a parentthat has helped the most has
(27:53):
been involvement and involvementearly, early on involvement.
So you know, and I always say tothe, to the parents that are in
third grade that are calling me, involvement meaning not you
don't have to be a hands-onparent and in their, in their
life all the time, but what Imean is making time for that
conversation of asking how didthings go in school?
(28:15):
What are you learning?
What are you guys doing inscience?
Or what are you doing in math?
Tell me more about your English, what books are you reading?
So that almost and if you're avery busy parent, traveling,
still making that almostwhatever time works in your time
, if it's 15 minutes, if it's aphone call from Seattle to
Massachusetts, you know,whatever it might be, just
(28:37):
making that work, that ritualwork, where you have that
check-in time, let's call itwith your child, because the
minute you build it it's notpushed away when they're in
their teen years because it'spart of your relationship, it's
just a norm, it's not like whyare you all of a sudden asking
me these questions as a teen,would you?
Vicki Nelson (28:58):
know Right.
Celine Bewsher (28:59):
So then, within that, with those questions, you
can always, as a parent, I hopeguide them, depending on what
the responses could be, sort ofmaking them make the connections
, and then that's where sort ofyou know the connection to if
it's an athlete, if one is notwanting to do something and is
(29:21):
basically telling you, well,yeah, I've got this final coming
up, but I'll just sort of I'mgonna wait and I'll do it my
friends the night, and then youknow, that could be a nice
little conversation.
But, just listen.
How do you like?
How do you work with yoursoccer, though?
Like how often do you practicefor your soccer, making them
think about whatever it is thatthey're passionate about outside
(29:42):
of academics.
Or if they have a role model.
I mean for a lot of thebasketball players.
Caitlin Clark, great role model, you know, in terms of what
would she do if she had thisgame coming up.
So sort of you know, whateverthat might be, asking, bringing
the role model and saying butwhat about you know this person
that you really like?
How would they approach this,do you think?
giving them these points, or ifthey're tutoring with us, use
(30:06):
the role model of the particulartutor.
I always say if you're stuckbecause they really love
so-and-so that they're workingwith, just say how do you think
she would do this if she had afinal coming up?
Because they usually look up totheir tutor.
It's their role model, it'stheir coach.
(30:28):
They often want to be them.
That's the beauty in thistutoring relationship the role
modeling is so importantabsolutely they want to be them
yeah and that's part of thereason why they also continue to
tutoring because, the incentiveis almost that relationship,
because they want to be likethem.
They want to be and theycontinue that relationship over
(30:50):
and over, year after year.
I mean some of those parentssay I can't believe.
They're just telling me youknow, okay, so am I working with
so and so again this year andand in most cases they yeah yeah
, our retention with our tutorsis pretty high.
I can't can never promise itbecause they're humans, but
right where we can make thatmagic happen, then it's
(31:10):
beautiful for everybody it's sorewarding for our tutors.
It's rewarding for us, it'srewarding for the students and
the families.
Vicki Nelson (31:16):
Yeah, really important I want to go back to
we only have time for a couplemore, but you talked about
monthly reports that youcommunicate with parents, and
I'm curious those students whohave been with you over time,
(31:36):
who maybe started in third orfourth or fifth grade and now
they're high school, is there achange in how you communicate
with parents as students getolder?
Celine Bewsher (31:49):
Absolutely.
Vicki Nelson (31:51):
I guess that might be the answer.
How does it change?
Celine Bewsher (31:55):
And you know at the beginning, sort of when they
first start, they hear from meevery month, right.
And then I realize after awhile, as the kids are getting
older, firstly the parents maybedo not want to hear on a
monthly basis from me becausethey've been working with us for
so long.
There's an establishedrelationship and as they get
(32:18):
older though, sort of whenthey're in high school, for
example, when they reach highschool, a lot of the
conversations happen in such away where I will ask the tutor
to go back directly to our tutorto give the feedback directly
to the child, because in manyways I think they're so open to
(32:40):
it when it comes directly inthat mentoring relationship.
Then the parent hearing it andthe parent going to the child,
and almost like creating thistriangle which doesn't really
work very effectively at thatages like in high school.
I feel like we actually, youknow, I speak a lot with our
tutors and almost coach them onthat particular point, to go
(33:06):
back to the student and see howthey worked, and then, you know,
I will obviously let the momknow or the dad know, but it's
really becomes a much more of adirect feedback session.
Let's not call it feedbackdirect coaching session.
Vicki Nelson (33:19):
And that prepares students for college.
When it's, it is definitelymore appropriate for parents to
step back but, I, see so manythat can't quite let go.
And one of the changes I'veseen over time is, you know, we
used to have this image ofhelicopter parents.
You know the parents arehovering and the students are
(33:39):
trying to sort of push them away, but it's reversed a little bit
now.
I think students welcome a lotof that parent involvement and
so having that time in highschool where they have someone
like a tutor or a coach to helpsupport them and they're not
(34:02):
leaning so totally on theparents is really, really
helpful.
So we could probably do a wholeepisode on this.
So maybe, but just to touch onit because I'm I'm guessing that
you probably work as you workwith these older students and
high school students from somestudents who might benefit from
(34:26):
taking some time off before theygo to college and we talked
about SAT and ACT and all ofthat college prep and some
students you know taking a breakmight be a good thing.
So what do you think about theidea of a gap year and do your
tutors talk to students aboutthat?
(34:48):
What would you suggest toparents and students who might
be thinking would a year off bea good idea?
Celine Bewsher (34:55):
That's such a great question and I love the
idea of gap year for the rightperson and, yes, we do often
talk about it.
I talk to parents about it too,depending on the person.
So then again, this is soindividualized and I feel like
once we know the path and thestory of that student for you
(35:16):
know, since third grade we canhave really good input and
sometimes you know students arevery academically driven and
they do well and they loveacademia, and so when I see that
it's a full-on, just your pathinto college and continue and
then probably grad school, etcetera.
So you know that type of student.
And then you've got studentswho are super bright, who might
(35:38):
be 4.0, getting great grades,but really are looking.
They're much more hands-on,they're much more you know, want
to be involved in life and wantto get their hands dirty and
(35:58):
probably they're going to gointo a major which is going to
correspond to that too.
But that type of a student tome is a perfect student to then
hone in on their interests andtry to understand what really
makes them tick.
What is it that?
Where do they want to go?
Have these conversations andinvolve the parents and then
make a few suggestions for gapyear programs.
So I feel like for that sort ofa student, that's a great,
(36:18):
great year to take and myphilosophy around it is always
go through college process asyou normally would.
You know, get your applications, get your acceptance and defer
that.
So that you know you've done itand you know you're going to
take your gap here purposefully.
And then you've got somestudents who might be really
struggling and who might notknow where to go, not know what
(36:39):
to do, and maybe they don't havethe best grades, they don't
have the best GPAs.
With these students, you know,again, I sort of try to bring in
the parents and try tounderstand what their points of
interest might be and try toexpose them to different career
programs so that they can go andfind out what might be their
(37:02):
different paths.
And it might not be yourtraditional college, it might be
your trade schools.
Talk to them about all thesepossibilities and maybe get them
some conversations going withpeople in that trade so that
they can see, oh, this is how itwould feel if I were to become
going to carpentry and and then,based on that, maybe actually
(37:23):
talking to the parent aboutdoing some sort of an internship
in some of these fields.
That again, a purposeful gapyear program.
So it's so individual and Ilove and promote the gap year
idea, but it has to be for theright person.
feel like the the nightmarepossibility of a of a gap year
is a student who basically justdoesn't do anything and sits on
(37:45):
there you know, yeah, that's anightmare,
Vicki Nelson (37:47):
Mom and dad's basement playing video games I
think that's often the parentnightmare of what a gap year is
going to be, or that my studentis going to take a gap year that
is going to get them off thetrack and then they're never
going to get back on the track.
And it would seem to me thatoften a tutor or a coach who has
(38:11):
worked with this student,perhaps over years, is one of
the best people perhaps to beable to judge and estimate.
This might be a student whowould benefit from a break.
Celine Bewsher (38:27):
So totally, totally correct.
And I feel like you know, inour the, the tutors just know
their students so well.
In just very recent this year,you know one of our this
happened in one of ourrelationships where the tutor
knew this would be the rightthing, and then you know where
they've been speaking together.
They found a great program inspain and, uh, she, she, this is
(38:50):
a student who's totally wantsto go into languages and yeah,
humanities speak spanishfluently.
And there she is.
She's on her way next year todo a whole full year in spain
and I'm delighted for her
Vicki Nelson (39:05):
what a great story
Celine Bewsher (39:06):
it's, and you know this is.
It was all prompted by, againthe tutor-student relationship
and then, of course, plugging inthe mom into the conversation
when we knew this was happening.
Vicki Nelson (39:18):
We could keep talking.
It's wonderful.
I'm learning all kinds of newthings about this the whole idea
of the tutor relationship andthe coaching and over time.
You know, I think so many of usreally think of tutoring in
terms of right now my student isstruggling in math, I need to
get a math tutor.
The tutor will get that studentback on track and then we'll be
(39:42):
done with that process and tothink of it as an ongoing kind
of over time.
So just to wrap up, would youhave any advice for parents or
you know especially I mean we'rethinking mostly in terms of
high school parents and all ofthat if they're thinking about
(40:03):
tutoring and kind of what tolook for and how to go about
finding?
I know you mentioned I'm askingthe question and I'm answering
my own question, but, uh, youknow you mentioned word of mouth
and talking to other parents,but how do they go about finding
a good tutoring program fortheir kid?
Celine Bewsher (40:22):
yeah, um, I would definitely sort of
encourage them to speak todifferent call the different
tutoring companies and optionswhich are out there and find out
about their approaches and askthe questions about what is
their approach, because, again,it's not just about the grade I
(40:47):
feel like tutoring is so muchmore than that and as they have
those conversations they willfind out what the philosophy of
the tutoring company is.
I think most importantly forparents, it's really
understanding that philosophy sothat you can have the
continuity, Because I feel likein high school, wanting to help
out your child is such aprevalent thing.
(41:07):
Every parent, every mom wantsto do that, wants to do the best
for their child, especiallywhen all those changes are
happening and the teen attitudeis kicking in, and it's a
difficult time and within that,if we only focus on the grade,
(41:29):
that's coming home and make thatan identity for that child.
That grade becomes an identity,they're going to push away a lot
of the help that we're tryingto give to them.
So I feel like the tutoringcompany that's going to help is
coming in with this philosophywhere they're not going to make
the grade the identity.
(41:50):
You're a b student or you cstudent you're failing, you're
doing it it's really the wholephilosophy and the approach of
how am I gonna, how are yougonna help my child?
So this is, this is the story,this is where she's at and this
is what we would like.
How are you gonna get there?
And I think that open-endedquestion and what the tutoring
company is gonna say is is goingto give them the understanding
(42:12):
of is this the right one for meor not?
And after that, I would thinkit would be really important.
If it's a new, they don't knowenough about the tutoring
company, I would definitelyencourage them to speak to a
parent who's worked with them,because then they're going to
get a real sort of check on ohyeah, this is really how it
(42:33):
worked.
Vicki Nelson (42:35):
And I would guess any good tutoring company would
be happy to provide some namesof a parent that the parent
looking at would be able to talkto.
Celine Bewsher (42:48):
They absolutely should.
I mean, in most cases theywould need to get some sort of a
consent signed, and hopefullythey have some of those on file
already.
Yeah, great.
Vicki Nelson (42:58):
Well, and if any parent is looking, if they've
listened to this podcast, theynow have a lot of questions that
they know to ask a tutoringcompany that they're looking at.
So, Celine Bewsher, thank youso much for joining us today and
talking about so much that youknow.
And Club Z Tutoring inCambridge is your company and
(43:24):
perhaps you'll get some phonecalls who knows?
And you do.
I should have asked thisearlier.
The tutoring is all online.
It's all online, so it doesn'thave to be local to Cambridge.
No, Okay so that's reallyimportant for people who might
be listening.
So thanks so much for takingtime to join us today and thank
(43:46):
you to anyone who has beenlistening to this.
We hope it's helpful, and youcan find the show notes at
collegeparentcentral.
com/ podcast.
And we'll see you next timeThanks, thank you for having me,
V icki.
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