There are two children, twins, halfway through 7^th Grade. Following the restrictions and evolution of Covid-19, the decision was made to carry out this academic year with precaution and distance learning. Both are both hard-working, sensitive adolescents, currently missing social interaction and in need of guidance throughout this online schooling phase.

The girl is a bright, dedicated student who works well across the board. She shows great promise in both English and Art; drawing and design are amongst her hobbies, along with reading. She is currently about halfway through the extensive ‘Nancy Drew Mystery Stories’ series and other series. Her artistic flair led to a self-taught talent in calligraphy writing and she was also a member of an art club with her brother. She adores cooking and baking in her free time, together with relishing the outdoors; a true nature lover who often enjoys collecting flowers. She also likes to swim and play at the beach.

The girl’s greatest passion is ballet. She attends a professionally affiliated ballet school, now fully virtual. echoing her standard, commitment, athleticism and love for dance. She recently graduated to pointe shoes. She finds great pleasure in her sport and takes it very seriously, even participating in virtual classes several times a week during her current self-isolation. She describes both of her ballet teachers as offering a fine balance between discipline and fun; she responds well to their teaching methods and kindness. She prefers teachers who are generally easy-going, engage in interesting conversations and are not unnecessarily tough. She appreciates clear explanations and teachers who help her to make sense of things – a straightforward yet gentle manner works best with her.

Further to being the slightly elder of the two, the girl is sensitive and protective of her twin brother, encompassing the role of big sister and displaying a mature attitude to adolescence. She is fairly shy and will feel most at ease with a calm, patient and understanding tutor, but she loves to laugh and have fun.

The boy is also sweet and thoughtful and has perhaps found self-quarantine slightly more challenging than his sister. From a social and friendship perspective he is feeling more isolated. At school, he was very well liked by his teachers, but his shy, more innocent nature with peers resulted in some bullying. His fortes include social studies and English; both twins perform well in English, incidentally in keeping with their parents’ studies and backgrounds. The boy loves being read to – a nightly family activity with his father. But he is a more reticent self-directed reader on his own, something he needs to overcome. He delights in writing his own video scripts to accompany a longstanding admiration for Thomas the Tank Engine. He posts these entries online and also enjoys making other short films.

In addition to math being his least favourite subject by far, it presents a somewhat inconsistent challenge for the boy. Although he often grasps complex concepts with ease, his times tables skills, for example, are yet to develop satisfactorily. Working closely with a patient and trusted teacher, he will continue to gain more confidence in his abilities in mathematics. Again, steady, clear and good-humored direction work best for the boy in this area.

He enjoys art, science and choir practice, the former and latter of which have been largely and fully cut off, respectively, during Covid lockdowns. Although not particularly interested in some sports, he does enjoy playing tennis. The boy is greatly missing his tennis coach at present; whose personality and teaching methods have proved to be a great fit. He responds positively to teachers who are playful, easy-going and who boast a good sense of humour. He also favours role-models who openly converse and even joke with him. For instance, he loves learning opportunities with his grandma, who is both entertaining and laidback. He appreciates minimal stress and undue pressure.

Like his sister, he enjoys playing outside, namely at the swimming pool and beach. He is also shy and reserved when it comes to talking about himself.

This role will be to deliver a full-spectrum home school curriculum that includes math, science, English, history and French and/or Spanish. The children’s parents are glad to offer their support, and will, but the Tutor will be fully responsible for the content and delivery. The children’s mother is an accomplished and experienced university English teacher, and their father would like to be involved with humanities. Both are very interested in their children’s studies.

Clearly then, the Tutor will need to be flexible, creative and accommodating, and able to make their online interaction with the children vibrant and interesting to gain the most benefit from their involvement. The Tutor’s main responsibilities are therefore to help develop and maintain a general love of learning in these difficult times, so that this hiatus from regular schooling is turned into an opportunity rather than the interruption it looks like it is shaping up to become. The Tutor will lead the twins in developing their wider interests, along with providing structure to keep up with lessons, homework and a functional routine.

Both students demonstrate a need to focus on maths skills, most notably in the boy’s case. It is essential that the Tutor identify weaknesses and gaps in knowledge and to underpin any underlying learning or retention issues, should they exist. The boy’s mathematical development requires refined attention to consolidate and reinforce solid foundations, such as with multiplication facts, perhaps taking a step back to concentrate on more basic or earlier concepts.

The necessity for additional online assistance, born from the restraints of the current pandemic, should ideally lead to reinstatement into the American public education system in the future. Therefore, knowledge of US educational practice and curricula would be highly beneficial, along with experience of managing an online classroom. Screen time may already be deemed excessive by the family, however, the Tutor will responsibly promote sensible habits in relation to device usage, especially from an educational viewpoint.

Both students will continue to learn French, very new to them in the last month, and possibly some Spanish, which they have studied part-time for several years. Competence with Spanish and French is an essential attribute to the role.

The twins both want a stress-free, relaxed environment and time to adjust to their new schedules. The Tutor will be mindful in their approach and do their upmost to create a coordinated, yet unperturbed atmosphere. A good sense of humour and ability to make lessons amusing and memorable, while progressing through grade-appropriate material (or catching up to), would be gratefully received. The goal would be to complete all Common Core benchmarks for US 7^th grade by the end of this academic year. ‘Homework’ when already doing all studies at home, has proven tough, so the more work that can be done succinctly yet meaningfully with the Tutor the better. Developing independent study habits is also important though, so perhaps this can be done via short assignments on their own.

A typical week will consist of 2-3 hours of instruction in the late morning EST, followed by an hour check-in during the afternoon every other day. It is possible that a move to a daily timetable that occupies the children all day, with breaks, might be tried, at least on one day each week to start with.

The Tutor is expected to be fully prepared for each session and will be compensated for preparation time at the same rate as for delivery. There is no cap on prep part of this. In such circumstances, the quality of every single lesson should be superb.

No vacation time accrues on this contract. As far as possible, a consistent pattern for academic learning and support should be established, whilst the Tutor will also be required to exercise a degree of flexibility in line with other online tuition and activities.

This role will be carried out entirely online, directly to the students’ designated classroom at home. Should Covid restrictions allow for it, some in-person instruction may be introduced and if this is the case the contract will be reviewed in terms of accommodation and travel.

The ideal candidate will have the ability to maximise the short, weekly interaction in demand, offering an engaging, interactive manner of bringing the online classroom to life. They will be exceptionally well-organised and an outstanding record keeper, in order to track progress and allocate hours to subjects and areas to their fullest potential.