Phil, volunteer maths tutor and retired IT technician
A retired IT technician, Phil found himself at a loose end and wanted to give something back to his local community. He believes maths is crucial for all pupils to master and so began volunteering with Action Tutoring.
Phil says:
“I used to work in IT [and] I retired eight years ago so I’ve had a lot of free time which feels like a privilege. I wanted to do something to help people who are less fortunate and one thing I’ve always been reasonably good at was maths. I have always found it quite easy so I thought tutoring maths could be something I could do to help other people.
With Action Tutoring the advantage is it’s very organised and structured so the first session was quite easy because you’re with a number of other tutors and there’s a coordinator so a lot of support was provided. You also have a workbook to work from so you’ve got a lot of material, it’s quite structured and you know what is expected of you.
Particularly with maths I feel it’s an important subject, it’s viewed as important by employers. As well as being practically quite useful in everyday life, a lot of jobs involve mathematical content so it is a useful skill for people to acquire.
My impression is that a lot of people don’t acquire it, a lot of pupils leave school with not very good maths which holds them back in terms of career. If I could do it and make a positive difference I think it could be very helpful. A lot of hassle is removed by the support that Action Tutoring gives.
The benefit is that it’s so structured and organised. The pupils are encouraged to turn up. Action Tutoring provides online resources and the workbook that they provide gives a very structured format for tutor and pupils.
As a retired person with a lot of free time, I wanted to do something where I felt I was being active and contributing. I think everybody wants to feel that they are using their time in a positive way, which is more of a challenge when you’re retired. For me, tutoring has made me feel as though I am continuing to contribute.”
