How Do We Hire the Very Best Teachers - Online Tutoring

With the age of technological advancements, today the world is a global village. Today distance between places does not matter. One can have his breakfast in Delhi, lunch in Dubai, evening snacks in London and dinner in New York.

Thus so has the current education system been benefited from the growing technology? Students does not have to rely on local talent to coach and guide him or her for the academic challenges, but can get coached from the best tutors available around the world from the convenience of his home. Yes welcome to the world of online teaching.

Teaching is a big responsibility. An old saying goes like this - a bad engineering can collapse a bridge, a bad treatment can make a patient sicker but bad teaching can collapse the very fundamental structure of any nation. Hence it is the prime responsibility of Online teaching service providers to hire the best talents so that they coach the best out of their students. Internet is a very powerful tool. But with great power comes great responsibilities. Online Tutoring service providers must bear in mind the below criteria in selecting teachers.

First is educational Degree. Does the appointed teacher has sufficient degree to prove his or hers command over the subject? Generally a Masters or equivalent level of education is sufficient proof of the teacher that his knowledge over the subject is good. And if the aspirant teacher is from any reputed college or institution of the country then his mettle is rock solid. Thus online tutoring institutes must set some minimum degree criteria to set the eligibility of the aspiring teachers to apply. Also they should check and verify the degree certificates for its authenticity.

Second is communication. How good is the teacher's communication language in which he has to teach? A bad communicator is like a bag full of nectar with no outlet. Outside people or students will not be able to understand what the teacher wants to convey. And hence his knowledge, even though may be rich, remains static and does flow into the recipients and enrich them. Hence before hiring the concerned intuition must take few rounds of telephonic and skype interviews followed by face to face interviews. It can also ask them to conduct a demo class to granularly judge the communication level of the teacher.

Third are teaching and presentation skills. Let us bear the fact like no two earthen pitchers are identical. Two or more students are not identical. Even twins differ. Every student is a separate individual amalgamation of his socio economic back ground, personalities, family background and his ability. Its foolishness in one part to expect a fish can climb a tree like monkey. Hence the teaching and presentation skills of the teacher must be so that it lightens interest in the most reluctant students. Anybody can shine a polished surface. But a good teacher is one who through its teaching can brighten the dullest student of his class. Before on boarding a teacher the online tutoring institute must take a demo class in presence of any subject matter expert to understand how much the new teacher liquidates the topics so that it is understandable in all clear concepts to the last student of his class.

Fourth is discussion. The students must be free to discuss their issues and doubts. For this the teacher must create a friendly approach towards its students. Be lenient but do not get carried away. Be firm in your approach. A student's success is a teacher success. A teacher must be like a river whose knowledge flows downstream to its students. The teacher must have a ocean of patience to teach. Someone has rightly said to be a great teacher you must a great listener. To solve a problem you have to first understand is thoroughly. Hence hiring institutes must gage the personality of the teacher. They must check if the appointed teacher is of cool temperament or short temper, whether he is understanding and flexible or stern and stereotype. Not all virtues one can find in oneself but as told earlier the aspiring teacher must meet the minimum set eligibility criteria.

Fifth is to set motivation. The students must find the lessons useful and can relate them to his real life. For example a student aspiring to be a scientist must be taught the fundamentals of science and maths very clearly, such that the concepts are deep rooted into his students. And when these students go out to the world to fulfil their dreams finds the learnt lessons useful and builds the architecture and application of its acquired knowledge over the fundamentals learnt earlier.

Sixth is a problem solver. A good teacher not only teaches but also builds the founding characters of its students. A teacher must know that however much good knowledge he has and imparts, he will not be with his students for rest of their lives. Hence the teacher must impart problem solving skills to its students. He can teach them either life scenarios or creating shadow problems and asking its students to lead the best road forward out of it. In this way he value adds to his teaching by providing practical experiences apart from subject knowledge.

Seventh is to make virtual presence more real. In online mode of education, students and teachers are from far flung places and only mode of communication between the two is internet. The hiring institutes must physically go to students and teacher physical locations and check the internet speeds and quality of other necessary gadgets like laptop, computer, headphones, etc. It is because any one of these electronic equipments running faulty renders the whole effort a waste. The Checking must be done regularly in brief period of time.

These above points are the subset of the larger subset which together comprises a great teacher. The hiring institutes must keep a balance of various eligibilities while selecting a teacher. Ultimately the institute's success lies in the success of its students.