Being a tutor

I would like to become a handwriting tutor for adults and children .. how would I go about this ? I never tutored before. My handwriting is pretty good ..

Why?......

I would like to become a handwriting tutor for adults and children .. how would I go about this ? I never tutored before. My handwriting is pretty good ..

In what subject?

"Penmanship" is something no one paid attention to since the 1960s. Most people use electronics and devices. Unless you mean occupational therapist for children and adults with hand coordination issues?

Yes, was about to write pretty much exactly what Wiseman did. There may be a couple parents out there who would, but people generally aren't hiring tutors to help their kids not have crappy handwriting. It's a different story when you're talking disabilities and sensory issues, but that will be the job of a trained occupational therapist or, in milder cases, a licensed teacher. Even for OTs, assisting in handwriting is just one part of the job. Particularly if you've never tutored before and your sole qualification is having good handwriting yourself, it may be best to chalk it up as a nice dream.

Your heart seems to be in the right place, so maybe consider a more feasible path to help such as occupational therapy.

I have friends who do fancy writing as a hobby. I don’t know what it’s called but they make cute signs and motivational sayings and stuff. If that was a skill of yours, offering wine + whatever skill it’s called classes could be fun.

Found it: hand lettering. https://www.creativelive.com/blog/hand-lettering-for-beginners/

Teachers have gone through extensive training for effective teaching of skills like handwriting. I actually just brought my 8 year old grandson to his first tutoring session to work on his handwriting skills. I was amazed at how the tutor went about it, and the knowledge she brought, that we adults without a teaching degree, could never fathom and therefore never get across to the child.

Tutors usually charge between $18-40 per hour. Nobody will pay someone without experience, and lacking an education degree, this amount of money. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you can teach it. That's insulting to people who have spent years achieving their degree.

^ Not necessarily. When my son was in grade 9 I had a grade 12 tutor him in Math. The grade 12 student was recommended by his math teacher. And she had won the school’s math award every year she had been there. Because of a peer my son passed math that year. I paid her $20 an hour .

But if it is for penmanship that is really a lost art. Most schools don’t even bother with it. I did penmanship at school that was actually marks that you got and a class that you took . But I am in my 50s . My son did not take that school and he’s 21 . My son did need occupational therapy to learn how to work his hands properly to learn how to print . He can’t write cursive and will never be able to learn and can’t read cursive either.

I went to an informational workshop last year, conducted by an occupational therapist. He presented on the Peterson method of teaching handwriting. I never thought it was important, other than we want others to be able to read our chicken scratches. Also, we were all of the thought that people type words in, using technology - so why bother.

A friend used to use Handwriting Without Tears program.

I went through some other introductory training (Orton Gillingham ), and have been learning about those that fall into the dyslexia continuum. Multi-sensory learning is very important! Handwriting, paired with learning the sounds of the letters being formed, actually helps to build and strengthen neurons and message pathways - something that is now confirmed by brain research.

Who knew?!

If you want to tutor, I suggest you get trained for multisensory reading instruction - either Orton Gillingham, or for using the Wilson Reading system. There is such a huge huge need for tutors in that area, and tutors can charge $80-100 per hour in the US on the west coast, from what I undetstand.

Also, look into learning through the international multi-sensory learning institute.

Hope this gives you some good leads.

I went to an informational workshop last year, conducted by an occupational therapist. He presented on the Peterson method of teaching handwriting. I never thought it was important, other than we want others to be able to read our chicken scratches. Also, we were all of the thought that people type words in, using technology - so why bother.

 

A friend used to use Handwriting Without Tears program.

 

I went through some other introductory training (Orton Gillingham ), and have been learning about those that fall into the dyslexia continuum. Multi-sensory learning is very important! Handwriting, paired with learning the sounds of the letters being formed, actually helps to build and strengthen neurons and message pathways - something that is now confirmed by brain research.

 

Who knew?!

 

If you want to tutor, I suggest you get trained for multisensory reading instruction - either Orton Gillingham, or for using the Wilson Reading system. There is such a huge huge need for tutors in that area, and tutors can charge $80-100 per hour in the US on the west coast, from what I undetstand.

 

Also, look into learning through the international multi-sensory learning institute.

 

Hope this gives you some good leads.

Absolutely ,I think it is vital for brain development too, but so many schools no longer teach it or don’t care . I know they tried almost everything with my son to get him to form his letters properly but he just can’t .

I hold two teaching degrees from two different state institutions - one of them was English - and a few mental health certifications (can’t specify without risking my identity). NONE of the classes I took focused on teaching handwriting or calligraphy. We’re more focused on getting kids to analyze text, write with textual structure, and utilizing general technology software. Standardized assessments - even for children with disabilities- are tested electronically. For my mortgage and bank account applications I did digital signatures or initials. The only time I ever had to write in cursive was 15 years ago for a teaching license test to swear authenticity, which was entirely on paper (they are now computerized).

Sponsoring a calligraphy club would be your best bet.

I would like to become a handwriting tutor for adults and children .. how would I go about this ? I never tutored before. My handwriting is pretty good ..

You should advertise in your town's newspaper and perhaps in a school district's bulletin. Advertising on the local level isn't too expensive. And once you get established, you start getting referrals. Also think about developing an online course you can do over the Internet. You can broaden your audience and website builders like Wix and others walk you through how to build a Website without any experience. You certainly want to go after more affluent parents who know that communication skills are important for their kids.

Often occupational therapists work with children on handwriting. That would require a degree and a license. I don’t think parents would pay for handwriting tutoring unless the child was studying calligraphy or a type of art that required a high level of handwriting.

Often occupational therapists work with children on handwriting. That would require a degree and a license. I don’t think parents would pay for handwriting tutoring unless the child was studying calligraphy or a type of art that required a high level of handwriting.

Yes this is true. But with the growth of technology (tablets, chrome books, and smartphones), most accommodations and supplementary aids are advocating children to do typed writing assignments. I used to have a couple of teens who could only type written responses off of their iPads.

If you’re going to teach a writing class, a typing class would be more practical. Calligraphy is more of an art related course.

Penmanship is a great activity to develop fine motor skills in children who are having difficulties with such. There are people doing retro things like using typewriters and journaling and there are parents who bemoan the fact that it is not taught anymore. you definitely have a market of people - adults with poor handwriting who want to improve (there are many!)- of any age group, etc. and parents who think their kid is missing out. They didn't have penmanship in high school when i went, but we definitely learned cursive in grade school.

I get what you are saying Snny that typing is the gold standard nowadays, but people are still required to sign their name and there are people that just want to write better. I think that if you are doing this as a tutoring thing (ie, you are not doing it full time, i bet you will have students.) There doesn't have to be a HUGE need --- but if there are 10 people in your area or even if there are just 2-3, you can do it. People who tutor other subjects sometimes don't always tutor a LOT of people = just a couple

Yes this is true. But with the growth of technology (tablets, chrome books, and smartphones), most accommodations and supplementary aids are advocating children to do typed writing assignments. I used to have a couple of teens who could only type written responses off of their iPads.

 

If you’re going to teach a writing class, a typing class would be more practical. Calligraphy is more of an art related course.

Yes, calligraphy is art and there may be tutoring opportunities for kids who are budding artists and want to practice it - it's a niche of course but in my moms groups I've seen requests for all types of help called "tutoring" not in academic subjects. That is why I suggested she go for an OT license so she's not limited to either teaching or tutoring art. The OT approach to handwriting has different reasons than what you referred to. And I agree with you about typing.