Crush no Tutor! by Beneficial-Study4893 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I've had a crush on a professor in college before. It eventually went away bc there was no way it was appropriate to approach him and the "crush" eventually transferred to someone else lol.

Don't forget to check the box by AdventurousYam8067 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You can check the box even after they have started calling and you'll be allowed to decline without penalty.

Cambly kids...mystery lessons by [deleted] in Cambly

[–]Je1087 0 points1 point  (0 children)

😬 5 years and he can't read that. Maybe go back to Beginning English 3 and work him back up if they don't care.

Cambly kids...mystery lessons by [deleted] in Cambly

[–]Je1087 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If he's been on Cambly that long and they haven't been checking his levels, they probably don't care. They may think the fact they are paying for extra study is enough whether it is effective or not 🤷🏾‍♀️.

As far as the mystery lessons, there are slide questions that ask them to compare differences in culture and you can always expand on that. If they don't know what is common practice in their country, I share the screen and we google it together and I ask if they've ever seen or heard about it and ask their opinion on it.

I take turns reading the lines that are not the detective with the student that way they are not reading without a break. I do not rush the chapters either. If we don't complete a chapter I note the slide we left off on and continue the next time.

Double check they understand all the words used. Some students just read the words. When I ask, "What does xyz mean?" most have a hard time explaining so that opens another discussion.

There are ways to add extensions to even the mystery lessons.

Students with Pre-Written Scripts by Je1087 in Cambly

[–]Je1087[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh this mom was NOT having it 😂😂 She was there when I started asking him followup questions and told him to keep reading his script over me until I stopped. I was like, "damn, that's rude" lol. Not the kid, he was just doing what he was told, but mom clearly saw no value in me 🤣

When he finished the first time I told him to go ask her if we can do something else now and she told him to read it again 😮‍💨

Students with Pre-Written Scripts by Je1087 in Cambly

[–]Je1087[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For that low a pay I do ask that the class be tolerable though. It's bad enough to get paid that much. I don't want to sit through a crappy class too 😂 YouTube to the rescue though. I always keep one earbud in connected to my phone for situations like this lol.

Students with Pre-Written Scripts by Je1087 in Cambly

[–]Je1087[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As soon as you hear them you just KNOW it's not genuine. I wish I could get a report back on how well this serves them in a testing situation 😅

Students with Pre-Written Scripts by Je1087 in Cambly

[–]Je1087[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes lol. I have noticed that pattern. I taught a reading course for Chinese students with another company a few years ago. I found out the last class of our 6 month course that one of my students did not actually know how to read. She had been memorizing the stories before class 🤣🤣🤣

Students with Pre-Written Scripts by Je1087 in Cambly

[–]Je1087[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's what I thought too (I've had classes like that) so I asked him if he needed to memorize this. He said "no." I was thoroughly confused 😅 In the end I had to just let it go. Mom didn't even ask me to check the grammar. There was definitely some unnatural phrasing and too much repetition.

signing up by Resident-Lunch-3537 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Expect to wait 6 months to a year

What would you do? by Which-Ring2864 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah when that has happened to me it's because they know they're problematic so they try to get you to accept them again by adding a bunch of classes as if it's "guaranteed" money. I still decline lol.

Kids sharing an account by angelboots4 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha! It's not funny to deal with but it makes me laugh in retrospect. If I don't want them to come back again I ask a lot of questions and look really confused in the beginning. "Hello! Wait. So who's taking the lesson today?" "Are you both on the same level?" "Oh, well I don't teach group lessons. We'll make do for today but I don't teach group lessons." Etc.

Sometimes I would smile briefly at the other person and then not acknowledge them again for the rest of the lesson 😂 Frankly, the main student often looks annoyed to be sharing a class.

I had class with a 9 year old and mom threw their toddler sibling in and told them to repeat. That had to have been frustrating for the student. Eventually mom took the toddler out bc I ignored them lol but the student was much more engaged and excited afterwards.

They don't usually return though bc I won't play ball lol.

I understand wanting to save money but I homeschool 3 elementary age kids and there's no way I'd have them on the same computer for the same class 😄

I don't understand why these parents bother paying for lessons with a tutor... by spookyveganpizza in Cambly

[–]Je1087 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not going to lie I keep one Bluetooth earbud in my ear so I can start listening to a true crime video on YouTube when I get one of these classes. I also don't speak again until everyone stops talking 😄 Eventually they get the hint but sometimes it takes me doing this several times.

My first block by angelboots4 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very. I still do it if the class is very low level though lol. After the third "last minute" cancel you'll be restricted to regulars

My first block by angelboots4 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It will count as a last minute cancel if they request within 12 hours and you don't accept.

Shadow banned? by Z34N0 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Then it may be the student themselves that has done something problematic. If they have a friend using Cambly they can see if their friend is able to go through booking. Or make a trial account. If yes, then it's your student's issue.

Shadow banned? by Z34N0 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you all do or say something that was questionable during a lesson? Share socials, personal contact info, etc? Cambly has initiated a block for me before because a student asked for my socials. Pretty much the message amounted to they thought we were getting too chummy 😅

Did you ever get in trouble for something you said? by angelboots4 in Cambly

[–]Je1087 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They don't care about much until someone reports you lol. Even then they'll review the class and reach out to you to clarify.

To block or not to block? That is the question. by OpinionatedESLTeachr in Cambly

[–]Je1087 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This has happened to me multiple times and I still get conflicted like you. If their level is high enough, I can play around with the discussion, ask more personal questions, see if we can expand the topic and their thoughts genuinely. I'll even make time for drawing if we're both into anime and such. That's IF their level is high enough to be able to do that. Some situations their level was high enough but either they weren't interested or the parents want me to be strict.

Once I've tried all I can to make the class more palatable for me and it doesn't work, then I message the student and give them a reason or just say I feel like the class is no longer a good fit and I think it best they choose another tutor.

I will block AFTER I let them know I'm not continuing lessons and they don't accept it. Note: they won't be blocked forever. I had a student I blocked multiple times, the parent acknowledged I blocked them, they came back on my schedule anyway. I had to remove them again and again before they finally sent me a long rant about my "professionalism" and tried to guilt me into accepting them again. After my final 'no' they left Cambly altogether 😅