Tutors: What student behaviour frustrates you the most?

Being tutors, you get to teach a variety of students: ones that do their work, ones that don't, ones that pick things up quickly, and ones that need more time and support.

What type of student do you find the most difficult to teach, and how do you handle them?

For me, the students I struggle with most aren't necessarily the weaker students. In fact, many weaker students work hard and make great progress. The ones I find challenging are those who consistently shift responsibility onto the tutor for everything.

For example:

• They never do the homework assigned ->the tutor is going too fast.
• They don't remember a concept after it has been explained multiple times ->the tutor isn't being consistent.
• You tell them an answer is incorrect ->they insist that's what you said before.
• They receive poor grades ->the tutor can't explain properly.
• They zone out during lessons -> the tutor is boring.

Of course, sometimes the tutor genuinely is part of the problem. We all make mistakes, and some explanations are better than others. But there are also situations where the student refuses to take any responsibility and always looks for an external reason for why things aren't working.

Those are the students I personally find the most frustrating because it becomes very difficult to identify and address the real issue.

What types of students do you find the most challenging to teach?