Dear Cambly,
Signed, CK Tutor
I have a Cambly Kids student, and their parent wishes me to use course materials of their choosing instead of following the Cambly Kids Course they are enrolled on. I don’t mind if that’s what they want; I try to be flexible and adapt according to the wishes of my students/their parents. But is it OK for me to ignore the Cambly Kids lesson and use the material provided by the parent instead?
Dear CK Tutor,
Thank you for reaching out about this question. You’re not the first CK tutor to inquire about this and certainly will not be the last!
The general rule of thumb is to honour the parents’ request. After all, they know their child best and are likely to recommend a lesson that they know their child will enjoy and feel more engaged with the class. CK is all about learning and having fun, so we definitely want to optimize for both in every class.
The CK curriculum exists as a guideline to help facilitate a lesson and conversation practice, make your tutoring experience relatively stress free and minimizing your preparation time!
It’s common for parents to choose CK over regular Cambly solely for access to children-friendly tutors with tutoring skills adapted explicitly for children. However, the parent always has their child’s best interest at heart and may come with materials suited to their child’s needs, which often makes for a much more pleasant tutoring experience as well!
In short, yes, it’s totally fine to forego the Cambly Kids curriculum if that is what the parent of your CK student wishes! You can always suggest CK curriculum as you see fit based on the child’s needs, but listening to what the parent wants helps build rapport with them.
We hope this helps!
P.S. We are soon going to cover this topic on the blog and the YouTube channel! Key an eye out for a post regarding building a relationship with your CK parents. Until then, check out this video where Tutor Elena discusses preparing for CK lessons, she has some great tips and tricks.
Happy tutoring & thank you for being an incredible tutor,
-Cam
