"Teachers can burn out, but so can children": Should you change tutors every year?

BarcelonaFor four years, from 14th to second grade, Martí had the same tutor at the public school where he attends. The boy formed a strong bond with the teacher, but his mother—and indeed most families—believed a change was necessary, mainly so the children would learn other ways of teaching and interacting. However, the truth is that it was fortunate that he was able to make the transition from preschool to elementary school with the same teacher, since the change of grade took Martí's strength, and maintaining this familiar figure made it less burdensome. Marc's daughter, Aurora, attends a Montessori school. There, students have the same tutor for three consecutive years, but several situations led to a loss of trust from the family toward the teacher, which ended with the demand for a change of tutor.

Martí's case is unusual, since in public schools, tutors are usually changed every one or two years. But what is better: to keep the same reference teacher for several years or to change them over time? And if a change is necessary, what is the minimum recommended time a tutor should spend with the same group? Does changing one tutor per grade slow down the pace? We have spoken with families, teachers, and educators for analysis. The Department of Education clarifies that the management of tutors falls to the schools and, therefore, each school, according to its work plan, decides, although the recommendation is to coincide the change of tutor with the change of grade.

Specifically, at Anaïs Andreu's school, the rural school of Sant Esteve de Guialbes, tutors change every two grades, coinciding with the change of grade: initial grade (first and second grade of primary school), intermediate grade (third and fourth grade), and advanced grade (fifth and sixth grade). "It makes the most sense in terms of learning because the initial grade focuses on achieving reading and writing; the second grade focuses on developing this habit and learning spelling; and the third grade focuses on perfecting it." This is the second year she's had the same group. "I started much more relaxed than last year because I already know the students both personally and academically. I know exactly what learning level each one is at, and they already know what dynamics I use in the classroom," she says. Last year, she explains, she didn't know their strengths or weaknesses, or if there were any conflicts they had carried over from the previous year. "I didn't dare push them either; I was more cautious, and it wasn't until November or December that I felt like I knew the group well," she notes.

Establish link

This is one of the handicaps having to change tutors every year. Esther Martínez, a preschool and primary school teacher, assures that "establishing a bond with students and families requires time, perseverance, and determination." "And if we have to go through this process every year between this student-teacher-family triangle, we're wasting a lot of energy that we could focus on other, more important things," she believes. "Aside from the hustle and bustle that adapting to different teachers and different teaching methods entails for such young children," adds this professional, who is now training in Waldorf education.

In Waldorf schools, they keep the same tutor throughout elementary school (which here lasts until the age of 14), that is, eight years, and another tutor until high school. "For the student, the teacher becomes a person with whom they establish a very strong, almost familial bond. In fact, there's a tradition for the teacher to visit the family home and come for lunch or a snack once a year," explains Martínez, who as a mother has opted for this pedagogy for her children's education. "As the children get older, they have a relationship of advisor and confidant. The tutor is a person they can ask for help because they've known them for eight years of their lives. And it helps the teachers see far beyond the student: they know what their family is like, their life, or what events in their history make them who they are," she says.

But what happens when the relationship with the tutor doesn't flow, as happened to Marc, Aurora's father? Martínez admits that whenever he's asked this question, he thinks it's "very sad" that we're predisposed to think things must go wrong. "And that can be extrapolated to today's relationships, where we don't commit too much to anything," he says. "We've made a vote of confidence, and like in any other relationship, when things happen, we talk and try to find solutions," he says.

While Marc has also opted for a school where tutors accompany the students for three years, after his experience, he is categorical: "I'm not a big fan of keeping tutors," he admits. "It's true that when we liked the tutor, she was great, but when you don't like her, it's a can't. "A year? They don't change parents every year. There are many things that remain the same and are constant; what changes is something that is common in life, such as the work environment, and they must adapt to new situations," he opines. He admits that the poor relationship with the tutor was more theirs as parents than the girl's as a student. "One thing we've learned is that when you lose trust, you can't get it back on track," he says.

Finally, they asked to move the girl to another class so they could change tutors, and the principal agreed, but with the argument that it was to separate Aurora from another classmate with whom she had an unhealthy relationship. Marc admits that when the continuity of a tutor is "a gamble for the school," making a change like this is a big deal. "Aurora felt punished, but with the new teacher, she connects more, feels very welcome in the classroom, and is very happy."

One tutor per semester

For Anaïs Andreu, two years with the same group of students is "the ideal." Joan Gamero, a member of the governing board of the Official College of Pedagogy of Catalonia, also believes that one tutor per year "is logical and advisable" because the content is also structured by year. "But this doesn't mean that the solution of one tutor per year is bad," he points out, as it will depend on the reality of each school. In fact, the teacher at San Esteban de Guialbes believes that beyond two years, "the group already absorbs the good and bad aspects of the teacher, in my case, because I'm a nervous wreck," she explains. She knows this because during COVID, she had the same group for three years and also detected an excess of trust on the part of the students, although she makes it clear that she never experienced it as a lack of respect. "But it's positive that the children and also the families see other ways of doing things and other profiles." Furthermore, these changes also ease the transition to secondary school, where most students have a different tutor each year and spend far fewer hours in the classroom. "Some of my former students comment that they miss the proximity."

For Montse Vilella, on the other hand, three years with the same group is the best fit for the rural school where she works, l'Heurom, located in Perafita. Being a small school, her students are divided into three classrooms: the younger ones, where all the preschool children are mixed together; the middle ones (first, second, and third years of primary school); and the older ones (fourth, fifth, and sixth years). She is the tutor for the last group. "It's important that students have more than one tutor throughout preschool and primary school so they can see various profiles, but being a tutor for the same group for just one year is very little time to get to know both the children and their families well and to find an ideal working environment in the classroom," she points out.

Mentoring, Vilella, who has been working as a teacher for more than three decades, makes it clear that it takes time. "You have to establish a bond of trust to assess the skills a child can develop." To achieve this, the school provides at least one personalized mentoring session with each student each term. "It's a time to pause, analyze where we are, what we've learned, and how to continue moving forward with the child," she explains. At least two meetings are also held with families during the school year, prioritizing the first few days of school when their children have a new tutor. "It's important to know what kind of backpack each child is starting out with." This school's approach fits well with students' transition to high school, as some schools in the area offer secondary school students a tutor per class and, in addition, an individual tutor they can turn to whenever they need it.

It's not a determining factor.

Gamero, who is also the director of the Oreig de Pallejà school, argues that if the teaching staff are closely knit and work is project-based, the annual change of tutor is not detrimental to the student because "on a pedagogical level, there are many teachers involved in the student's daily routine and who are involved in their relationship with the families' reality."

In the case of preschool, however, he argues that the I5 teacher should be promoted to first grade to continue the literacy process and because the change of stage is important enough to maintain it, although, for now, if the teacher does not have a double qualification (preschool and primary), this cannot be done.

Burned out teachers

Educator Joan Gamero explains that 95% of schools operate with one tutor per cycle (two years) or per year, without this posing "any handicap at the pedagogical level." However, he acknowledges that in today's schools, where one in three students has special educational needs, teachers are under "great pressure to respond to all students." Therefore, he proposes introducing the role of a co-tutor, "to share the load" and "not burn out the professional prematurely." He admits that if the group is complex, the tutor may be eager for the end of the school year to change groups.

"There's a significant mental and physical strain. Each school knows its reality and has autonomy, but if you start in first grade with a tutor and don't change them until sixth grade, you won't retain them as a professional. We can't put pressure on either party because, if not, the system doesn't work," acknowledges this pedagogue. "I understand that teachers can burn out, but children burn out too. One bad teacher hurts a lot. How many bad teachers can your child have? One? Two? If they don't change them every year, it eats up two or three years in a row," opines Marc, Aurora's father. The dilemma, in Gamero's opinion, isn't so much whether tutors should be there for more than one year, "but rather what is done in each year so that the tutor doesn't burn out."

Martínez recalls that when she was a teacher, this happened. "If you had a difficult group, you knew that the following year the tutor would be the same." problem Another one would eat him, but our job is to accompany him. He's like a child, who sometimes makes things difficult for you and you can't hit the off button.", she says. This teacher believes that many of the things done in pedagogies like Montessori or Waldorf, such as the length of tutoring sessions, could be adapted to public schools, but that "we would have to listen to the people in the classroom and provide them with resources," she concludes.