Pros
it's fun to interact with the kids. no lesson planning or grading to do at home. it can be pretty a pretty easy way to keep your resume relevant if you're waiting to find a teaching job and subbing in the mornings.
Cons
i've never seen anything so disorganized and never felt so undervalued at a job. i'd get at least one phonecall a day (three calls on more than one occasion) with last minute changes to my schedule. i'd get sent home halfway through a shift in order to preserve the minimum number of teachers with the max number of students. they'll be very friendly at your interview, tell you you can have 20 hours a week, give you totally insufficient training, and start you off. from that point on, don't expect more than 6-8 hours a week, don't expect any acknowledgement of a job well done or of your actual physical presence. don't expect to have the correct materials at your table at any point, and don't expect any sense of urgency when you request the textbooks and worksheets you're missing. i was hired as a writing teacher and worked with ONE writing student within a three-month span. the rest of the time, i was assigned beginning readers and math students, which is fine, but it reflects disorganized, last-minute planning on the part of the admin staff. don't expect to be given any tools for behavior management at the table...each student represents a paying customer and is therefore in power...management is not on your side. some students clearly need specific changes in curriculum or specialized attention, but sylvan will not take any action which might threaten their streamlined method of bringing in business. the bottom line...you are not a priority. the student is not a priority. the money is the priority. and that's harmful to everyone.