Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
Academic success is very important to both children and parents. To see one’s children excel in school is a universal dream shared by every parent; strong learning skills can lead directly to good college experiences and a successful career. What can parents do when their children begin to struggle with their schoolwork? Hiring a tutor is one good option.
All across the United Kingdom, hundreds of thousands of children are benefiting from tutoring and shoring up weak spots in their academic skills.
The reasons for hiring a tutor are many:
* Strengthening fundamental learning skills that might be holding a student back
* Providing specialized assistance to help a student overcome a learning disability
* Teaching students the organizational skills required to apply themselves effectively and manage their studying time
* Counterbalancing social, medical, or emotional problems which hold a student back
* Giving a head start to a student with the desire and ability to learn more
Tutors can help students with all of these problems and more. Good tutors provide both solid educational fundamentals (like encouraging the ability to work independently) and specific instruction designed to reinforce what a student learns in school. The tutoring process often makes students more confident in their own learning abilities.
Parents’ Tips: How To Choose And Work With A Tutor
* Make sure your child understands what a tutor does and why you think he or she needs one.
* Discuss your goals for the tutoring process with your child.
* Consult with other parents or your child’s teacher to secure tutor recommendations.
* If at all possible, bring your child into the tutor interviewing process. Children will feel more accepting if they feel they are a part of the selection process.
* Check the credentials of potential tutors.
You should have a thorough understanding of any potential tutor’s experience, training, and references before hiring them. Tutors should have full teaching certification or a demonstrable expertise in the specific subject they are teaching such as economics tutoring or maths. It’s also important to verify that a tutor has experience working with students of your child’s age and grade level. Tutors for students with special needs (e.g. learning disabilities) need training and experience in the appropriate teaching methods.
* Confirm the tutor’s plan before beginning.
Ideally, your tutor should collaborate with your child’s teacher to craft a tutoring plan that directly addresses both the student’s specific needs and the curriculum being taught in the classroom. You, your child’s teacher, and your tutor should all be members of a teaching partnership.
* Set a schedule that works for your child.
The hours after the end of the school day are the ones most often set aside for tutoring. While this is convenient for tutors and parents, some students will be too tired or distracted at this hour to do their best learning. Explore all your options for scheduling tutoring sessions.
* Consider more frequent sessions for students with learning disabilities.
While there are many different types of learning disabilities that students may grapple with, most of them respond positively to additional practice and repetition. You should consider scheduling multiple tutoring sessions in a week if your own child has such challenges.
* Sit in on tutoring sessions.
Check to make sure that your tutor is offering a hands-on, interactive experience. Your child should be receiving both direct teaching and guided practice.
* Get progress reports from both the tutor and your child’s teacher.
You should expect to see noticeable improvements in academic performance after the first few months of tutoring.
A tutor is a very special person to your child. The tutor gives your child at least one solid hour of undivided attention to your child. That, alone, is worth so much. In fact, for children experiencing emotional problems, I recommend an hour of tutoring.
Most children detest being in therapy with a counselor, a psychologist, or a psychiatrist. They feel the implication is: “There’s something wrong with me.” A tutor, however, can counsel a child without the child feeling any kind of stigma. Also, a tutor is much more affordable than a psychologist.
Second, the tutor teaches your child learning strategies. In other words, the child will mature because of the tutoring process.
Maturity. Independence. Getting one’s emotional needs met. Learning to study more effectively. Individualized attention. These are some of the benefits of hiring a tutor. Also, most likely, his or her grades will improve.
Some parents also see one more additional benefit to hiring a tutor.
At least now they know the homework is getting done!