Providing your child with the best overall education possible is very important. While this can include ensuring you send them to a good school, read to them at night and make learning a priority, there could come a time when you need additional help.
If your child does need more help with their schoolwork, hiring a tutor can be a great option. If you do decide to hire a tutor for your child, there are several tips to follow that can make your child’s experience better.
Have a Plan for Each Tutoring Session
One of the most important things that you can do to make the tutoring process better and more efficient is to have a detailed plan for each tutoring session. If you are having a tutor assigned to prepare for a standardized test, there may be a process established that they should follow.
However, if it is for more generalized support, the tutor will need your help to prepare for each session. At least one day prior to the session, you should discuss with the tutor what you want to have them cover. This can include helping with homework or providing additional review for certain subject matter such as letter A worksheets.
Understand Tutor Experience
Whenever you are going to hire a tutor, you need to make sure that they are experienced with the subject matter that they will be teaching. You should speak with each tutor available to make sure they have experience working with kids that are the same age as your student.
This could give you comfort and assurances that they will be able to help your student with areas of focus. This experience can help to ensure that each session is productive and that your student is getting enough out of it.
Set Expectations for Tutor
When a tutor comes to meet with a student for the first time, it is important that they understand the goals that you have. You should spend time with the tutor first to discuss where the student is today in terms of academic progress and where you want them to get to.
The tutor should be able to provide you with a roadmap for what can be done to achieve your goals. Ongoing communication and progress checks will also help to ensure everything is moving in the right direction.
Do Not Burn Student Out
A parent will naturally want their child to get the best grades and education possible. However, overloading the student with too much work is not always the best way to do this. Due to this, you should focus on ensuring that your student is not burned out with excess tutoring.
The frequency and length of tutoring sessions will vary based on the age, maturity and need of each student. However, even older students should not have sessions that go much longer than an hour as additional time can become less productive.
Personality Fit
A child that is going through tutoring could easily be intimidated by an adult or even a teenager that they do not know well. Because of this, you need to make sure that they are comfortable with the tutor.
Prior to committing to a tutor, you should have them spend a few minutes meeting a few different options. You should then take the overall personality fit into consideration when you are looking to choose a new tutor for your child.
Reward the Student
Going through tutoring on top of school and other activities can be a lot for anyone. Due to this, you should reward your child when they show improvement and work hard with the tutor. Simple rewards such as going out to get their favorite meal once in a while can be enough to keep them focused and engaged. This could help result in better overall outcomes from the experience.
Hiring a tutor can be a good way to help a child improve their knowledge of a certain subject matter, develop organizational skills and keep up with their peers. While tutors can be helpful, it could add confusion and frustration for your child. Fortunately, there are several tips to follow that could make your kid’s tutor experience even better.
