Tip #50 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKInley & Trombly) - Tutoring

   


Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.


#50

Tutoring

 

The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.
~ William Ward

 

It is not uncommon for many children to start falling behind in their work. If you are lucky, your child enjoys sitting down with you to work on material he doesn’t understand. However, many parents find that their children work much better for other people, such as a tutor.

            How do you know when your child needs a tutor? A learning disability, dropping grades, or concerns from your child’s teacher that he is falling behind may indicate the need for a tutor. Some families choose to engage in the help of a tutor if they feel that their child could benefit from some one-on-one time with a professional for remedial help or even some enrichment if their child is inspired to go beyond classroom material and the parents are unsure of how to provide enrichment. Your child’s teacher or principal can probably recommend a few tutors in the area for you.

The major benefit of a tutor is the one-on-one attention your child receives. A tutor is able to focus on a specific skill for a great length of time. For example, a child who doesn’t understand fractions could work one-on-one with a tutor for an entire hour. The tutor can explain fractions in many different ways and can also use manipulatives to help him see the underlying concept. A classroom teacher also explains fractions and uses manipulatives but cannot possibly spend that much individual time with each student. A classroom teacher cannot possibly tailor each lesson to the exact needs of every single child on a minute-to-minute basis. It is simply impossible, but a private tutor can do that. She can judge how your child does every single thing and make decisions to either offer more practice or move on.

A tutor can also customize the lessons to your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, before you decide on utilizing a tutor, you may want to meet with your child’s teacher to make a list of areas the tutor can focus on and create concrete goals for your child to reach. Also, encourage the tutor to contact your child’s teacher if possible. Together, they can create an individualized plan to best meet your child’s needs.

            How do you know if your tutor is top notch? Feel free to ask for references and credentials. Discuss each session, afterward, with your child to be sure he is learning and enjoying it. Most children love the individual attention and relaxed atmosphere tutoring provides. Although the learning may be challenging, it should be enjoyable. Remember that a good tutor will not just tell students how to improve or tell them when they’re wrong. Instead, a good tutor asks questions when a child has difficulties such as, “Show me how you came up with that answer” or “Does your answer make sense?” Good tutors keep asking more specific, leading questions rather than telling your child the answer. You may also want to ask the tutor what you could be working on with your child at home to support his sessions.

            Tutors can be expensive. Private tutors are generally less expensive than tutoring businesses. If tutoring is out of the question because of cost, try finding out what your child’s school has to offer. Many schools have set up free peer-tutoring programs after school. If your school doesn’t have a peer-tutoring program, perhaps now would be a good time to look into starting such a program in your child’s school. You can also check with your local high school to see if any honor students offer free (or less expensive) tutoring. Sometimes high school kids need community service hours and love working with younger kids. Once you start spreading the word around, you may be surprised how well received your ideas are!

            If you feel a tutor would benefit your child, don’t delay. The earlier you can catch an academic problem, the better chance you have of doing something about it. Getting more help early on can help your child like school more and may also help him do better throughout the rest of his school years.

  



     Cindy McKinley Alder                                            Patti Trombly

 

For more posts about the authors and their books (this is not the only one), click HERE.

For excerpts from more books, click HERE.

For more excerpts from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents, click HERE.

          For more posts about books about parenting, click HERE. 



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