Your child isn’t doing well in school. You’ve thought about hiring a tutor. You’ve also considered the cost. And then you felt guilty.
After all, tutoring is an expense ready-made for parental guilt. You probably feel lousy that your own brain power isn’t enough to help your child power through his or her school work, and you may feel rotten for not wanting to spend money on a tutor. You may wonder if this is going to be money well spent — or if it will disappear into a black hole.
If tutoring works, your child will see his or her grades and confidence improve, and your own stress levels may decrease. But to get your money’s worth, you have your own homework to do before hiring a tutor. Consider the following questions part of your tutor tutorial.
What can I expect to pay for a tutor? According to Care.com, which helps consumers find tutors as well as baby-sitters, nannies and other caretakers, you can expect to pay $75 an hour, on average, for a certified professional teacher; if you hire a local high school student, expect to pay about $10 to $15 an hour.
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“Tutoring services will vary in cost from region to region and [are] based upon academic grade level,” says Kimberly Kulp, a spokeswoman for Bridgeway Academy, a home schooling academy based in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. Kulp says at least in her area, parents can find a tutor for $45 to $60 an hour. If that’s too high, she suggests hiring a local high school or college student.
Where can I find a tutor? Kulp advises asking around at your school. “Often, schools will have a list of tutors or tutoring programs available for parents,” Kulp says. If that doesn’t pan out, she suggests asking other parents of kids your child’s age or checking online. “There are several reputable, national tutoring services available that can help your child to overcome their learning challenges,” she says. Sites like the aforementioned Care.com as well as OwlTutors.com and WyzAnt.com can help you find a tutor in your area.
Once you find a tutor you’re interested in, “it’s just like hiring anyone else,” says Karen Franse, a public relations specialist and mother of three in Palatka, Florida. She and her husband hired a tutor last school year for her son in middle school, hoping it would help him write better history papers. “You need to see some credentials, a résumé, something that tells you what that person’s background is. Then, once you’ve narrowed down the choices, interview them for the job and get a feel for both the person and their teaching philosophy,” Franse says.
How can I ensure my child’s safety? Whether you hire a certified teacher or a neighborhood kid, remember to keep your guard up. “You don’t want someone coming into your home and spending time with your child that you don’t know is safe,” Franse says. “Many tutors want to have kids meet them at the library or even come to their homes, and we did not select those people.”
Franse asked the tutor to come to their house, where either she or her parents were in earshot of her son and the tutor. Another benefit of that, Franse says, is if you notice your tutor and child are spending too much time on a subject you don’t think is relevant, you can redirect them.
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Is the tutor a good match? It isn’t enough for your child’s tutor to be smart. The human element is important, too. In a lot of ways, how well your student interacts with a tutor is “90 percent motivation,” says Anthony-James Green, who owns Test Prep Authority, a tutoring firm headquartered in New York City. If a student and a tutor don’t seem like a good match, he recommends the parent “jump ship very quickly.”
Green says he wouldn’t give it more than two sessions if your child seems underwhelmed by the tutor. “If the kid doesn’t like [the tutor] or isn’t inspired, that’s not going to have anything to do with the tutor’s knowledge of fractions,” Green says. “It’s like working with a personal trainer. You may go to a good gym, but if you don’t like your trainer, you won’t want to show up and work out.”
He adds that if your child does like the tutor, and the two have good chemistry, that should lead to results. “Although you always have to worry that they’re too friendly and are chatting more than working on the subjects,” he says.
Also make sure the tutor is familiar with the school’s curriculum. This is a lesson Susan Miller, a mom and business owner in Pembroke Pines, Florida, learned when hiring multiple math tutors for her two daughters, ages 10 and 12.
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“The tutors who have not worked out are the ones who weren’t familiar with how the lessons were being taught in school,” Miller says. “You can teach the kids your way, but it may not be the way that their teacher or school wants them to learn. These days, that’s just as important as being able to work out the problem.”
Miller, who has been happily using the same two tutors for two years, says the tutor she hired for her oldest daughter is also a teacher at her school. Her younger child’s tutor doesn’t work at the school but is willing to communicate with the math teacher to make sure they’re in sync.
Does your child need more than a tutor? Every once in a while, Green comes across a student who has such severe anxiety over tests that he’ll recommend counseling to help understand where the fear is rooted. It may also be that your child needs a cheerleader: you or your spouse.
“I’ve had parents say, ‘My daughter is bad at math,’ or ‘She’s such a dummy when it comes to reading.’ And their daughter will be right there in front of them,” Green says. “Any high school student can get an A-plus with the right training, but they’re indoctrinating their kids to have no belief in themselves.”
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5 Questions to Ask When Shopping for a Tutor originally appeared on usnews.com
