How to Find the Best Tutor for Your Kids?

There’s a beautiful saying that any parents would find hit them right in the heart: When my children surpass me, that’s when I win. And of course, it’s true. Parents we really want their children to have more of everything that they have. Healthier and happier, definitely. More successful too.

[ photo: photographee.eu ]

But parents can’t just wish and hope their children will be able to somehow achieve them on their own. Parent’s support is essential, in many forms, from love, affection, understanding, to material support.

One of the material support that will really help your children and create an impact is probably tutoring. School is children’s main responsibility, but not all children have the same talent and ability to keep up with what their curriculum expects. Preply tutoring helps children to gain more understanding of a subject they can’t focus on the class. It makes them setting time aside to actually study.

But, not any tutor will do that for you. Finding the right tutor for your children can be somewhat confusing. Sometimes you manage to find someone with the right credentials and the skills you approve, but your children just don’t seem to like him. Sometimes your children specifically know who they want to teach, but when you actually meet that tutor, you have this nagging feeling that this person could be a bad influence.

So, how can you find the best tutor for your kid? Here are several tips.

1. Know your children’s strength and weakness

Before you even start finding tutor, it’s important to know this. Not all children are created equal. Some will show excellent understanding in numerical problem, while others are probably more talented with words and shapes and colors. Understanding which one is your children’s strength and which one is their weakness is important to make a decision for their tutoring.

What is it that your kid needs the most? Do they have problem recognizing the bigger picture of the problem presented in their textbook? Maybe they have problem recognizing the problem they have to solve? Or maybe, they just need extra practice answering problems? Recognizing what your children need helps you decide what kind of tutor will match your kid’s learning style later. Science tuition is one of the most sought-after services nowadays, this may be a result of the very complex nature of subjects like biology, chemistry, and physics.

2. Security is Priority

You don’t want someone without any clear identity tutoring your kid privately. That’s why background check is always a necessity. Short interview session is always a good idea, especially if you get a tutor that works on his on her own. Ask for their ID, and get some idea of who they are. 

But of course, don’t be too nosy that can make your future interaction awkward. Tutors from tutoring agency are usually already get their background checked, so if you want to cut this one step, you may opt to call an agency  and ask them to send their tutor instead of conducting the interview on your own.

3. Check their Credentials

After you are sure of who your tutor is, it’s time to check if he or she really has the capability to tutor. Are they well-versed in the subject they are teaching and have the right documents or license to prove it? Do they have experience, and if yes, how long?

Usually, the most sought after tutors are the professional teachers. 

They definitely know their subject, and know how to handle students as well. The drawback is, of course, they can be quite expensive, and maybe even overqualified. Student tutors are widely available, usually have flexible tutoring time, and have lower rate.

4. Set a goal

Before starting the tutoring session, it will help both your children and their tutor if they have goal that they have to achieve together. However, the goal shouldn’t be too technical and numerical, because it can turn into burden real quick. Don’t go tell your tutor that you expect your children’s mark to be A after the semester, that’s one way to make your tutor feel pressured, and it may cause him or her to be stricter during tutoring, which make it less fun for your children.

Instead, the goal should have always been about better understanding on the subject. You don’t expect your children to bring home A, but you expect them to at least able to explain their answer to you when you quiz them.

5. Communicate, communicate

Even if you’ll mostly leave your tutor and your children alone during tutoring, it doesn’t mean that you should stop talking to him or her. Don’t just engage him or her in small talk during the brief time you meet, but actually ask about the tutoring progress. Is your children following the lesson well? What does he or she find as challenge when tutoring your children?

The communication should go both ways. Encourage the tutor to ask you if he or she needs any understanding about your kid’s personality, interest, or learning style – basically anything that can help them find a way to tutor your kids better.

6. Don’t be afraid to cut

It will take a while before you or your children can see whether the tutoring helps or not. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to find the problem why. Could it be that the tutor and your kid don’t like each other, or just don’t match together?

If the problem is not something you can fix, then don’t be afraid to cut the tutoring session, even if it’s not the end of the tutoring period you’ve agreed together. You may be reluctant to do it because then you’ll have to find new tutor and process will start all over again. But, there’s no reason to continue an unproductive tutoring unless you want to waste your money.

If you find your tutor from reputable agency, however, you don’t have to worry. You can talk to the agency and tell them your reason and your concern, and they will arrange new tutor for you.

Do you have any experience in finding the right tutor for your children? What kind of tutor click and match your children’s learning style and personality? Share your story with us below.