What to Look for When Hiring a Tutor/Tutoring Company?

This is a question that many parents wonder when contemplating on hiring such services for their child and/or children. As we all aspire for our #nextgen to be top performers academically, some subjects can be a bit of a doozy and will require a bit more help that parent’s may or may not have expertise in and/or utilized for a while so outside help would be a great resource. Below I share my thoughts as a mother and not as a business owner attempting to win you over (even though we do consider ourselves the best in the business :D). I hope that these tips help you on your journey to promote/uplift your child’s academic performance.

At TAM we have our opinion on
“The Top 3 Things to Look for in a Tutor/Tutoring Company”

#1 : Look for a Consultation!
Use the consultation to assist you to find out what they have to offer, their policies, as well as how they can assist your child and/or you in assisting your child at home. I’d also see if they’d be willing to either assess your student to find out more about them as a learner whether through a quick exam and/or just a chit-chat with the student over their previous work/tests. This would help both the tutor and/or parent gain a better understanding on how the student performs and/or feels about their own performance. A consultation could also help ID your child's type of intelligence/learning style which could lead to the tutor being able to convey information more effectively and/or lend send advice on how you as a parent could assist your child at home when not in session.

#2 Whether or Not They Are Personable?
It’s important to see how your student connects with the tutor. There isn’t any point if your kid doesn't connect with them- vibe wise and/or lesson wise. If your child struggles in school because the teacher “doesn’t break it down for them enough” and you have a tutor that is attempting to help your student with their chemistry homework, yet speaks to them as if they’re defending their PhD dissertation with that same or more intense and complex technical jargon…. then where is the benefit in the service? Nonetheless, a tutor where they aren’t passionate about helping your child nor the subject matter and won’t even attempt to be engaging to your student… they just do it as a job. (Luckily, we don’t have that type of staff on our books at TAM.) The tutor and/or company should provide a sort of level of comfort-such as a safe place- for the student to not feel intimidated/overwhelmed/bored to death by the material and/or the person who delivers the material.

#3 Show Me, Don’t Tell Me
As the good `ol adage says, “If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for the day; if you teach a man to fish, he’ll feat for a lifetime”, the same holds true when it comes to tutoring. Look for a tutor that asks more questions to find out why and how your child is thinking and attempts to redirect it correctly method-wise versus a tutor that’s tells your child they are right/wrong or even worse that gives away the answer without having them attempt it a second time. If the tutor does all the work your student, your child may not be able to perform on quizzes/exams in class nor master the material at hand. That’s an injustice for both you and them.

#4 Assists with the Current Situation,
but Troubleshoots the Basics

You want to have the tutor and/or tutoring company, that not only assists with your child’s current issues, but is also willing to dig deeper to assist/correct foundational deficiencies as well. In certain subjects, just getting by on a simple task/assignment won’t help if your student hasn’t mastered the foundational skill, as it branches off into a myriad of other and more complex topics. An example is reading…

If you’re student hasn’t mastered phonics, sight words, decomposing strategies of words to assist in the identification of new words, knowing how to use context clues, and etc. and they start hating reading because “everything is too hard” your tutor is not going to impact your child significantly enough through the assistance of one multiple-choice reading assignment, it’ll take a lot more work catch them up be able to tackle on assignments like that alone. A tutor that is willing to remedy those foundational issues will help grow your child from being a student who dreads the thought of a book to a possible bibliophile that asks for more and more, because they no longer struggle with illiteracy.
———-

We’re sure many parents look and hold more weight for other things like: credentials, references, resumes, certifications, and the works… which are just as important, we compiled our list from the standpoint of a attending to a child’s/student’s wholistic needs- social (#1 & 2), emotional (#1), and mental (#3& 4). We do hope our suggestions help assist you in your journey to help your child succeed academically.

As always….

Stay Blessed & Good Luck,

S