How Tutors Can Help

From our guest Blogger Dr. Rick:

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD HAS A TUTOR
By Dr. Rick

Every student needs a little help now and then. A straight-A student maybe just got her first B. Or maybe another student is freaked out about algebra. Maybe yet another kid needs a guiding hand in budgeting his time.

That’s where tutoring comes in. Tutors provide one-on-one attention, fill in the academic gaps, review basics or challenge with new and demanding assignments, give support, and allow for new discoveries.

We’ve often talked about tutoring in the Dr. Rick Blog. We’ve discussed why tutoring works. We’ve covered how to know if your child needs a tutor. And we’ve reviewed how to choose a tutor. I’ve told you that I work for Sylvan Learning, North America’s largest tutoring provider, and that I’ve personally met countless kids who’ve experienced the power of tutoring. We’ve served over two million kids in more than thirty years. That’s a lot of increased confidence.

Tutoring is not a one-time fix. Once you’ve experienced the confidence that comes with success, you’ll want to keep Sylvan in your phone’s quick dial. It’s good to have a good tutor who has your back during stressful academic times. You turn to your plumber whenever you have a water problem, why not turn to Sylvan whenever a school problem arises?

So, you know tutoring works, you’ve chosen a tutor (I hope at Sylvan), and your child is improving. But your work isn’t done. Today, let’s talk about what to do while your child is working with a tutor. In the next Dr. Rick Blog, we’ll discuss what to do afterwards.

1. Make goals. You can’t work toward success if you don’t know what success looks like. Work with your child and the tutor to come up with some reasonable goals. Here are some tips to help you do this.

2. Get progress reports. Expect the tutor to provide you with regular and systematic reports about your child’s progress. Insist on it.

3. Show daily interest. Whether your child has a tutoring session that day or not, talk to him about what he’s learning, how he’s getting along, and whether he’s seeing a difference in school.

4. Ask about learning activities. Ask him what he and the tutor covered today. Ask him to explain a math problem, how to find the main idea in an essay, or whatever he did today. We learn best when we have to explain something concisely and purposefully.

5. Ask how to reinforce at home. Ask the tutor what you can be doing at home to reinforce knowledge and skills. When learning is a part of home, school, and tutoring, it becomes relevant and important.

6. Consider the school. Letting the school in on the process can be enormously helpful. Unless you have a compelling reason not to, inform the classroom teacher that your child is so motivated to improve she’s going the extra mile to receive tutoring. Perhaps the tutor and teacher can keep in touch.

7. Review rewards and consequences. You know how I feel about rewarding good behavior. I’m for reasonable and motivating rewards. Same for consequences. I’m for students knowing that their behavior has consequences. You and your child can come up with rewards (extra alone time with you, added curfew time, some favorite treat) and consequences (loss of play time, adjustment of allowance) that will make sense for your family.

8. Be a cheerleader. Support, encourage, and hearten your learner. Remind him how proud of him you are for his extra work, his persistence, and his progress.

9. Show the power of perseverance. When he stumbles, as we all do from time to time, show him how to learn from mistakes and start over again, stronger. Perseverance is one of the greatest but most often overlooked character trait in a world of instant gratification.

10. Stay positive. Kids need us to be positive. They need our attention. They need us to pay heed, to recognize their improvements, and to celebrate with them when they reach their goals.

Your child is using a tutor. Good for her, good for you. Show that you have your tutors, too – mentors at work, clergy at your place of worship, and wise friends whose advice you seek. Encourage him to be brave enough to know when to ask for help and smart enough to benefit from it.