As a parent, it is normal to be concerned to see your child struggle in school. The last two years of tele-schooling, remote learning, and hybrid classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic have placed additional strains on families. While parents and teachers have implemented strategies to maintain a healthy learning environment, they often are not enough to keep children from falling behind.
However, one-on-one or small group tutoring is an excellent way to help children make up for lost classroom time and offer enrichment beyond what is typically taught in school. Working with a tutor is a proven method to achieve critical academic milestones and goals. Technology is helping students by providing them with access to tutors from anywhere in the world, at any time. Paired with traditional schooling, personalized tutoring is a powerful strategy to prevent learning loss and help children and teens achieve their full academic potential.
Most parents think tutors provide subject-specific support in advanced high school topics such as trigonometry, physics, or Latin. However, experienced tutors also understand how to provide general support in executive function skills such as time management, organization, setting goals, and navigating the social dynamics of a classroom. Here are six common benefits of having a tutor and how tutoring can support your child’s success.
1. Tutoring Helps the Child Who Is Struggling
Tutoring can help children and teens struggling with homework, classroom notetaking, acquiring foundational skills, test anxiety and preparation, time management, and so much more. Tutors are a lifeline because they provide students with the extra time and support needed to excel in school, feel more confident, and become independent learners. Free online courses provide access to personalized tutoring from experts, helping students achieve their academic goals.Two recent research studies looked explicitly at tutoring for elementary-age students struggling with reading and math and found evidence of success for both subjects.
2. A Professional Tutor Can Reduce Tension Between Parents and Their Child
Poor performance in school can create an unhealthy home environment. Parents become stressed, the child becomes increasingly frustrated, and this negative environment is not conducive to the child’s success. A professional tutor can provide a neutral buffer between parents and children to ease tensions.
The best tutors offer regular feedback so that parents know how their child is progressing. The research on tutoring indicates that sessions should be consistent and follow the best routine for the child.
3. Tutors Can Reduce Anxiety About Academic Performance
While parents may feel stressed about school performance, a child struggling academically will bear the brunt of anxiety and dissatisfaction. Children want to succeed in school and want their parents and teachers to be proud of their accomplishments. Working with a tutor can help you write better college assignments by providing you with personalized guidance and support. When students are rapidly falling behind, in danger of failing a class, or at risk of repeating a grade, research shows that enlisting a tutor for routine sessions three times a week is ideal for making progress. Once children start to see improvement, success builds upon success, and their self-esteem begins to soar.
4. Tutoring Can Address COVID-19 Learning Disruptions
There’s no doubt that remote learning has disrupted every child’s education. While some children can survive in a fully online school, many more are struggling and not getting the help they need when confusion sets in or questions arise. A tutor will consult with the classroom teacher and parents to identify challenging areas and personal strengths. Whether individualized tutoring takes place in person or online, working with professional tutors will help your child understand the course material.
5. Professional Tutors Prioritize Long-Term Success
Tutors who are professional educators are highly credentialed with years of classroom experience and subject expertise. Unlike enlisting the services of a volunteer tutor or an older child or relative who excelled in school, professional tutors prioritize the child’s individual learning experiences with customized lesson plans and collaborate with parents with regular feedback reports.
The best professional tutors want students to become confident in their ability to learn challenging material independently. Once they learn how to problem-solve, they will be equipped to face difficult subjects and situations later in life.
6. Tutors Can Focus on Enrichment Activities
In addition to helping bridge academic gaps, tutors can also provide a child with enrichment activities. Whether your child is interested in foreign languages, fashion design, engineering, computer game design, or any other topic not traditionally taught in a K-12 classroom, a tutor can help encourage passions and provide the knowledge and skills to succeed. One of the benefits of online tutoring is that parents can more easily access a specialty tutor who may reside in another city, state, or country. Online tutoring opens up a world of invaluable opportunities.
Tutoring: The Solution You’re Searching For!
Tutoring helps to alleviate the most common challenges that students encounter in school. So, if you’re a parent looking to help your child succeed in the classroom, contracting with a reputable, professional tutor is the perfect solution.
Author Bio’s:
Tiffany Young is a freelance writer, content strategist, and former graduate assistant. She writes about the latest developments in teaching, public policy, standardized testing, and educational technology.