|
| |
GROWN UPS
All About Tutoring
As the school year progresses
and you help your child with homework and check grades as they are brought
home, you should be getting a sense of the degree of difficulty they are
feeling in parts of their assignments. If you get the feeling that certain
areas are causing major problems, discuss this first with your child. For
example if they are consistently missing math problems for the same reason,
they may tell you that they too see this as a problem. Another example may be
regularly missing many words from the spelling list even after study and
practice. Difficulty in reading stories that are recommended by the teacher as
being at grade level may also be a problem.
Without pressure or blame, talk
to your child about where they are finding difficulty, not just occasionally,
but on a regular basis. Every child has something that is not easy for them on
the first try, of course. This is not the issue. To even consider tutoring,
your child should be having an ongoing problem in a particular area. I used
the example of reading difficulty with stories that the teacher has assigned
because that is one of the most common problems. I also used the example of
missed math problems for the same reason. If you check homework and you are
finding that multiplication errors are always there or that subtractions are
not correct you know where to direct extra help.
If you are finding these
problems, your child’s teacher is probably finding the same things. Call and
ask for a conference. Take some homework examples or samples of some extra
work you may have done with your child. Ask for help in pinpointing problem
areas as specifically as you can. Difficulties that may require tutoring are
very different for those that suggest testing. Discuss this also with your
child’s teacher. Classroom teachers are always an excellent resource. As a
former classroom teacher my self, I know they are willing to do everything
they can for their students.
If, after your conference, you
and the teacher feel tutoring may be indicated, the next step is who and
where. There are reliable tutoring services in every community and there are
also private tutors who are known to teachers and to other parents. Ask the
teacher about recommendations. Also, do not hesitate to ask about those not
recommended. On a confidential basis, I am sure you will receive reliable
advice.
Private tutors are generally
more expensive that tutoring services, but they are almost always one on one
where sometimes a service will work with several children at once. Again, you
know your child. Use your judgement and the advice of the teacher before you
make a decision. It is not good to make a selection and have your child be so
unhappy that you must make a change. Take time to get it right the first time.
Interview, visit, and inform yourself.
Finally, some services and even
some private tutors will ask to test your child so that they can have a
working knowledge of issues. There is usually a charge for these tests. In my
opinion, this kind of thing is unnecessary. If you and your child and the
teacher have done your job, you should be able to define for the tutor what
needs to be done. Ask for a conference with the tutor after one or two
sessions to be sure that this is the case.
Tutoring, like everything else
concerning children, is an important decision. Seek information to make the
best choice for your child.
Judith Lawrenson. MA, Ed.
Comments to Judith at JLResource@AOL.com,
or Post on our Bulletin Board
|
