Is your child having difficulty managing their schoolwork? Do they struggle to retain concepts in school or have special educational needs? It may be time to hire a private tutor for your child. In recent years, private tutoring has become the norm as a new survey reveals that there was a 35 percent increase in parents seeking dedicated tutors for their children. Since many students are currently struggling with learning setbacks caused by the pandemic, it’s expected that the demand for private tutors will continue to grow, and more individuals will be looking into private tutoring as a career or a secondary occupation.
But with so many private tutors in the country, parents should take active steps to ensure that they’re hiring the right person to teach their children. If you’re thinking about hiring a private tutor for your child, here are the things you need to do, and the qualities you need to look for in a tutor to ensure that they’re the right fit for the job.
Know Your Child’s Learning Challenges
Seeing your child’s low grades or witnessing their general lack of interest in their studies may prompt you to start calling private tutoring agencies to get a tutor onboard right away. However, before hiring one, you need to identify what your child struggles with in school. For instance, do they need some extra help with certain subjects, such as Math or Science? Are they having difficulties learning a new language? Or perhaps they’re simply unmotivated to learn?
Knowing your child’s learning challenges will help you find the right private tutor since there are tutors who specialize in certain subject matters and languages, and there are also those who are experts in special needs tutoring. Moreover, this information will be highly useful since the tutor can create a tailored teaching plan based on your child’s learning struggles.
Assess the Tutor’s Suitability
Recent data shows that there are over 45,000 private tutors currently employed in the US, and nearly 66 percent of all private tutors are women. The figures show that you’ve got plenty of options when choosing a private tutor, but you need to ensure that the person you’re considering to teach your child on a one-on-one basis is qualified and suitable for the job. Search the tutor online for records and testimonials, and see if you can get a reference for someone you’re looking to hire.
Next, check to see if the tutor meets the minimum education requirement. Keep in mind that there are no legal requirements for private tutors, but they should, at the very least, hold a high school degree or a GED. It’s also crucial to do a background or criminal record check since there’s no such thing as being too careful nowadays. Once you know that they’re qualified, schedule a face-to-face meeting with the tutor. If you’re not comfortable holding interviews in your home though (especially if you’re not absolutely sure that you’d want to hire the tutor), consider meeting up at a quiet cafe or a park. Take your child with you to see if they’ll develop a good rapport with the person you want to hire and if they feel comfortable with the tutor.
Prepare Your Home for Private Tutoring Sessions
Once you’ve hired a private tutor for your child, you’ll need to be ready to accommodate them and provide what they need to teach your child. You should agree on the cost or fees for tutoring and pay them on time, and check to see if any extra textbooks, reviewers, or study aids are included in the cost of their services. If not, make sure to reimburse them, but also ask for the list of additional items that they’ll need for tutoring since you may be able to get that yourself.
Next, prepare your home for private tutoring lessons. You can set up a spot in your living room or dining room for this purpose, making sure to provide comfortable chairs for both your child and their tutor. Ensure that there’s access to a laptop, printer, Internet, and basic stationery so that each tutoring session will flow smoothly.
Hiring a private tutor may help your child overcome their learning challenges and do better in school. Make sure to check if a person is qualified to do private tutoring to ensure your child’s safety and academic success.
