Education / 28 June, 2022 / Lauren Hyland
Does my child need a tutor? It’s a question we’ve all wondered about at one point in time. Whether they’re not quite getting the grades or pushing homework to the last minute or being unable to focus in the classroom, a tutor can help your child get back on track. Did you know that “approximately 75% of parents are looking to help their child either achieve a specific grade or reach an academic goal”? according to GoStudent. So, not everyone is looking for academic achievement, parents also find themselves searching for a tutor to teach something not taught in schools: someone who specialises in other passions, talents and interests.
This is usually the moment that parents choose to turn to a tutor. Lower grades can occur for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the learning style in the classroom isn’t best suited to them. Or maybe your child finds a classroom full of other children distracting sometimes. We know as adults that we can’t excel at everything and some things really just need extra explanation. Finding a tutor who engages your child and breaks down topics into understandable chunks could be the key.
We’ve all experienced that feeling where you’re not motivated with your work or things in life generally – so it’s no surprise that our kids feel it too. Sometimes you don’t understand why you’re doing it and sometimes you just don’t understand what you’re doing. Demotivation can strike at any moment. This goes hand-in-hand with disorganisation. When it comes to homework, is your child trying to do it at the breakfast table? Perhaps they used to care a lot more about getting work perfect and now they’ve lost interest.
If your child feels they’re not doing well or keeping up, it could be a lack of confidence. This can turn into a downward spiral and your child may start feeling that they can’t do anything. This will not be true but it can cause your child to give up and become demotivated. Getting a tutor can help bring your child’s confidence levels back up. Loss of motivation often stems from a feeling of not understanding.
Each time you mention school or learning, is it met with negativity? This can be a sign your child isn’t enjoying their lessons or understanding what is being taught. If topics aren’t being understood, children can often lose interest completely. Each morning when you prepare them for school, are you met with anxiety and stress? Are you familiar with those sudden (and suspicious) headaches or stomach pains that kick in before you drop them off at the school gates. If your child gets worked up about the idea of going to the classroom, a tutor can help to provide a more positive outlook towards learning.
The main choice you have to make when choosing a tutor is whether you’d prefer in-person or online learning. There’s no right or wrong answer here and it ultimately comes down to what works best for your child.
The benefit of online is that you can be much more selective with your choice of tutor and choose the perfect person to suit your child. “If your child responds well to video-based learning, this is a great way to make the most of your tutoring time, because no travel is required,” says GoStudent.
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Online tutoring is also highly convenient, aside from not having to travel, it’s also far easier to slot the hours around what works best for your family. What’s more, we also like that online tutoring takes place in the comfort of your own home. Meeting a new tutor can be a daunting experience but comfortable surroundings can certainly make this easier.
Some children learn best through play, others are visual learners. Certain computer games can improve maths skills, while music can make lessons much more memorable.
It can be a good idea to check in with your child’s teacher before choosing a tutor. They will know best about what your child engages with and the best learning techniques to look for in a one-to-one tutor.
Can your child sit down at a task for hours or are they easily distracted? Being able to identify this is important because it allows you to decide the length of the lessons that will be the most suitable. It also helps the tutor prepare materials and activities accordingly.
It’s important to look into tutoring with an aim in mind. If you’re looking to make big academic improvements, you may want to opt for 3-4 tutoring sessions a week. If you are looking for a little extra support perhaps 1-2 hours will suffice. Tutoring platform GoStudent recommends “to ensure long-lasting academic success, then plan to work with your chosen tutor for at least six months, so that you can track progress and see real results, not those that are the product of short-term cramming.”
Check that your tutor or tutor company is a member of the Tutors’ Association. It is the only professional membership body for tutoring and the wider supplementary education sector in the UK.Companies approved by the Tutors’ Association follow a strict and professional code of conduct. You can learn more here: https://thetutorsassociation.org.uk/about
GoStudent is an online teaching platform that is a member of The Tutors’ Association. It offers 1:1 video-based tuition to primary, secondary and college-aged students.
An online teaching platform will offer you the best quality teachers, best value and most security when choosing an online tutor for your child. GoStudent offers courses in 20+ subjects, including English, Maths, Science and ICT, as well as providing specialist tuition for those studying, for example, modern languages or Latin.
The first step is selecting a tutor. Many online platforms offer online catalogues with hundreds of pages of tutors to choose between. It can be highly overwhelming. GoStudent take a different approach. You’re put in touch with one of its experts who helps to clarify what in particular your child needs help with and then they are able to match you with the most suitable online tutor. GoStudent has over 6,000 tutors on its books, so no doubt they’ll find a good match.
It’s then possible to arrange a trial lesson – we know how important it is to know if your child gels with the tutor. You can even book a couple of lessons with a tutor and then decide it isn’t right and switch to another. No problem!
When you sign up for a platform like GoStudent, it’s easy to book your lessons through the platform. You can do this on its mobile app or web app. During each lesson, students and tutors interact live in a virtual classroom, which features integrated functions such as a whiteboard and the option to share a screen and edit documents together.
GoStudent offers highly individualised private lessons, fostering long-lasting and sustainable learning successes by offering a membership-model. Families have access to the best teachers, anytime, anywhere, in a virtual classroom with digital whiteboards, screen sharing and a class recording function for lesson review.
Find out more on GoStudent.org
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