To Tutor, Or Not To Tutor
Today's world is increasingly competitive. Many parents, in an effort to make life easier for their kids, are digging deep into their bank accounts to help improve their children's scholastic performance. This desire has made supplementary education (tutoring) a major growth industry.
From hip commercials for educational services promising significant results "in just six weeks" to bookstore shelves full of expensive self-help guides, parents are inundated with reminders that there may be more they can do to help their children make it through school. Whether through misplaced guilt or the feeling that more is better, parents can easily be overwhelmed by academic promises from the marketplace.
Ask the Teacher
Before selecting a tutoring service, parents should seek advice from their child's teacher. Be warned that many teachers have a negative view of tutors. Although their parents might be loath to admit it, some children learn the art of manipulation before they master the three R's, and many tutors fall victim to clever students who cry ignorance for the purpose of having the tutor essentially do their work for them. All seems well until the child has to write a test or perform an in-class assignment without benefit of the tutor's special help. It's certainly not something that slips by all tutors, but it happens.
How Much Will It Cost
Tutoring can range anywhere from $10 per hour for an elementary or high school student to $80 per hour for a consultant to help with a special need (prices vary mostly dependent upon training). Tutors may work one-on-one with your child, with small groups of students, or in larger workshops to review for exams. The business of education outside the school system extends far beyond the individual tutor to educational summer camps, student mentorship programs, and specialized assistance that can cost literally hundreds of dollars. The educational assistance industry is completely unregulated, so it is of the utmost importance that parents take a buyer-beware approach.
Some Things to Consider
So, what's a parent to do? As in any other service you might buy, don’t be taken in by good salesmanship and promises.
If your child is having difficulty because school makes him or her feel overworked or bored, tutoring may not be the answer. Many tutoring programs can be more of the same and may intensify these learning difficulties, especially if the student is not self-motivated. A lot of turoting is of the "skill and drill" variety and this can quickly lead to boredom (even TV game shows are only half an hour long). A system of "test, teach, test" does not necessarily lead to enhanced learning.
Private enterprise educational services may be overly optimistic (can you say exaggerate?) about what they can accomplish for your child. Some even rely on parent's guilt about being too busy to help out their kids, or fears about their children's future. This guilt and worry can be very expensive.
Unless it is based on a proper assessment of a student's abilities, a tutoring program may easily lead to unrealistic expectations for students and parents.
One of the criticisms of mandatory provincial exams in the higher grades is that teachers are forced to "teach to the test." Preparing for the process of the test becomes the focus rather than the actual content. In other words, real learning is replaced with stressful rote memorization. Beware of learning services that show test results as an example of academic success for your child. It is easy to "teach" a child twenty answers and then ask the twenty questions that match them. When a child finishes school, he or she will quickly forget the answers to tests. It is the skills and knowledge he or she walks away with that are truly important.
