As the home tuition industry continues to prosper, especially with the world’s current situation, there are more and more students who are turning to the help of home tutors to assist them in their lessons. There are many benefits students can get from tuition but as everything else, it’s a team effort. As parents, it’s also important for you to build a strong and professional relationship with your child’s tutor.
But why is this? After all, it’s the child who’ll be given tuition. This may be the case, however, as stated above, it takes more than the home tutor to help the child reach their academic goals. The parents are also involved in the process for support and assistance, as much as the home tutor is.
When the parent and the tutor have good dynamics, it makes the exchanging and discussion of ideas easier and more open. Both parties can freely speak to each other without any reserve, and more ideas will be unlocked when parents and tutors can talk to each other as a team. There are also many other reasons other than this, such as easier access to resource materials given by tutors, communications outside tuition sessions, and discussions during progress reports. Overall, even though both parties will benefit from the relationship, the one who will the most will still be the child.
Having a good relationship with the people educating their child, whether it be teachers or tutors, is probably the best way for the parent to support their child’s academic progress. Remember that both the parents and tutors only have one goal in mind, and that is to give the best quality education to the student.
As a parent, you know your child more than the tutor. However, while you are familiar with your child, you don’t know everything about them. This is especially true in academics and their school life. Of course, while teachers will also give reports, they can’t address everything due to the number of students. So, partnering with the home tutor will be the best way for the parent to also get to know the child and how well or bad they are doing in class.
This also goes the other way. Since the parents know their child, they can also open up with the tutor some issues or struggles the child has that they might not be open to talk with the home tutor immediately.
If the tutor can share with the parents about their child regarding academics, the parents can also share things outside of the academe. By keeping up with the struggles or weaknesses the child may have, both parties can work together to help the child be better—academically and beyond.
Because you are the parents, as stated before, you know your child better than the tutor, if not the best. Additionally, you not only know much of what the child’s likes and dislikes, you also know about their personality. What are they like? Are they energetic or not? Are they patient and like learning? Aside from this, the parent will also have an idea what kind of learner the child is long before the tutor can diagnose the child.
Remember that the more the home tutor knows about the child, the easier they can formulate a plan of action to help the child and engage them in their lessons. With the information the parent may share with the tutor, the teacher can also already customize the tuition to be given to the child before the first session. Aside from this, they can already fit and adapt their approach according to the child’s personality, interest, and learning style.
It’s called a team effort for a reason. Since parents aren’t actively the ones teaching in tuition, they can support the child through other ways. However, they should still be involved in the child’s learning process. Sometimes, the support alone can be the only difference the child may need to spur and motivate them to do better.
There are also many ways for the parents to assist their child such as helping them with their homework. But also keep in mind that helping them do their homework is not the same as doing it for them. Parents can also help the child learn valuable time management skills and discipline, like letting them decide how much time they can allot for their homework and hobbies. Sometimes, by simply asking them about school and how their day went are also more than enough.
If parents want to take it a step further, they can also inquire with the child’s teacher about their homework and also discuss which areas they can improve. This is the same with the home tutor. Parents can also consult with the home tutor how they can help and assist outside tuition hours.
Just like any form of relationship, communication is essential. In partnering with your child’s home tutor, communication between both parties should be done at the regular. Again, there are many signs communication is effective. Set aside a time to discuss the child’s progress that doesn’t just touch the surface. This time should be given to properly talk about their improvement and possible setbacks, as well as measures to take to help them overcome these problems.
The parent and the tutor should also agree on a means of communication to reach out to each other easily should an issue arise on their ends. However, as parents, be mindful of the tutor’s time and schedule also. Talk with the tutor during the hiring process if they are open to emails, phone calls, etc. or if they prefer a certain schedule when they can take calls and messages.
It wouldn’t hurt to be approachable and friendly to your child’s home tutor. By adopting a positive composure, you’ll be making them feel comfortable with the environment and it also speaks that they can approach you should there be an issue with the child.
As such, the parent should continue to give off this impression even if the child doesn’t perform as projected. When discussing about the child’s improvement and performance, may it be in their practice exams, keep your emotions aside and don’t let it go rampant and dictate you. Let the tutor explain how the child may have underperformed and think of possible ways to solve these problems, rather than pointing fingers.
There will be many instances where the tutor and the parent may have different views as to how tuition should go or how the child should be educated. A clashing of ideas is natural especially when the concern is about the child’s academics. Remember, though, that “Great minds think alike, but fools rarely differ.” Having a different point of view doesn’t mean that one is ultimately right and the other is wrong. Keep an open mind and respect every suggestion and respect the tutor.
Letting your emotions run free may just open up a floodway of things you might regret later on. And what’s worse, this may also set the child back even further and affect them, instead of helping them improve.
While home tutors are expected to give progress reports every now and again, parents shouldn’t just wait for it to be handed down to them. Take for example, if parents are called to school for a meeting to discuss the child’s school performance. During this time, it’s best to also take notes of the things the teacher has opened up during the meeting to relay the information to the tutor.
These points can also be important and should be discussed with the tutor. The points given by the teacher can be the basis to revise the tuition or to add something that may help the child improve quicker.
The same can be done when home tutors are to give progress reports. Parents should also take notes and seek clarifications from the tutor in case there are things they don’t understand. The parents can also use the previous notes to ask questions for the next progress reports. Aside from this, documentation can also help the child as they can see how much they’ve improved over the course of the tuition.
Building a good relationship with your child’s home tutor can benefit the child in the long run in more ways than one. As there is a mutual effort to help the child, it can also positively impact the child and result in them doing better and gaining motivation in their studies. In a team, all participants have equal share of work to for a mutual goal. The same goes for tuition, in which the team only has the goal of helping the child be the best version of themselves academically or otherwise.
Want to hire a tutor for your child? Check out FamilyTutor, the best home tuition agency in Singapore. We offer over 200 subjects such as Math, Science, and English to different levels from pre-school to even beyond university. We also have a wide array of highly qualified and skilled home tutors ready to give your child the best quality education and achieve their academic goals!
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
FamilyTutor is an established home tuition agency in Singapore! We match suitable home tutors for our clients not just to improve the students' academic grades, but also to build a strong rapport and meaningful relationship with the students and even the their whole family. FamilyTutor put every student in good hands!
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FamilyTutor is an established and the people’s favourite home tuition agency in Singapore! We match a suitable tutor for you not just to improve the student’s grade, but also to build a good rapport and meaningful relationship with the student and even with the student’s whole family! With FamilyTutor, every Singaporean son & daughter is in good hands.