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What to Discuss with a Home Tutor Before Hiring
Home tuition has proved time and time again how effective it is and how much it benefits the students to achieve their academic goals and improve their skills, confidence, and grades. However, with the growing popularity and demand for home tuition also comes the rise of the number of aspiring home tutors. Hiring a good home tutor for your son or daughter is the first step into helping them achieve their goals. However, before hiring a home tutor, there should be some questions parents should ask and discuss about the home tutor they are thinking of hiring.
While parents only want the best quality education they can give their children, selecting the correct home tutor to assist with the task is vital to jumpstart the process. We’ve listed down some of the things parents should consider when hiring a home tutor for their child.
Who will do the tutoring?
Before we dive deeper into the more complicated things that comes with hiring a home tutor, parents must first know who will be tutoring their child. If parents opt to use a home tuition agency, then they can look into the tutor profiles shared with them by the company before engaging in a home tutor. They can see the names, background, and all the necessary information of the home tutor. If parents also work with a tutor, they can also talk with the tuition agency and find out how much influence they have in the selection process. It’s a good thing that FamilyTutor has a policy of matching the home tutors according to the student’s needs, that way the lessons would be more concentrated and personalized according to their needs.
If parents also choose to engage in an online tutor, they can also ask whether the company employs tutors from outside of the country in case there might be some language barrier problems. If possible, get to know the home tutor first before you hire them. It will also guarantee the parents that they already have an idea who and what kind of person will be handling their child.
What are their qualifications and experience?
What are their experiences in teaching the subject your child struggles in?
The more you know about the home tutor’s background, the more you’ll cement your choice to hire the tutor or not. While it’s not necessary for a home tutor to be a credited teacher, it will still make a difference if parents note that the home tutor is an expert at a certain field or subject. If parents can also find out about their educational background, it will also be helpful.
If parents can also ask and know about their credentials, they an also be guaranteed that the home tutor they will be hiring is actually the person they claim to be. Remember that becoming a home tutor doesn’t necessarily require a teaching certificate and the such. However, it will give a sense of security to know the home tutor’s background and experience, especially if they will be dealing with a student with special needs.
What’s their track record?
In addition to their qualifications and experience, it’s also important to discuss their previous employers and their references. By having a glowing track record of satisfied families from the home tutor’s services, parents can also rest assured that the home tutor isn’t just an effective one but also someone who values the building of relationship between the student and parents. If a home tutor is known to be aloof or have previous problems with their employers, parents might be a little more apprehensive to engage in those.
How long will the lessons/sessions take?
Tutoring sessions usually last from an hour to an hour and a half. Teenagers and older students can handle lessons for an hour or so however, as a parent you should also ask and think if your child is capable of concentrating and focusing on lessons for that amount of time.
If you are apprehensive if the student can handle the time for the sessions, you can talk to the home tutor and ask for their opinion or even suggestions. For some students, a thirty to forty-minute session would suffice more than an hour long. Consider also the subject that the home tutor would be teaching. If the student isn’t as excited for the subject, then it’s better to not let the lessons drag on as that will just drain the student rather than help them.
At the same time, discuss with the home tutor also how the lessons would flow. Talk about their plans and organization of the lesson. It will not only give parents an idea of how the tuition will proceed, but it will also open up the topic of what works and what wouldn’t work on the child.
How many other students are also being tutored?
As home tuition is mostly done 1-to-1, the time spent with the student is vital. It’s good to know that a home tutor has other students they are also tutoring. It will not only show that they are actually capable in their job and that many clients also found them impressive enough to hire them. However, if there are too many students being tutored by the tutor, maybe you should consider other options.
While the reasons above hold true, more students mean more responsibility. If they are tutoring more students, the focus on your child might not be as deep or as concentrated. With more students being tutored, there is bound to be some times that the home tutor might need to leave early or arrive late. Time in home tuition is limited and should be used wisely.
What are the means of communication to use?
As a parent, you should also ask the home tutor their preferred means of communication and how often they can get in touch. It doesn’t mean that talking to the home tutor after every session with your child is already sufficient. Sometimes, there will be issues that needs solving outside or past the sessions. Some home tutors have a preferred time they want to be contacted. To help communication run smoothly, you can list down their preferred means of communication and communication hours.
As such, there should also be communication between your child’s tutor and their teacher. To help make sure that the student can reach their optimal potential and reach their goals, there should be a collaborative work between the teacher and the tutor. As a parent, you’ll act as the bridge towards a smooth and easy communication between them.
Check out this article to learn more about building communication with your child’s tutor and teacher.
How will progress reports happen?
Discussion of the lesson plan and course of action should be done at the beginning of tuition. Relating to that should also be the discussion of how the progress will be measured and how often you can expect progress reports.
It’s easy to set a goal for the child but knowing the methods on checking their progress in reaching that goal should also be discussed. Some home tutors rely on the scores the students will get during exams to give reports on their progress. However, also consider their progress in terms of their ability to retain lessons or study habits. Some students also struggle with confidence and a home tutor can also give progress reports about that.
Some home tutors prefer to give regular progress reports while others give them once a week or so. Talk with the home tutor how frequent they can and negotiate with them according to how frequent you want to receive them, too.
How can you help in your child’s progress?
While some parents think of home tutoring as magic, understand that nothing happens overnight. Progress is a process and happens differently for different people. While home tuition does prove to be effective in helping students who struggle, you should also do your part as a parent to support your child in their progress. Ask the home tutor on how you can help your child’s learning when the tuition ends or if the tutor is not there.
Conclusion
Hiring a home tutor can be a tedious process especially since parents only want quality education for their child. But there are many ways parents can ensure to get the best home tutor for their child. The tips stated above are only some of the ways you can get to know the home tutor first before hiring them to ensure you get the right one.
Thinking of hiring a home tutor for your child? Check out FamilyTutor, the best home tuition agency in Singapore. We have home tutors in 28 districts of Singapore, offering over 200 subjects such as Math, Science, and different languages. We provide tuition to students from pre-school to even beyond university level students. We also make sure to match our home tutors according to the student’s needs. In FamilyTutor, we only want the best for your sons and daughters.
Interested in becoming a home tutor? Click here to apply!
Carelle
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.
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About FamilyTutor!
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!
If you need an excellent home tutor, feel free to call/WhatsApp us at +65 8777-2168! Our matching service is free!
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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.
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