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Hire a tutor in 5 mins, here's how

By Danish Wadhwa,

24 Jan 2020

Many parents haphazardly decide to hire a tutor to help their children.

However, every child has unique needs, along with different mindsets for tutors that you need to consider before hiring. Whether your child is not clear with elementary grammar rules, juggling hard to understand Newton's laws in middle school, or drowning in details of an AP biology class, you really need to help him/her in overcoming the fear of any particular subject. So, what will you do? You need to go through the problems your child face in a subject and figure out whether your child really requires a tutor or not. Investigating the skill, experience, commitment and personality of the tutor is another major task for finding a reliable tutor that can simplify the concepts while making them easier to learn. Here I present to you a list of questions that can help you hire a tutor who can teach in a way your child has always wanted. Know your goals Finding a tutor whose goals aligns with your goals can work wonders for your child’s education.

Following the above principle in mind, start the hiring process by going through your objectives and need to hire a tutor. Do you need a highly qualified teacher? Does your child need help in doing homework? What areas do you want the tutor to focus on: good scores in one subject (chemistry, geometry); clear the concepts (math, reading, science); practical knowledge? How does your child prefer to learn? Is there any particular way, for example, reading, listening, moving, touching, he/she prefers to learn? Is he/she comfortable with both men or women? Does he need extensive nurturing or a little help? How much budget will you be allocating to tutoring? Every family has their monthly expenditures and budgets.

Though hiring a tutor does not hurt your pocket still, you need to consider your budget to let your child enjoy hassle-free tutoring. Dollars and $ense Price plays a major role in deciding whether you will hire a tutor or not.

But the most important aspect to consider here is value. It is not right to say that expensive tutors will always be a good fit, because affordable tutors, sometimes, can also deliver the value of expensive tutors. On the other hand, if a tutor asks for more than you can pay, the chances are he/she is capable of delivering the value you expect him/her to deliver. If the price is what bothers you, and you are not sure about the tutor’s capabilities, you can ask him/her for his academic achievements.

This will clear the picture of the price you should pay to him/her. Ask the following questions while discussing the payment. Do you have any payment policies? How do you prefer to get paid? Develop a professional relationship with your child’s tutor by showing your concern about payment. Ask the tutor whether he/she prefers to get paid through cheques or in cash.

Some tutors expect prepayments while others prefer to get paid after the completion each session. What are your cancellation policies? In case the teaching practices of the tutor do not go well with your child, you will probably have to cancel the next session. Save yourself from any upfront charges by asking his/her cancellation policies in advance. Test your options Keep a check over credentials of tutors you are going to interview.

Do not refrain from asking questions as you need to evaluate their skills to know their educational background: What is your educational background? A tutor must have a college minor in a subject you want him/her to tutor your child.

If you expect a strong educational background, a master degree is a must. How many years of experience does a tutor have? Hunt for a tutor who is experienced in teaching students similar to your child’s age. Try to interview as many candidates as possible.

Make your child part of your hiring process because he/she will be the end person to interact with the tutor. How do you ensure to improve my child’s grades?   Understanding the strategies the tutor will use to improve your child’s grades is important to ensure your child’s overall improvement in a particular subject.

Get to know whether the tutor will take standardized tests, school reports, or consider other forms of evaluation to discover your child’s weak points. How much time will the tutor take to prepare the notes or lessons? Subjects like chemistry are full of numerical and theoretical concepts, and therefore, it takes longer for a Chemistry Tutor to prepare.

Keep yourself ready to pay more to the tutor for the efforts, he/she will put in the study. What tutoring methods do you use? An efficient tutor will try to answer more questions and work on problems with students.

He/she will nurture your child's strengths, prepare individualized materials and spend as much time as possible. What do you expect from me? Good tutors seek the family's help.

They expect parents to contact classroom teachers ask for worksheets and progress report to fasten the process of tutoring. How do you avoid the boredom of any subject? This will give you an idea of tricks he/she will use to keep your child motivated. What time do you prefer to teach? This question will let you know whether the tutor fits your schedule or not. Do you have any specific requirement for a place to tutor? Most tutors usually prefer a public place to tutor, for example, a library. I advise you to select a tutor who is ready to teach at home under your supervision.

This will definitely make the teaching process far better. How long will you tutor? Don’t let the tutor become a crutch.

Get an estimate of average time he/she will take to help your child attain the lost confidence. Partner for results You need to evaluate the performance of your child by keeping an eye on the marks he/she gets on tests.

 Try to attend a session in part if possible but do not disturb the comfort zone of the tutor. Monitor progress   Only your child can tell about the real capabilities of the tutor.

If you don’t find progress after various sessions and your child does not feel confident in the class, it is the time to move on to another tutor. This post guides you about the questions you need to ask a tutor.

Tutoring can really give results in a short time if a tutor is highly experienced in dealing with children of different mindsets.

So hire a tutor that can be a boon for your child career.