Everyone wants to know: is tutoring worth it? We would like to answer that with another question: are you ready to end the homework battle? If so, then tutoring is definitely worth it!
In this unprecedented time where more kids are working from home than ever before, you might be wondering how best to keep your child on track while keeping your sanity. Tutoring can help with that.
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn, author and motivational speaker.
We understand it can be a struggle to help your child find the motivation to do their online work. Here are the top 4 tips to help your family find motivation and develop the habits to keep it up!
4. The Necessity of Homework
When kids attend bricks and mortar school, there is a raging debate about whether homework is necessary for kids to learn. We don’t believe that a copious amount of homework is needed, but students do need some to understand how to work towards a goal and how to put time aside to do so.
Homework teaches children to take responsibility for tasks and how to work independently. Homework helps develop mental habits that will serve them well as they proceed through school and through life. Planning and organizing tasks, managing time, making good choices and problem solving – these are all skills that contribute to effective functioning in the adult world. Is tutoring worth it to teach kids these skills?
There isn’t a class in school called “Homework 101” to teach kids how to do homework. Tutoring is worth it because a tutor can teach a child this super important set of skills! These are life skills that a child will be able to use forever.
3. Using Homework to Teach
Homework is not meant to actually teach a child, but it is used to reinforce good habits. This is an important distinction.
If your child is expected to complete work that they haven’t been taught, a conversation needs to be had with the teacher. (We’ve written an easy-to-use script for having this conversation with the teacher!) When a child is attending bricks and mortar school, this is easier to differentiate. When a child is doing their schooling online, this can be difficult to navigate; however, it still needs to be addressed.
Is tutoring worth it to help with online learning? Online schooling isn’t an excuse for a child to not have instructional time with a teacher. However, hiring a tutor could be a quick solution to this to ensure your child doesn’t fall behind. (To help you with this, we have written a few posts on hiring a tutor!)
Tutoring can be worth it in this case because a tutor can teach your child the curriculum. This alleviates the need for you to be a math wizard or a grammar stickler, and instead you just get to be their parent!
2. What Does Your Child Know?
Often, we hear that homework is not corrected or checked for understanding but checked only for completion. When in bricks and mortar school, a child is then tested for their mark. Then, everyone is surprised when the student who got a perfect mark on their homework (completion) doesn’t do well on the test.
Completed work doesn’t automatically equate to understanding. If you learn that your child is regularly not doing well on their tests but is getting near perfect on their classwork and/or homework, get curious with the teacher. Is the homework being marked for accuracy and understanding? If so, why is your child not doing well on their tests? Do they have a fear around tests? Are the tests not covering what was in the class/homework? If not, then how is your child supposed to know what they don’t know?
Is tutoring worth it for testing your child? A tutor can correct your child’s work. A tutor can go back a grade or two to reinforce a missed concept. A tutor can help them prepare for tests. A tutor can make sure that test anxiety is minimized. In terms of figuring out what your child knows and doesn’t know, a tutor is worthwhile!
1. Confidence & Self-Management, Please
Every single parent we’ve ever met with identifies “confidence” as THE number one goal for their child.
Parent: “I would like my child to have more confidence.”
Child: “I would like to understand.”
Tutoring…With A Twist* Tutor: “Let’s solve this situation together!”
This leads to a series of questions:
- When did your child first start not understanding?
- Has anybody ever made them feel that they just aren’t going to understand it, not matter what they try?
- Are they defined by marks they have gotten in the past?
- Do they feel challenged?
- Is there a pattern to them not understanding?
- Do they see a connection between what they are learning in school and other parts of their life?
- Do they embrace their miss-takes and know that failing is okay?
- Is tutoring worth it to help identify each of these points?
And the list goes on! A tutor can use these questions to chart the course of success for your child.
Parent’s Vision: “A confident child that pulls out their agenda and their schoolwork and completes it, occasionally asking for my input.”
Child’s Vision: “I take out my work and everything I need to complete the work, as I know I can do the work and I understand the expectations of all my teachers and parents. My parents trust me to complete my work.”
While we often see parents and children pitted against each other on the mere mention of homework, we are actually seeing how a child and a parent could be brought together! Pause for a moment to envision your child independently, and maybe even enthusiastically, managing their homework. THIS could be the reason in and of itself to hire a tutor.
Chances are a child will be more confident if the child understands. Hmm…are you seeing what we are? A parent and a child want the same thing when it comes to homework.
Homework can be a real challenge, but it doesn’t have to be! If you think your student could use a little help with their homework, don’t hesitate to contact us to talk about a plan that works for both you and your child. Our ‘twisted’ tutors will be more than happy to help in every way they can.
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*Services provided by With a Twist Education Ltd.