If you’re hiring a tutor, you should expect excellence. Choose someone supportive, flexible, and experienced.
If you’re hiring a tutor, you should expect excellence. Choose with these three in mind and you’ll be better posed for success: Supportive, flexible, experienced.
A tutor should support the student. Emotional, academic, and, above all, supportive of the student’s learning goals. I always ask why I’m being hired. Is it to improve grades? To support a learning difference? To finally figure out what the teacher is saying and ease frustration? My approach may be different, depending on the goals of the student. You should expect a tutor to align to YOUR needs, not the other way around.
Flexibility is key. Schedules change, needs change, even the mood and whims of students can change. The important thing is to move with those changes and adapt instruction to the situation. A supportive teacher will flex with a student or situation and do the best job possible to support the student.
Experience is extremely important. New teachers may have deep content knowledge but lack the teaching skills necessary to reach most students. My experience over 13 years with many different students and their myriad challenges helps me to work more effectively and efficiently. That’s easy on the gradebook AND pocketbook!
Look for a supportive and flexible tutor with experience to spare and you’ll be off to a great start. All students deserve great support. Find the educator that’s right for you and settle for nothing less.