When hiring a tutor you want to take the time to make sure you are finding the right person for your child. Investing in a tutor can have many beneficial outcomes for your child, given you find someone who is a perfect fit. So, how do you make this happen? How do you find that perfect fit? There are many things to consider when you are shopping around for a tutor. Make sure to have a list of questions or a checklist prepared as you conduct your search. This will help you know if you are on the right track. Here are the 5 most important things to consider when you are in the process of hiring/interviewing tutors.
#1. Before you start interviewing different tutors make sure you have a good grasp on your child’s academic needs. Ask yourself why your child needs a tutor. Does your child have a learning disability and needs extra support? Is it a motivation boost they need? Is your child unorganized and need help staying on top of their work? Study skills support? Homework completion? Behavioural challenges? Narrow it down before you make any calls.
#2. What are the tutor’s qualifications/certifications and teaching experiences? Since you are looking for professional academic support, the tutor should be a registered Teacher with the Ontario College of Teachers (or equivalent). If they are not registered, they should at the very least have Education training and a post-secondary degree in the field of Education. Depending on the needs of your child, you should ask if they have any ‘additional qualifications’ (AQs)- which means specialized training obtained at the University level in specific areas (ie; special education, reading, math, french, etc.). Have they ever tutored or taught kids the same age as yours? Do they have experience with the curriculum content your child is working on at school? Have they worked with kids who have similar needs to yours? Dig in and find out! An added bonus would be if they were qualified and experienced in more than one area and grade level. Once you find that perfect tutor you don’t want to have to give them up when your child moves on to the next grade.
#3. Where does collaboration fit on the tutor’s agenda? Any good tutor will be more than willing to communicate and collaborate with your child’s classroom teacher(s). This is super important for the sake of consistency between home and school. It’s always beneficial for the child to be using consistent learning strategies across different environments. Tutors and teachers should be communicating to share what strategies work and don’t work. It’s also important for the tutor to understand the teacher’s expectations so the tutoring sessions can be geared in that direction. There should always be a bridge between school and home. Open lines of communication work wonders!
#4. When choosing a tutor, you have to find someone who fits into your family’s lifestyle. If you are busy juggling multiple kids’ schedules, you might benefit from a tutor who will come to you vs. you going to them. A tutor with scheduling flexibility is also beneficial, should you want to add in or move around sessions based on test and assignment dates. Standing appointments are important for consistency, however sometimes a little wiggle room is needed. Weekend availability is a bonus if you are the type of family that is scheduled with extra-curricular activities after school, during the week.
#5. Approach is everything! Ask the tutor how they approach their sessions. Two key words to listen for in this responses are; rapport and motivation. A good tutor will always focus on building a positive relationship with your child before diving into anything too intense. Your child has to feel comfortable with the tutor in order to be productive throughout their sessions. There also needs to be a feeling of trust that comes from building good rapport. On the same note, understanding motivation is key. All learners perform based on some type of motivation- for some it’s getting a good mark, for other’s it’s task completion, for some it’s a simple external reward that has nothing to do with school (for example; getting an extra special dessert for finishing homework). Understanding motivation is a critical part of learning. It’s super important that your tutor is going to use your child’s strengths to boost their weaknesses. We all need to feel success to stay motivated!
Finding that perfect tutor might take time, don’t rush the processes. Take the opportunity to speak to more than one tutor so you have an idea of how different tutors operate. When I hirenew tutors to join my team of Learning Specialists at Cori Stern & Associates, I always consider the first impression they make during their interview. Tutors inadvertently act as mentors for their students. So you should get the impression that they are confident, personable, friendly, outgoing, warm, and well spoken. Go with your gut feeling! If you walk away feeling good about it, your child will likely have the same impression.