Does My Child Need a private Tutor?
Most parents see education as one of the best investments one can ever make. Therefore, the demand for private tutoring continues to grow and private tutoring comes at the top of the priority list even for families with modest income, all in an effort to help their child keep up with his work. Over the years, I came across many parents asking for my help in regards to recommending a private tutor for their child for many different reasons. Some parents feel that their child’s grades are dropping down and that he requires extra one to one assistance. Others invest in private tutoring to overcome the explanation gaps in the classroom or to give their child a high chance of obtaining a seat in a competitive school. Others believe that it is an essential factor in their child’s academic success, so they declare a state of emergency at the beginning of the new academic year, and hire a private tutor whether or not their child needs it and whether or not they can afford the extra financial burden. Many other parents still wonder if their child really needs a tutor…
I must say here, that there is no general, one-size-fits-all answer! The short answer is that I do agree that private tutoring can sometimes make a difference and transform the child’s academic performance, may result in increased self-confidence, improved test scores and in giving a better opportunity to take subjects a little slower and ask all the questions they need to.
On the other hand, private tutoring may have long-term losses as it teaches the child to be dependent even in the simple tasks of critical thinking and problem solving, It instills a lack of accountability for his grades and can result in stress and anxiety due to long studying hours. It can also negatively affect the extracurricular activities. So, it is very important to tutor for the right reasons, as they require effort, time, commitment, and money. To help you have a clearer vision and to discover if tutoring is really the best way to help your child with his studies, simply, ask yourself the following 7 questions:
- Is my child genuinely stuck in his studies or is he merely struggling?
- Have I given my child adequate time to overcome his difficulty on his own?
- Has my child used the resources of the school?
- Is it my decision or my child’s decision and can he handle the pressure of long study hours?
- Can I afford the expenses of a private tutor?
- Will it affect other extra-curricular activities?
- What are my expectations from the private tutoring? To spoon-feed my child, or to motivate and provide him with direction.
Finally…there are always two sides of every coin! Therefore, private tutoring has its benefits and drawbacks, but wisdom comes in making an informed and mature decision for your child so that he does not develop hatred to studies but likes to pursue it with interest.
