Get the Help Your Child Needs
As students progress through schooling, parents often begin noticing academic strengths and weaknesses within their child by observing homework time, meeting with their child’s teacher, or even reviewing grades.
If you begin to wonder about the need for a tutor to help your child in school catch up, keep up, or even stay ahead, consider the following signs to determine if a tutor is right for you.
1: Is your child struggling to keep up in school?
One of the more noticeable signs that your child may benefit from a private tutor is their grades in school. Instead of waiting until the end of the grading period, regularly check their assignments and grades on quizzes and tests. Aside from simply looking at the grades, discuss your concerns with the classroom teacher to determine if the teacher has observed any difficulties in the classroom.
To better help your child, don’t delay in getting them help. Act fast, and hire a private tutor. Most times, concepts in school build upon themselves, and the longer help is delayed, the greater their difficulties will likely be.
2: Is your child experiencing frustration?
Whether your child’s grades are demonstrating the need for a tutor or not, pay attention to their emotions while completing assignments. Do they regularly become frustrated while attempting homework? Are they shutting down or avoiding academic tasks?
This may be your child’s way of expressing that they need help. Stop the frustration, and start the learning! A tutor can help not only with school work, but the success that your child will begin to experience can help build their confidence.
3: Does your child have an identified learning difference or disability?
A learning disability, including dyslexia, is a life long challenge; but with the right support, students with learning differences can achieve.
Specialized instruction is key! A highly trained tutor or therapist who specializes in working with students with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, can design lessons tailored to the unique needs of each child.
Often times, students with learning difficulties require a multi-sensory approach. Meaning, in order for learning to be enduring, students with learning difficulties need to see it, hear it, feel it, and experience it. This type of instruction is generally only provided on a consistent basis in a private or small group setting with a therapist or specialized tutor.
4: Is your child excelling and in need of a challenge?
One misconception about tutoring is that it is solely for students struggling to learn. One advantage of private tutoring is that the lessons are designed to meet students where they are and work towards established learning goals.
Students who have excelled and are not learning is equally as problematic as the student who is struggling and not learning. All students deserve to have their needs met, and private tutoring offers just that to keep students engaged and excited about learning!
“One advantage of private tutoring is that the lessons are designed to meet students where they are and work towards established learning goals.”
Often times, so much of the focus in school is ensuring that all students have reached grade level mastery, unfortunately dismissing the needs of the gifted and talented student. Keep your child ahead by challenging them with enrichment tutoring sessions.
5: Does your child have poor management of time on homework or assignments?
Have you noticed that it takes your child an extended amount of time to complete homework? Even if students are completing the assignments accurately, one question to reflect on is “at what cost.”
At what cost to my child’s personal time, emotional well-being, and self-esteem is it taking my child to correctly complete their assigned work?
This question alone is enough to make any parent wonder if tutoring may be best. The highly motivated, gifted, and/or “teacher pleaser” child typically falls in this category, and can easily hide their academic struggles. Don’t allow your child to continue experiencing this, get them the help they don’t yet know they need.
6: Is your child’s progress lacking in reading and math?
Is your child currently receiving tutoring and/or small group intervention at school, but lacking in progress? It may be time to look for additional help with a private tutor. Even students who are receiving special education services at school, may benefit from one-on-one additional learning therapy or tutoring.
It is important to match the right intervention with the right student need. There is no magic bullet or one-size fits all intervention program because every learner is different.
Think about this way, if you have high blood pressure, you don’t want your doctor prescribing you an antibiotic at random. The same is true for learning. In order for intervention to be effective, students have to be “prescribed” the right type of instruction.
Selecting the right intervention and remediation activities can only be correctly done with the help of a diagnostic assessment. Learn more about Diagnostic Assessments in our article, “How Can Diagnostic Placement Assessments Help with Student Learning?”
ProLearning provides a complimentary placement assessment with every program to develop an appropriate learning plan. Without a plan and identified goals, progress cannot be expected or appropriately measured.
If you notice any of these signs in your child, you may want to consider private tutoring. A certified specialist or academic therapist can help you identify your child’s struggle and design a plan to get them the support they need.
Find out how our experienced and certified tutors, specialists, and dyslexia therapists at ProLearning can work with your child to improve and extend their learning. Contact us today to schedule a FREE consultation and learn more about our program offerings at ProLearning.