Tutors - How Selecting the Right Tutor Makes a Difference

.

I am a public school teacher. My wife is a public school teacher. My peers are public school teachers. It seems that there is a common frustration among all of us. So many times in our schools, we see teachers struggle to give the attention each student needs in overcrowded classrooms. The child who is falling behind is getting frustrated because he needs someone, anyone, to help him through this one topic but he can't get the attention he needs in a classroom of thirty-plus students. That one topic of frustration becomes two topics (because the second topic builds off the first) and then two topics becomes three and so until the student is so frustrated, he or she gives up entirely. Then there is the gifted student who finishes their work quickly but sits for a majority of the class waiting for others to catch up. The gifted student falls behind, not on the grade book, but rather towards fulfilling their potential. Then there is the student with the learning disability or the attention disorder; you can imagine how they feel.

So many wonderful teachers out there are doing their best to meet these students needs but it is near impossible nowadays. Classes are held in rooms that were previously closets or in dilapidated trailers and class sizes increase every year. The need for supplemental education to support students has become more important than ever.

Parents usually have a couple places they can turn. They will ask a neighbor who might then refer them to someone down the street they heard was a teacher. Or they will ask the guidance office at the school who will give them a list of twenty tutors or tutoring services. They might ask the teacher as well, but most schools will not allow teachers to tutor students from the same school for compensation and the time the teacher gives after or before school just isn't enough.

The problem the parent runs into is the fact that, even if they find a tutor, they don't know anything about the tutor. They don't have a background on the tutor. They know very little about their qualifications. They don't if the tutor's schedule will fit theirs. And then there is that awkward conversation about price (made even more awkward if it is a friend or neighbor).

Those are the barriers to finding good tutors. A tutoring service can help but it's important to ask these key questions:

1. How do I know if the tutors in your service are qualified? 2. Do I have any choice in the tutor I can select? 3. Will I be able to see profiles or backgrounds and qualifications of ALL your tutors so I can make the choice? 4. How do I know which tutors service my area? 5. How do I know which tutors fit my schedule? 6. How much will this cost? Is the tutoring service upfront with pricing or do they make you call their number and set-up a consultation before you know the price? 7. If I am not totally satisfied with the tutor, can I switch quickly?

When my wife and I created our tutoring business, we decided to make sure that these answers were upfront on our website. We carefully selected and pre-screened our tutors, including extensive interviews, criminal background checks, and reference checks. We posted their qualifications, philosophies, teaching styles, and schedule availability on the site. We posted pricing information clearly for the parent. We posted our philosophy. We made it so parents could schedule tutors right on the website immediately. It was our goal to make finding an effective tutor affordable and convenient. These are the gaps we found when we saw parents searching in vain for tutors. These are the things you should be looking for when you choose a tutoring service.Remember, your time is valuable and having the power to choose the educator who will be spending so much time with your child is something you should not take lightly.

The author of this article co-founded WakeTutors.com (http://www.waketutors.com) as the only tutoring service that allows parents to choose from carefully selected, pre-screened, highly qualified tutors AND schedule a tutoring session from the comfort of home.

He has extensive teaching experience of all grade levels and received his Masters in Education from George Washington University. He also received an Excellence in Education Grant from The Washington Post.