Education is the most essential part of our life for overall growth and development. It not only enlightens us of our interests but also our entire mental setup and outlook towards life. Now, if it is such an essential element in our life, it ought to be taken seriously by both the person studying and the people around him.
No one can be a master in every field of study. Hence, to gain expertise in the field where you are struggling, hiring a teacher or a professional tutor always pays in the long run. A tutor, with a greater understanding of a subject is always better equipped to help you with the intricacies of the subject. But, still one should always monitor the credibility of tutor before you hire one.
Here are some questions you can ask your child’s tutor before or during the tutoring sessions:
1.Qualifications
Before trusting anyone, you must be well acquainted with academic qualifications of the tutor. Knowing about a tutor’s qualifications and teaching experience is an imperative task before you hand over your child’s precious future in the tutor’s hands.
2.Attitude of the Teacher
You should always judge the attitude of the teacher who will be teaching your child. The tutor must be willing to teach and impart knowledge to the child. Do not hesitate to ask several questions regarding the tutor’s academic interests, future plans, expectations from this job. This helps to understand each others’ intentions well.
3.Get the Track Record
Knowing about the tutor’s track record can help you to go through the tutor’s achievement success and grades that had been credited by parents of the tutor’s previous students. It will make you more confident about your child learning with an experienced tutor and getting appropriate guidance in academics.
4.Teaching Approach
Before a teacher starts tutoring, it’s good to be aware about the approach that will be adopted in the course of your child’s learning path. It must be made clear whether the tutor will focus on the analytical skills of the child or pay more attention to his calculative or verbal abilities. You should be aware about whether the instructor will adopt the Common Core or go by the state specified standards for future admissions. It will help you to know in what direction is your child heading to.
5.Further Supplements
Every teacher has a different style of teaching and hence different set of teaching material. A teacher must have access to additional teaching material to ensure success for your child. Therefore, asking the teacher about the availability of extra study material so your child’s learning goes beyond text books and conventionality, to get a better understanding of concepts to excel at school and in life.
6.Homework Assistance
Make sure that the tutor gives your children enough work to reinforce the concepts taught during the tutoring sessions. It aids them in understanding the subject better and retaining it for longer too. The teacher here must be enquired about expectations from the child regarding how much work he intends to give the child for prompting a sense of self – dependency in the student.
7.Regular Feedback
To ensure progress of the child with regard to the subject, as a parent, you must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your kids and how they will be being enhanced and eliminated respectively. Ask for a regular feedback from the tutor to ensure your child’s progress. Knowledge of your ward’s academic progress also allows you to help your child its time to decide the future academic course.
8.Availability
Being aware about the availability of the teacher, is imperative for a parent and the student to be able to receive help whenever required. Ask if the tutor is available on mail or through any other medium so your child can get immediate help just before an exam or test. If a teacher is never available at the time of need, then the problem persists and eventually it’s only your child who stands to lose.
9.Track Progress
Just a passive practice of teaching is less helpful for your child as compared to the active engagement with regard to the teaching environment. A teacher, in order to test the learning abilities of the child must be aware of the performance and the level of comprehension of the child after every lesson. Hence, parents must ask the teacher regarding about the methods that will be used for evaluating the growth of your child. The tutor must be asked to give proper assignments to the child with impromptu test sessions along with an accurate feedback to you. Whether the teacher is using the method of tests, or assignments or homework, only important thing is to track the development of your child and study the direction towards which all the efforts are leading.
A tutor to a great extent is responsible to shape a child’s future. Hence, parents have a complete right to be aware of the specifics of the teacher in order to place their child in safe hands.