Making private tuition work for your child, preventing time and money wasting

Experience shows me that private tuition can be the catalyst that transforms a student’s performance and changes them from a C/D grade borderline to an A or B student. However, I must say that it does not always work for everyone, as each student’s circumstances are different. Below are some of the reasons why students can fail to benefit from private tuition by a private tutor:

1. Poor, incompetent or inexperienced tutor
2. Inadequate preparation by the teacher, lack of setting work and making work for the student
3. The student’s attitude towards his or her study – such as lack of motivation; becoming complacent by not putting in extra effort to make the best of the private tuition; not being prepared for the lesson
4. A lack of a suitable environment for the teaching to take place. If the private tutor is coming to your house, a suitable area for the tuition to take place should have a large desk such as the dinner table – preferably in a place with natural light. The child’s bedroom is NOT good!
5. Lack of clarity or goals in terms of the improvement desired from the tuition sessions
6. Lack of monitoring of progress by the parent or tutor
7. Failure by the teacher to identify the precise specification or course material the student needs to study
8. Employing an ineffective tutor or attending a bad private tuition centre. The cheapest teacher is often a bad one and not the most effective one; however, a higher rate does not guarantee quality
9. Lateness in seeking the private tutor – for example, the parent not acting on time to get the right tutor

One last point I must mention is that if one of the reasons why you are looking for private tuition is to boost examination grades, it has to be borne in mind that the student still needs to work hard to bring about any real improvement in exam grade. One misconception is to think that because a student has a private tutor, that child needs to work less. The reality is that, in most cases, the student will in fact need to work a little more. However, as opposed to without private tuition, there is a higher chance that the effort of the student will be rewarded with an improved exam grade.

The reason why the student has to work harder is that in addition to doing the normal class and homework assignments from school, a good private tutor or private tuition centre will set additional work for the students. The tutor should check the work, mark it and provide useful feedback.

If you really have to seek private tuition for your son or daughter, you may want to think about the points I have highlighted above and use them as a tick list in order to ensure that your child derives maximum benefit from private tuition.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my last nine blogs on private tuition. Please do comment as we value your views and opinions. I will get back to you next week to inform you of the next series of blogs.

Below is a link to the previous eight blogs on private tuition:

1.  http://excelinkeysubjects.com/your_child-may-not_need-private-tutor/ 
   
2. http://excelinkeysubjects.com/private-tutor-vs-tuition-centre-deciding-best-child/
3. http://excelinkeysubjects.com/worried-child-will-react-seeking-private-tuition/
4. http://excelinkeysubjects.com/questions-ask-tuition-centre-looking-private-tuition/
5. http://excelinkeysubjects.com/signs-good-private-tutor-private-tuition-working-child/
6. http://excelinkeysubjects.com/seven-initial-key-questions-must-ask-employing-private-tutor/
7. http://excelinkeysubjects.com/establishing-credentials-private-tutor-assessing-best-tutor-help-child-succeed/
8. http://excelinkeysubjects.com/can-afford-private-tuition-child/

 

What parents spend on private tuition according to the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/9651689/Parents-spend-6bn-a-year-on-private-tuition.html