Will I make friends? Am I wearing the right clothes? What if I answer a question wrong? Will I get laughed at? Like anyone else, kids want to be accepted and seen as “normal” by their peers. This can cause them to not speak up when they don’t understand something, are falling behind, or even if they’re more advanced than others in their class. For children with anxiety or special needs, a large classroom environment may not be enough to help them reach their academic potential. Academic performance is not the only way a private tutor can help your child excel in school, though. Let’s discover all the ways these teachers for hire will benefit your child’s learning experiences. If your child is getting into trouble in class, struggling with their tests and homework, or even dreading going to school at all, it may be time to look into hiring a private tutor who can help them overcome these issues. Editor’s Note: This article contains sponsored content.
Private Tutors Can Reduce Distractions and Anxiety
Having a private tutor teach lessons at your home (in person or online) creates a safe space for students. Private tutoring means that kids won’t have to face bullies or friendship conflicts in the hallways. Or if they’re really interested in the material and want to learn, they won’t need to struggle to ask a question over the shouting of rowdy class clowns. It may be something as ubiquitous as math anxiety, a condition that plagues upwards of 40% of the student population, by some estimates. How would you respond if your child told you that the prospect of doing math makes them physically ill? A 2015 study by the Stanford University School of Medicine found that after receiving individual tutoring, students with severe math anxiety experienced less fearful reactions and felt more positive about their abilities to work through problems. Students are more likely to be focused and comfortable in their own homes. Here they can communicate one-on-one with an instructor. Kids are much more likely to ask for clarification or ask the tutor to go back over a concept when the fear of “looking stupid” is stripped away.
Tutors Offer One-to-One Attention
Classroom teachers are hard-pressed to find the time to address individual students’ needs. They are constrained by their schools’ curriculum demands and constant pressure to be quick with their teaching, lest the school fall behind in the national ratings. And class sizes are growing ever larger. Tutors’ prime objective is to ensure that their tutees at least grasped, if not mastered the concepts presented in class. Often, this is done by reviewing the material taught in school that day, answering any questions the student might have, and then, monitoring their progress as they complete their homework assignments. A private tutor can give your learners the individual attention and support that they need. They don’t have to rush from one subject to the next, in keeping with administrative mandates. And, they can take the time to make sure your students have mastered fundamental concepts before attempting to build on them. If that were all tutors could do for your kids, they would be well served. But there’s so much more to tutoring.
Tutors as Academic Coaches Build Good Habits
Usually, sports and academics are seen as polar opposites. Academia demands teachers and sports are guided by coaches. What happens when you put the two concepts together? There’s a lot more to going to school than academic success. There’s preparation for school to consider, being of the right attitude, and preparing themselves to be independent and responsible as they go on to high school, college, and eventually enter the workforce. If you tell your kids to lay their clothes out for school, pack their book bags and fix their lunches, you’re nagging. However, if their academic coach instructs them on the value of being organized and prepared, and guides them to good study habits and effective stress reduction techniques, you won’t ever have to tell your students to make sure their clothes are school-ready again. Tutors aren’t just there to make sure your kids learn how to do math, memorize the periodic table, and conjugate verbs. These academic coaches take a holistic approach to student development that, in some ways, flips the concept on its head. These tutors prioritize student practices – study habits, organization, and preparation, over academic pursuits. Of course, these academic coaches also provide academic support. But their approach to mentoring students is grounded in the belief that, if learners are secure in themselves and their approaches to learning and school, their academic ability will naturally follow.
Tutors as Trusted Confidants and Mentors
We hear all the time about students being bullied in school. They’re often too ashamed and miserable to tell you about it, perhaps believing you’d march right to the school to demand that the administrators put a stop to your torture. To be sure, not every school issue is negative. Perhaps your child needs help processing a social phenomenon – a secret TikTok addiction or their climate change worries. Maybe they’re feeling the first blushes of love or they’re uncertain about progressing to the next stage of their formal education. It’s not that your kids don’t love or trust you but, sometimes, you’re too close for them to reveal any issues they may have that are of a more personal nature. That’s why it’s a good idea to provide them with a trusted, vetted confidant who is aware of the issues that today’s students are faced with. Tutors excel at forging trust bonds. They create a safe space where their pupils can take off their kid masks and express themselves openly. And, because they work with kids, tutors are ideally positioned to guide your learners to the answers they seek. Far from simply reinforcing the concepts learned in school and making sure their homework gets done, tutors help your learners discover themselves. Tutoring offers so many academic and social benefits to set children up for long-term success in school. But often parents may feel they don’t have the resources to afford a private tutor for their child. Services like Superprof, an online tutoring platform, offer a range of lessons and tutoring options for families at an affordable rate. The platform will match kids with their perfect tutor to meet their interests in everything from language to math to music! Check out Superprof today to help kids get excited about learning.
