For most parents finding a tutor will likely include asking advice from other parents, online searches or using an agency.
Reviewing profiles online or taking advice from other parents can help identify people who have the right subject knowledge to help your child. However, it’s important to remember that it can be more difficult to get a read on whether this person will fit the learning style of your child and make that all important connection to ensure a positive learning experience if you’re only reading profiles.
That’s why we offer a free meeting, so that parents and students can meet their tutor beforehand to make sure they’re the right fit. Plus, we find free meetings help students get comfortable working with a new tutor, so they can hit the ground running.
So how can you make sure you’re choosing the right tutor?
What to look for in a tutor
Ultimately as a parent you’re looking for bright, engaging person who your child will want to learn from and as such improve academically.
Most parents find that meeting a tutor live is the best way to make the all-important decision of who will help your child. In reality, you will want to meet more than one tutor. However the practicalities of meeting 2-3 people in person as we juggle busy schedules can make this difficult.
This is where the use of online can help speed up the process of selection allowing busy parents to meet more tutors and hopefully find the right match for their child. At MyTutor we encourage all parents to use our free “meet the tutor” session as part of the process.
When meeting with a tutor, what is the best way to assess if they are the right fit for your child’s needs? You will know a few things about the tutor in advance of the meeting, such as the subjects they tutor in, how frequently they do this and possibly some reviews from other parents.
What happens in a free meeting?
Our free meetings are a 15 minute introductory chat for you and your child to meet their tutor, ask questions and decide if it’s a good match.
There’s no set structure to the meeting, but we recommend coming with questions you’d like to ask and give some time for your child to speak too.
Here are a few key objectives to consider for these meetings:
- Check academic fit: For example, does the tutor have experience with the exam board my teen is on? Have they previously covered the period in history required or what’s their experience teaching the texts for English being studied?
- Assess personality fit for your child: While there is no exact science to this, a great way to illuminate the nature of the tutor is to have them go through a short sample question with your child.
You can get a view on their approach and style of tutoring and experience the online classroom in real life. This will also ensure your child is involved so that they can help choose the person they will most enjoy learning from in the coming weeks and months. - Discuss the logistics: Arrange the frequency, time of day and over what period of time you expect tutoring lessons to happen to ensure this works for all parties.
The investment of time to find the person who your child relates best to so that they want to be tutored will pay itself back as you see your child’s enthusiasm for the subjects improve and their confidence grow as they approach their exams.