30th April 2012 12:05
By Blue Tutors
Are your kids smarter than you?
Ladue News today (12/04/2012) has an article which addresses the issue of when and why to call a tutor. The writer, Russell Hyken, is a psychologist and parent, who has himself experienced the feeling of helping with homework of which he wasn’t entirely sure.
Hyken says that kids learn in new ways now, using tools that weren’t available in ‘his day’ and the standards expected of high schoolchildren are so much higher than before. Owing to this, he says, “many families are hiring private tutors. In years past, these professionals were often only used when students struggled. Nowadays, tutors are employed to boost GPA and to prepare for admission tests. Additionally, there are professional businesses and academic camps that promise to improve your student’s work habits and help your child realize their full potential. Tutoring is a $3.5 billion, consumer-driven industry.”
Parents are, quite simply, sometimes out of date, unable to help with homework because the homework has changed, the bar has been raised and learning has moved on apace in the last 20 years!
As Hyken points out “Tutors are not babysitters, homework-doers or substitute parents; rather, a tutor is one who motivates, asks probing questions and fosters independent thinking. And lastly, a tutor, especially a good one, takes the pressure off parents, such as myself, to prove that they are, in fact, ‘smarter than a fifth grader.’”
http://www.laduenews.com/living/kids-parenting/ln-parenting-when-to-call-a-tutor/article_78befcba-7f40-11e1-af96-0019bb30f31a.html