27th March 2015 8:00
By Blue Tutors
Every private tutor goes to a new job hoping that their student’s parents will want to be involved in their tuition. Lessons are more effective if parents are aware of their child’s needs and progress, and can consolidate their learning outsides of lessons. Parental support can range from anything to being aware of what homework was set and encouraging their child to do it, to organising relevant field trips. However, there are times when parental involvement becomes too much, which can be difficult for students to handle. What happens when parents are too involved?
Gauging whether a parent’s involvement is appropriate can be difficult in itself. Many parents are very concerned about their child’s progress, and may want to spend a considerable amount of time discussing that with the tutor. Tutors should always be prepared to discuss the progress of their students with parents, and make them aware of the areas they are working on. This may include discussions after lessons or submitting lesson reports for parents to read later. However, tutors should also set boundaries. For example, some tutors may be prepared to spend a significant amount of time discussing parents’ concerns on the phone outside of lessons, but this is not something that tutors should feel obliged to do, or something that parents should expect. In other cases parents may wish to sit in on lessons, or direct how much homework is set, which can cause problems for both the tutor and their students.
Ensuring that parents are informed and involved in their child’s tuition while ensuring that they do not obstruct progress can be difficult. No tutor wishes to prevent parents from being involved in their child’s education. The most important thing for tutors to do is to involve parents appropriately at the beginning of the course of tuition, and set clear boundaries. They should make sure that parents receive regular reports as to their child’s progress, and keep them informed as to what is being worked on. They should make themselves available to answer concerns, but ensure that communication is kept to a professional level. This may mean telling parents on the phone that they are happy to discuss any concerns, but at the next lesson. Keeping parents well informed from the start is the best way to ensure that tutors and parents work together to help students progress.