21st September 2018 9:00
By Blue Tutors
One of the pieces of advice we give to parents at this time of year is to think about their long-term plan for tuition. Too often a private tutor is seen as a saviour, someone to come in and fix a problem when a student realises they are drowning in their schoolwork. This isn’t the best time to get a tutor, and reminds us of a saying in teaching: it’s always easier to teach something for the first time than to correct something which has been taught badly.
By planning a course of lessons with a tutor, parents can ensure that their child doesn’t fall behind, and isn’t left feeling lost before requesting a tutor. This isn’t a tuition agency creating a need that doesn’t exist; if parents decide that their son or daughter only needs to see a tutor once every fortnight or even once every month then that’s great if it’s frequent enough for the student to keep on top of their studies. We actually find that last minute tuition results in families paying more in a short period of time than if they had planned the lessons earlier.
Consistent lessons during the school year means the tutor can follow the syllabus with the student and ensure understanding of the topic which the student is currently studying in school. It’s so much better for a student to have a deep understanding of each topic as it’s studied, rather than misunderstanding a number of things and waiting for a tutor to explain topics which were introduced months ago.
Maybe the biggest advantage of long-term tuition is the relationship which develops between the tutor and the student. A week of 4 hour lessons each day leaves both tutor and student feeling as though they’ve just met. There is no time to get comfortable in each others’ company, and no time for the tutor to get to know how the student learns best, and how to motivate them. Obviously intensive tuition does still help, but when lessons take place every week for an hour over the course of 9 months, the value of each of those hours keeps getting better and better.