1st November 2019 14:49
By Blue Tutors
A crucial part of tutoring is the communication between the tutor and the student’s parents. In contrast to school teachers, tutors are able to speak with parents after every lesson, and taking advantage of this opportunity can improve the student’s lessons and allay parents’ fears.
The best parents don’t interfere with what a tutor is trying to do, but are also very keen to know exactly what’s going on and what they can do to help. We often suggest that a preliminary meeting will help lessons to run more smoothly. It helps to set the tutor’s expectations and the student and parents’ expectations of the lessons and it helps tutors to understand what sort of relationship they will have with the family.
It’s commonly thought that parents expect an arranged meeting every few weeks before or after a lesson for 10-15 minutes, but the reality is very different. A more natural chat after lessons can be more regular and keeps everyone aware of the student’s progress. Obviously parents don’t want the details of how each lesson has gone, they’re much happier just to check that things are going well and trust the tutor.
The infrequent chats give tutors a chance to subtly broach any issues that may have arisen such as the student not completing homework. Parents might also ask tutors to give more homework or increase the focus on exam preparation, and this gives the tutor the chance to agree or give the parent feedback about why their suggestions might not be the best approach. The student doing well is everyone’s goal, and tuition works best when tutor and parents see themselves as a team who are trying to help.