A good tutor is hard to come by….be it a Math, Science or an English tutor…or even a tutor to help you prep for a test or exam!
The demand for quality educators outside school is steadily growing. There are many reasons to it. Often parents like to expand their child’s knowledge spectrum beyond the confines of a school curriculum. There could also be genuine concerns with lack of time, or better results, or even preparing children for tests beyond school. It’s no secret that individual or one-on-one tutoring is much more affordable these days with the advent of personalized online tutoring.
Good tutors are an absolute blessing. Other than relieving a parent of some of their worries, good tutors can provide necessary shortcuts, or methods and ways that’ll ease the burden of studying. Also, they can act as mentors and direct a child toward their goals.
Not all tutors are created equal however, and being stuck with a bad one may prove to be counterproductive, or just a waste of precious time and money.
After considering all of the above factors, what should a parent actually look for in her child’s tutor?
Given below is a list of 5 qualities you need to look for before settling on the right tutor for your student.
5 Effective Qualities That Make a Good Tutor
1. Communication:
A good tutor has to be able to communicate effectively. Unnecessary chatter is not good communication! A tutor needs to know how and when to give positive reinforcement so the student is encouraged and motivated to learn better.
A tutor should also essentially know how to keep the parent updated about the child’s progress. Communicating to the student about her strengths, weaknesses, upcoming tests, and learning strategy makes a student confident. The clarity in communication prevents frustration and disgruntlement all around.
2. Attitude:
A positive attitude in a tutor usually rubs off positively on the student and parent. With all types of pressure from peers, teachers at school, and parents, every student has good days and bad days.
However, a tutor needs to make sure that a positive teaching environment is provided at all times and especially right before an exam or a test. Whether it’s a short pep talk, or reviewing a topic, or the mode of study, the student’s interest comes first. Being optimistic is an invaluable asset in a tutor’s armory.
3. Time Management:
A tutor should be able to manage timelines during the course of their lessons, so they are completed in advance and there is sufficient time to revise and provide practice tests for students. A tutor should also maximize teaching time within a tutoring session, and be able to recognize distractions from the students and deal with them immediately.
4. Ability to Connect:
A tutor should be able to build a rapport with a student. This skill is often understated. To begin with, it’s imperative for a tutor to scale down to the student’s level and then raise the child’s ability with appropriate supervision.
A student is often not comfortable sharing her difficulties and drawbacks with a stranger. Here is when a tutor needs to use empathetic communication and break the ice. Talking to the child during a demo tutoring session sets the ball rolling for subsequent tutoring sessions. Eventually, an online tutor is a student’s coach, mentor, and a 2 am friend also!
5. Responsibility:
It’s not a hidden fact that a student’s learning depends on the teacher. Yes! Tutors are responsible for the student’s progress. To make sure that students are not affected by their absence, tutors must try to schedule their holidays according to their student’s academic calendars.
Sometimes, a personal commitment may require the tutor to take a day off, right before an exam. In such situations, tutors must inform the student of their absence as soon as possible. Also, let the student know what to study, and give them some study material if possible.
Here is where an online tutoring platform could come in handy. Not only does online tutoring provide better flexibility, but the tutoring company calls in a replacement tutor with a similar skill set to provide you instant help hence eliminating the possibility of any learning loss.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and not all of these qualities will be apparent immediately. It’s best to get feedback from other students that the tutor has taught before and seek out information from them that’ll help you to recognize the aforementioned traits in your potential tutor.
If you are fortunate to get a good one, think twice about letting them go. Good tutors are hard to come by, after all!