There are some children that obviously need more help than others with their education. This often goes well beyond just schoolwork and at times kids need to be re-taught the basics so that they can understand more advanced concepts. This is why millions of parents opt to hire a home tutoring service.
Also, a home tutoring service can be beneficial for parents who have children with special needs, and because of that they have to be schooled at home or they may have a child who is suffering from a particular illness or an injury which prevents them from attending school. But locating a tutor you trust will take time. You always want to make sure that you are allowing a good and experienced person into your home to tutor your child regardless of age or gender.
Contact the local board of education
Perhaps one of the most common sense places to start would be at the board of education. The board usually has a list of home tutoring services who may be willing to come to your home and teach your kids. However, it will be up to you to find out if the board checks credentials and runs a background check every few years on tutors on their list. There are some boards in the world that do this and so you’ll need to find out if your particular board maintains a clean list.
If they do not check credentials and run background checks then it’s up to you to do it.
Contact the local home schooling organization
Almost every country in the developed world has a home schooling organization with a list of teachers / tutors that they recommend. However, here too it is up to you to ask if they check credentials and run background checks on the teachers. But if not then it’s up to you to perform these tasks.
The rule of thumb when you are searching for a home tutoring service is just a recommendation even by a friend is not enough reason to hire a tutor without getting concrete data on them given the fact that some of the most dangerous people may come across as being charming.
Use a tutor referral
The good thing about these so called tutor matching services is that they are really quick to match you up with the nearest and best tutor near you. However, we strongly advise that you only use a service which is recommended by the Better Business Bureau, this is because there have been reports of similar scams which do nothing but take your money or they may not be 100% honest often getting a commission from the tutoring service.
Ask the service as to how they screen tutoring services and process them to ensure that they are really good and have experience. That said even with all this you shouldn’t take a tutor matching service’s word, always gather some of your own data.
Meet with the tutor
After your security and credential requirements have been met you should meet with the tutor. Initially you will want to meet with the home tutor but in the absence of your child. This is because you will want to make sure that the tutor is really as good as he or she says prior to getting your child’s input. When you do schedule a meeting with your child and your tutor in the same room you need to note how well both of them interact with each other.
Always consider your child’s opinion since it is he who will be spending the most time with the tutor and if he does not like the tutor chances are that the purpose will not be fulfilled.
Maintain a close proximity
Even leading tutoring services like S4S Coaching recommends that parents stay close by when their child is working with a tutor. This is because in spite of all the background checks and criminal checks, this is a total stranger and you shouldn’t trust strangers just because they check out. The safety of your child is top priority. Any professional tutor will both respect and understand the concern you have for your child and will allow you to be present.
Citations:
- Home tutoring can be satisfying and flexible
Mark has over 30 years of experience in the education industry. Over the years he has taught hundreds of kids and dozens of teachers. In his experience good home tutoring can be invaluable for children whose parents see the need for them to improve their grades. It’s money well spent if a really good tutor is hired.
