A parent will always try to act in the child’s best interests. The parent wants to give their child the best chance possible for success in all facets of their child’s life, and they frequently make sacrifices to do so.
A good education is one of the fundamental pillars a parent can give to their child. A quality education can give a child access to a wide range of opportunities and position them well for the academic journey.
How a child will react to the opportunities presented to them is something that a parent cannot plan for.
Every child is different at birth, and they all learn and explore the world in different ways and at different rates. Children who struggle to meet the standards set by the educational system may experience discouragement at school as a result.
This causes a loss of confidence and a lack of interest in learning, which can exacerbate a problem that could be resolved with some assistance.
You as a parent might have tried everything with your kid, talked to teachers and schools, family members, and even other parents, and you might be looking into the idea of getting your kid some outside help.
We have put together a thorough guide of everything you need to know as a parent about why, when, where, and how you can get the support your child needs through a qualified tutor before you dash into the closest tutoring class.
Why would my child need a tutor?
Every child is unique, and that is understandable.
Different learning styles exist in children, and some of them frequently struggle to understand ideas right away.
This may occasionally cause your child to lag behind in class, have trouble on a test, or overlook an important fundamental idea in a particular subject.
These are all common problems that arise throughout learning and shouldn’t immediately raise alarm.
Most parents in this circumstance are able to quickly see these problems and start helping their kid to turn things around.
Should I and Can I Help?
A parent should start by assessing their own capacity to help the child.
Most issues can be resolved by a parent spending time sitting down with their child and working through the issue together, identifying the issues and filling in any knowledge gaps as necessary, depending on the child’s age.
When used in conjunction with the teacher to maintain consistency in the teaching style and conceptual understanding, this tactic is especially powerful.
This is not always feasible, though, as parents might have a hard time balancing their work obligations with those of their kids’ schools.
Even with the best of intentions, these learning sessions can result in arguments or disagreements between parents and children because it can be challenging to strike a balance between the roles of teacher and parent.
Their older siblings can assist them
Help from an older sibling is another typical form of support for struggling kids.
This is frequently successful because the older child can relate to your child at their level of understanding and has a more recent understanding of the material.
To get the best results, this method should ideally be used in conjunction with the current teacher.
There are some drawbacks to this approach as well. Frequently, the older sibling only assists out of obligation or parental order, and it is very challenging to foster a supportive learning environment when a teacher lacks motivation.
The reality of sibling conflict often results in unhappiness in the family.
Shouldn’t The School Be Aiding My Child?
The school itself is the final option you have as a parent before turning to after-school tutoring to help your kid.
Many schools have after-school activities to help students with their homework, and professors are available to help struggling students understand topics and improve their performance in class.
These programmes may be excellent for enhancing a child’s abilities, but they often don’t assist a student who is having difficulty since they tend to repeat the techniques they are learning in class without a novel, passionate approach or a personalised touch.
Most parents would explore these options before considering tutoring since they may be beneficial in giving your kid the academic support they need.
The tutor’s role is to maximise learning for your child at their current level, develop them to reach their potential, and foster a learning atmosphere. The best part of this is that the tutor is passionate about working with your child; it’s their entire job.
When does my child need help?
Start Early and Don’t Lay a Weak Foundation
In the field of education, the proverb “Time waits for no man” is quite true.
Since the curriculum is extensive and the teaching time is limited, the current educational system is not designed to allow a child to fall behind in their knowledge of subjects.
A lot of concepts, especially in foundational courses like English, build on ideas that have already been mastered, which is unpleasant for your youngster.
As a result, if your child has trouble understanding a concept and neglects to fill in any knowledge gaps, they are essentially building on shaky ground.
Take action before the bad vibes take over
Your child’s confidence starts to shrink when they don’t comprehend something.
In our experience teaching for many years, once a student loses confidence in a subject, it is very challenging to break the cycle of negativity and extremely challenging for the student to understand new concepts.
Success in learning requires confidence.
There are obvious warning signs
Lack of interest in a subject or a sudden shift in attitude towards a teacher or class are indicators of a lack of confidence.
These are signs of indifference in the subject, and the root cause is typically a lack of confidence brought on by a conceptual misunderstanding, subpar performance, or a feeling of being overburdened by the assignment.
It all boils down to confidence, and as a parent, you will realise that your child is hurting in some way.
If these red flags go unnoticed or are ignored, the youngster may develop major basic knowledge gaps, which could cause issues in the future.
Due to the nature of testing and how the findings are processed for a report card, it might not be immediately obvious from your child’s test results that there is a comprehension problem.
The flaw only becomes apparent when the ideas are reviewed and expanded upon.
To maximise your child’s learning potential, it is crucial to pay attention to their emotional signs.
Learning and Practising build Confidence.
The good news is that restoring confidence can typically be done quickly; it just takes a few weeks using effective training methods.
That does not imply that the skills will be acquired at that period, but if the learner’s confidence is restored, the acquisition of the skills can proceed.
The best advice for parents in this circumstance is straightforward: the sooner you can get your child the assistance they require, the better chance they have of fixing the issue and minimising the negative effects on their future development.
When it comes to seeking outside assistance, the time is now, according to your enquiries.
Often, the issue is easily resolved, and your child can get back on track in no time; but, if you wait until the issue has gotten worse and is now adversely affecting your child’s grades and attitude towards school, it may take much longer to resolve.
Tutoring in Australia
How do I set things up so they work the best? Where can I get the perfect tutor?
You have realised your child needs assistance at this point and have tried the standard approaches without success.
Your decision to look for a tutor has been made, but who should you hire?
Consult the school and teacher of your child
Your child’s teacher at school should be your first stop.
Your child’s learning style and areas of academic difficulty are known to the school.
Asking them whether they know any reliable tutors or tutoring services that would meet your child’s needs is the greatest place to start.
Consult with Other Parents Who Have Succeeded
Your next port of call should be parents who have used or are presently using tutoring for their kids and are pleased with the results.
As they have firsthand knowledge of what to anticipate, what the learning environment is like, and how tutoring has benefited their child’s learning, this can be a priceless source of information.
Search on Google
If not, there are a tonne of tutoring schools that are active all around Sydney
The majority of them are accessible via a google search. For example, if your child is in Year 5 or 6, you could be searching “ year 5 English tutor” or “ year 6 English tutor” on Google to find qualified English tutors nearby.
This raises the question of how to determine whether a business is reliable; hopefully, this is where the guidance of the instructor, school, or other parents would be helpful.
Doing your homework to make sure the tutor you choose for your child can deliver on what they claim on their website and guarantee your child’s safety throughout the process is crucial as a parent.
You should get in touch with the tutoring business and reserve some time to go meet the tutors, learn about their teaching philosophies, and learn how they intend to affect your child’s learning.
When you meet the tutors, it’s important to pay attention to who will be instructing your child, how the tutors plan the work your child will complete, and how they gauge your child’s progress.
By hiring a tutor, you’ll be investing in your child’s education, so it’s critical that you consider the options that will best enable your child to excel in the classroom and at school.