What frustrates you the most about using a tutor for your child?

[Joeyhale]

I'm pretty curious about different people's experiences and avoiding the same problems if possible.

Just checking this isn't going to appear in the Daily Mail lol....
Expertise is important - I think you need to find the right person who will click with your child. We went through an online agency but ended up with a local student who is in her final year of a science degree and doing tutoring as a part time job. She is experienced and nice and my DD listens to her way more than she would with me. Also the way I was taught to do things 30 years ago have changed and my DD would get frustrated when I tried to explain something and it was different to the way it was being done in class. I agree it can be unfair if it is only for those who can afford it. We are certainly not well off and have had to work extra to be able to afford it even every second week but if it helps my DD cope better in class and especially as maths is so important in high school then I would like to give her a chance of some extra help even if its just for a few months. My parents were both teachers, my dad did tutoring and they believed in the benefits of 1 to 1 help to cope with more challenging concepts and I got some help with Maths at secondary school when I was ill and missed a few weeks of school and struggled to catch up. Not all kids will need it and ideally the school would be able to offer 1 to 1 support but teachers are stretched and in my experience they dont have the time to do it x

Why's he need lessons anyway? Is it a bad school? Couldn't he just work harder like we did in the old days?

Unfortunately, not all teachers are "good". My son has been very up and down with his Maths and we're seriously considering a tutor as he's currently stuck with the same Maths teacher he had in year 8 when he slumped. With a "good" teacher (i.e. the others) he can get 95+% in the year end exams, with this other teacher, it's more like 50%. Even "good" schools don't all have "good" teachers!

@Acadia, I was pretty good academically. He goes to a decent school, but he just seems to struggle with the concepts, I feel it's a lack of concentration but I've moved out so I'm rarely at home to see.

I am very mindful of the price issue, does anybody try to solve the issue of expensive tutors? I've looked around and they're pretty pricey, how do you guys try to overcome the expense problem?

My ds isn't at the age where we might want a tutor yet but I had tutoring for my maths and ancient greek GCSEs. The biggest frustration for me was that my school wasn't supportive - they took it as some kind of criticism of their teaching. It wasn't. I knew I was weak in those subjects and needed all A*s to get into the university I wanted to go to. Why wouldn't I have looked for extra support if I could?

That DH has an MSc and I have a PhD in maths-based subjects.

I'm a headmistress.

We're paying someone with an A Level in Maths to tutor.

On the flip side (in my professional role), my school is academically and financially selective. Tutoring is different to teaching. It's intensive and even the best schools and best teachers can't recreate hours on 1-2-1 tuition.

Something we do do at my school is liase closely with tutors, as well as having an approved list. Based on guesswork, 10% of GCSE and up students will have tutoring.

Did you have any frustrations with tutoring itself or just the criticisms coming from the school?

If you want a good tutor it will cost you! I’m a qualified and experiment teacher who has led a department and knows my subject extremely well with a track record of excellent results for my classes. A uni student would be cheaper but it would be hit and miss as to whether they were any good and they would not know the syllabus and exams like I do.

And even with this, remember an hourly rate doesn’t take into consideration preparation and planning time, marking etc. I don’t think any tutors are getting rich!

And I don’t make typos in my actual job!

@iJustReallyLikeIt, have you had any frustration with the whole tutoring process for your child or has it been very smooth for you?

If a student struggles in my lessons it isn't because they're crap, it's because that student has very weak literacy, is lazy or has a cognitive limitation.

Wow. I thought schools had a responsibility to all students, even those with a cognitive limitation. I don't blame the teachers but I do blame the education system.

@ScipioAfricanus, I understand your point. What frustrates you as a tutor then? I don't mean to cause any offence it's just a very interesting conversation.

I don’t tutor much, as I find it hard to find the time when I am teaching to do both. I would say a lot of the frustrations are similar to those in the classroom - it’s your fault if results aren’t good, but credit taken entirely by parents and children if they are (actually my last exam class were fab and many emailed me to give lots of credit so it depends!); pupils wanting spoonfeeding and both them and parents thinking tutoring is a magic fix and having paid for it this will guarantee a good result, when so much is about time devoted to revision etc.

Other irritations are being cancelled on last minute and having to be more flexible than I’d like.

However, one great part is that you can make a massive difference with that one to one time. And the pupil will normally be very attentive and often keen as they may have asked for tutor or know parents are invested. For nearly two years I spent an extra 30 mins a week with a GCSE candidate in my class, at lunch, who was probably a B candidate when we began. She got an A* in the end and that was massively due to her having, in effect, free one to one tutoring!

Sorry I was a bit over sensitive - the old issue of teaching salaries and whether we deserve them or not is obviously a sensitive topic for me!

@ScipioAfricanus, that's a very interesting point you make. A tutor cancelled on us last minute last Monday which was irritating tbh. How often does it happen to you?

I’ve cancelled due to ill health once - it’s the same as it being able to go to work, so it can happen. I tutor some pupils who can’t go to school due to ill health, so I am pretty relaxed about cancellations and changes with them. If I did more tutoring and expanded it into a full job I would probably have a cancellation fee on a contract as I’d say less than 12 hours’ notice you should still be paid for your time and recompensed for lost earnings then. However, as I say I don’t do enough of it to feel the need.

MrsTerryPratchett A lot of children with cognitive issues simply need more time than there is available in the school timetable. Or a more individual approach - also not available in the school timetable. The hours for these things just can't be made up within school time. That's where a tutor can make a massive difference.

I have opinions on this. Research suggests that class sizes don't impact on children's performance. I can't say how much I disagree. But that's the research.

I don't think it's an ideal state of affairs (understatement) but it's not as simple as saying that teachers are failing in their duty to support all students.

I know cat. I have a child with cognitive needs and who has a tutor. Big classes and a lack of support from the school for two years meant she fell behind. Now she has support from the school, we may not need a tutor any more.

OP Are you really just trying to find out information about tutors to help with your brother? Because this is your second thread and it's just ... odd.

Basically, you have to advertise/read adverts/go through agencies/ask around for recommendations and then try tutors. You will have to look over the work they've done with your brother and ask your brother to see how it's going.

You'll have to make a judgment as to whether the tutor and your brother work well together and whether the learning is going well/as well as you both need it to go.

You may have to try a few tutors before finding one that you're happy with.

You'll know when it clicks because your brother will tell you that he understands things he didn't understand before, or will report back that they are covering the curriculum in more depth/at a more useful pace than before - and you should also be able to use feedback from school (eg. is the class teacher commenting on improved engagement with classwork?).

There really aren't any short-cuts to that process.

I get so depressed and angry about it, MrsT . I wish there wasn't the cut-off for education at various ages (GCSEs being taken en masse at 16; funding ending at 19; a skeleton delivery of Further Education). I think it would transform our educational landscape if we just acknowledged that not all children can - or even should - learn in classes of 30, at the 'average' pace.

Glad to hear your child is getting more support and things are going better.

@thecatfromjapan, I understand this to be a place where you can learn more about different things. I asked about my brother, and read a bunch of articles online, now I'm just engaging in conversation because there are lots of interesting points being raised. I don't think that's a problem surely, that's what I thought forums were for?

Sure.

Most frustrating thing is probably finding a tutor that suits. I've been hunting (without success) for a music tutor for my daughter. I'm thinking of posting for one on a local website. There don't seem to be enough in our local area and not enough that are good with older children.

@Joeyhale

No, no frustrations.

Like I said, the hard work was done for me. The school has a list of tutors we have had pleasant experiences working with, parents and students make good reports and we notice positive changes.

Bad tutors can hold the children back. They have quite shallow knowledge and look for quick fixes as opposed to longer-term gains. A good example being KS2 maths where moving to the abstract (column methods) pleases parents but if it's done before the children are ready, their knowledge falls down.

Over half term, I had to email 3 parents and point out how shite their tutor was.

Being a good tutor goes well beyond subject knowledge.

^Accidental name change.

I am @iJustReallyLikeIt