to feel school will be ‘put out’ about a private maths tutor?

[RockYourSocksOff]

Or is it just me?

Decided to use a tutor for one subject for Ds. He attends a state secondary school. Felt the need to keep this to ourselves.

Can I ask anyone who teaches how this is usually received?

I don’t want my dc teacher of this subject to think we’re not happy with the teaching, I just feel like we need to fill some of the gaps.

Dc is in Y7 and passed their SATs but only just in one subject.

Thanks Tunnocks.

And Bobby

Ah okay @RockYourSocksOff, that makes more sense.

I doubt your child's teacher would be bothered. However, in my teaching experience some pupils took the view that because they had a tutor they needn't work in class, also the tutor would 'help' them with homework and it was difficult to assess the pupil's progress until exams, after which parents would be unhappy that the rosy picture painted by the tutor isn't matched by the results.

Ds isn’t getting hours of extra tutoring for him to become complacent. I doubt this will cross his mind, however I’m thankful for this information and will be aware to address this if I feel this is happening.

I’ve had parents ask me if I have any recommendations for a tutor for their kid in my subject and I’ve passed them names of good ones.

If a parent asks ‘should we get a tutor’ I always say ‘the more maths you do, the better, but obviously tutors are quite expensive so take a look online at x y and z site as well and see if that helps’.

Generally it makes my job easier, so it’s all good. Except when you have the kid who says ‘I don’t need to bother with this, I’ll just go over it with my tutor later’ and then pisses around all lesson.

When ds1 was struggling at college with his ALevel maths we asked his maths teacher was it worth getting him a tutor

Ive never had a teacher so angry at me!!! She was pissed

And he got an E in is AS level and dropped maths like a shitty stick....so that went well

So what ive learnt from that is to not ask the teacher if they think its a good idea and not care what they think if you feel its the best thing for the child

Ive never come across it before as all their teachers have been lovely and very encouraging...maybe she was having a bad day

My mum is a maths tutor; I've tutored English though I don't any more.

Some teachers do get angry at tutors. Sometimes it's because the tutor is needed because the teacher isn't doing the job. That's awful but quite rare. Other times, it's because the relationship hasn't been managed well. Ideally, the tutor should work with the teacher, while recognising that the teacher isn't paid to accommodate them and may be very busy. A good tutor will manage this by looking at books and exercises, but sometimes it does help to get to talk to the teacher.

I do think all of this depends on the nature of the tutoring, though. I have tutored students who were really basically fine, but needed a little more dedicated attention. And I've tutored students who were not fine, but all they needed was careful repetition and explanation of what was happening in class. IME those types of tutoring don't present many problems in terms of getting along with the teacher. The difficulty is when a student is a bit unusual, and needs a different approach from what they're getting at school. That really can be a can of worms, and you need tact to deal with it.

As a teacher, I suggest you speak to the teacher. Say you would like your child to have some extra help out of school, can they recommend a tutor and any particular things he should focus on. I’ve had few par3nts ask me and have been happy to make suggestions.

My experience is that a tutor helps the child gain confidence and it results in better grades, which actually reflect well on the teacher, so it is a win win for everyone.

I tutor and do not resent my own pupils being tutored. What I do resent is communications from the tutor asking me what they should be working on. Look at the child's work, that's part of what you're getting paid for; most definitely not a working relationship between teacher and tutor as the teacher knows nothing of the tutor's qualifications/competence.

LRD

This teacher was angry at the suggestion we get him a tutor

We wanted her opinion and a 'i dont think it's necessary and instead he can do...' would have been fine

But boy was she pissed

A great shame as he is really very good at maths and was more than capable of getting a decent grade

Sorry, thats a complete merail

But there is some very good advice here OP

Both my children have had maths and science tutors. It never crossed my mind to wonder if their school teachers would be upset by it. As far as I know , many children have tutors to help them to keep up.