Want to help kids but tutor too expensive

6 replies

AttilatheHen · 03/08/2010 20:33

The kids are about to start their exam years, and although they've done well so far, we all think that some extra help would be really, really useful. The only problem is the teachers are always busy, and tutoring is too expensive. Does anyone have the same problem and can they help?

OP posts:

daphnedill · 04/08/2010 02:05

Are you talking about your own dcs or a group of you?

I'm a languages teacher, who also tutors pupils for GCSE (and for other purposes). When I talk to parents, it's clear that most of them don't know how their dcs are going to be assessed.

You could usefully find out about each subject your dcs are doing. Find out from him/her or the school which examination board they're using and look them up. Make sure your dcs are on track with any coursework. Ask your dcs if they know themselves how to improve. Find out from the school if they recommend any particular revision books, although I've found that buying dozens of them is a waste of time - they just sit on the shelves.

Does your dc's school produce reports with target and actual grades? If so, see if there any subjects in which they are underachieving. Concentrate on those and contact the school if necessary.

The chances are that the school is covering the syllabus, so you don't need to be an expert in every subject. However, many pupils don't do as well as they should because they don't know how to learn or need a kick up the bum every so often.

PS. I have a dd going in to Year 13 and I know very well that stroppy teenagers have a habit of not listening to anything their parents say anyway!

Carolinemaths · 04/08/2010 09:42

To add to what daphnedill said, within each subject try to figure out which topics they have problems with. You can do this by giving them a "pretest", just use a test from any exam revision book from whsmith and see what questions they get wrong, then they can focus mainly on those topics.

Get them to set up a "revision" timetable, where they are doing a little bit every day (even 15 mins a day, 4 days a week is the equivalent of a tutor for 1 hour a week) and rotating subjects and topics based on what they need extra practice with.

overthehillsandfaraway · 04/08/2010 09:49

Where are you? A friend of mine was telling me about a skills swap scheme in london. eg someone will tutor for you and in return you fix their plumbing / paint / iron / babysit etc

kayah · 04/08/2010 09:55

are you aiming at 11+
if yes - in which area?

BollockBrain · 04/08/2010 09:55

If it is a particular topic of a subject, say for instance 'circle theorem' in mathematics, the use of a tutor can be very beneficial. i,e you would pay for an hour just for that one bit. Some tutoring covers all the subject, stuff that is general revision which the child could do on their own, but for certain 'bits' of subjects it is worth it, and can be much cheaper.

ViveLaFrak · 04/08/2010 09:59

It depends what you think they need the extra help with TBH.

Is it that you feel you don't have the knowledge or skills to help your DC yourself so you're looking at outside help, or that you have no idea what they're supposed to be doing in the first place so you don't know where to start?

Flip