Parent or external tutor?

[MrsMayJune]

Hi

I’m told that almost everyone in my son’s year 5 class is being tutored.

I would prefer to support him myself but I worry that a tutor would provide a better “service” than me.

I’m educated to PhD level in a subject that is quantitative and my English is pretty strong (not just because I’m a native speaker but because it had to be for my higher education and my job).

So I think I am capable but I wonder whether external tutors have something else that they provide. Perhaps technique or something mysterious that I as a parent could not provide.

I welcome any insights on whether it is better to get him a tutor rather than do it myself. I guess I don’t know what tutors do or provide that a competent parent can’t. In a typical session what does a tutor do?

What do you want to get from the tutori g? Is it just to raise his confidence, give him a boost or prepare for entrance exams. If all the class are receiving tuition then you are either in a grammar school area or the school is rubbish. You can buy books, but will he listen to you? Do you know how to explain concepts?

He is in an area where the secondary schools are selective. Apparently to get in and to get a scholarship tutoring is a must. I really hate the idea but I do not want my son to lose out.

He does listen to me and I can explain the concepts. I don’t know if there are techniques that are used by tutors or whether there is a certain way that tutors do the teaching.I’m assuming it’s more than a parent using workbooks bought from WHSmith or online resources. What resources do tutors use?

I really struggle with tutoring. I know nothing about what they do, what to expect and whether I could do it myself. It’s like a mysterious practice.

I’m a maths teacher, I know what students find difficult, what mistakes they are likely to make and how to explain it. It’s a very different skill to bring g sake to do the maths yourself. If you can do that, then go for it. But it sounds really high stakes if you are hoping he will get a scholarship and the cost of you getting it wrong could be huge. Is it a risk worth taking? Also tutors will be experts in the tests and how to ace them.

I’m a tutor and teacher, and also a parent. You may well find that tutors have a range of resources and techniques up their sleeves and will use the most appropriate ones to get the best out of each child. They may also have knowledge about the specific entrance requirements for the particular schools in question/a bank of past papers harder for you to get your hands on yourself.

However in my opinion the main benefit of a tutor, especially given your own background, is not all of this but rather the relationship they can have with your son. A potential problem with tutoring him yourself might be that it has a detrimental effect on your relationship, with him either coming to feel hounded and/or criticised by you. That bit of distance a tutor offers is probably the main benefit in your case, I’d have thought. But you could certainly have a go at tutoring him yourself first if you feel your relationship wouldn’t suffer and he would be receptive to your input.

Tutors like to make it look mysterious. It is not mysterious. I did it. My child loved it. Get your resources from Amazon. Of course, if your child doesn’t respond well to you, then get someone else in. I was very worried doing it myself, as tho paying would guarantee better results. In fact, it was loads easier doing it at home - no treks to the tutor. No work he found dull. The whole programme was just to suit him. Much better.

As to resources. CGP books are great. Then in late august, summer y5-6, start doing whole papers. Available from the schools, or other sites. But really look through Amazon.choose extra resources in areas your child needs more help with.

A tutor was best for my DS as he told me that I wasn't a qualified teacher so how would I know?!
You are more educated than me though but the tutor's my son had knew more than I ever could have about what was required.

I'd chose tutor personally.

• tutors (I think) Glad I wasn't trying to help him with English