Hiring a tutor for your child provides multiple benefits. With detailed explanations of concepts, personalised doubt sessions, exam practice, etc, the learners can excel in their academics. But finding the best tutor is not as simple as it sounds. There are so many factors which need to be considered to select a suitable teacher for kids. We have listed the top ones below. So, without any further delay, let's check them out.
Things To Look For While Choosing A Tutor
Experience
The tutors' experience level is one of the obvious but most important factors to consider. Experienced teachers provide a lot of benefits to students. Firstly, they have vast knowledge regarding the subject. So, they can teach various topics without any issues. Secondly, experienced tutors are familiar with the topics that are important from the exam perspective. It helps the learners focus on topics that have more marks weightage. Thirdly, and most importantly, they know multiple ways of explaining the same concept, which fulfils the learning requirements of the majority of students.
Reviews and Ratings
Reviews are good resources to know about the tutors’ credibility and knowledge. For this reason, it is crucial to check the respective teachers’ reviews before hiring them. If most of the students and parents have posted positive things about a tutor; it means the services are reliable. On the other hand, if all the reviews reflect criticism of the tutor, it is better to consider another teaching option. In addition, the majority of tutoring platforms also have a rating section for the teachers. By looking at the tutor’s rating, one can effectively decide whether to hire one or not.
Get Recommendations
Recommendations are one of the most effective ways to find a tutor for your child. You can get in touch with the parents in your friends, relatives and social circle and ask for tutor recommendations. If someone has hired a teacher whose services are promising, you can also select the same one for your child. This way, you are assured that the respective teacher's services are satisfactory. Moreover, you can meet the school teachers of the child to get recommendations. They have contact with a lot of teachers that offer tutoring sessions. Hence, they can be a good source of recommendations.
Good Listening Skills
The tutor you choose should be an active listener. It helps them understand the learners' problems in detail. This way, the teachers can effectively resolve their doubts & misconceptions. Moreover, the students also develop a good connection with the tutor. When they notice that the teachers are paying undivided attention to their academic issues, they don't hesitate to ask questions from them. All in all, tutors with good listening skills benefit the learners' academics.
Asks Open Ended Questions
It is another important skill to look for in tutors. The tutors should avoid asking questions that have a simple "yes" or "no" answer. Instead, they should try queries that facilitate participation from the students' side. For instance, a Science tutor can ask, "can anyone define the real-world usage of this concept?" OR "what is your take on this statement and why?" Questions like these encourage the students to give a more descriptive answer which helps the teachers judge the clarity they have over the respective concept.
Patience
The tutor should be patient enough to deal with the subject issues of the students and explain a topic multiple times. If the teachers lack this quality, they will lose their temper every now and then while dealing with the students. Along with being patient, the teacher must be versed in explaining the same concept in multiple ways. It helps to cater for the learning requirements of different students without any issues. Furthermore, incorporating patience helps the teacher to maintain their composure and keep their behaviour in check.
Motivation Skills
Tutors are more than just teachers; they also play the role of a mentor & motivators for the students. Many times the learners feel overwhelmed due to the academic challenges. In such situations, the tutor should act as a support system for the students and motivate them. Reputable tutors keep the learners encouraged for studies with the help of motivational stories and positive affirmations. Moreover, they should be able to provide mentorship to the tutees over personal problems, as and when required.
Conclusion
In order to find the best tutor, the parents should look for the above-mentioned qualities in the tutors. As academics are becoming more advanced and competitive, teachers must be versed in multiple skills to effectively help students. You can connect to expert and skilled tutors with the help of tuition agencies. These education platforms have many experienced teachers providing their services at competitive tuition charges.