After you have decided to hire a tutor, it is important to ask some questions before hiring the person to work with your child. Be prepared with a list of questions before picking up the phone to call, so that you will be able to quickly find out the pertinent information you need to make a decision.
Hiring an Experienced Tutor
You want to ensure that the person you hire to tutor your child has appropriate experience for your needs. There is no one level of experience that is necessary for a tutor to be effective, so think about your expectations and your child's needs. Some questions you can ask include:
- What age do you typically work with?
- What subject areas do you typically tutor in?
- Have you worked with any special needs children?
- Have you worked in the school system?
- How much teaching/tutoring experience do you have?
Motivating Children to Learn
Ask about how the tutor will motivate your child. The more reluctant or strong willed your child is, the more important this question will be. Hiring a tutor for motivational purposes also makes this question important. Get a feel for how patient the person will be with a child who may or may not be happy about being tutored.
Fee Schedule
Ask how much the tutor charges per hour. Good tutors will charge a similar fee to commercial learning centers in your area. If money is tight, ask if you can get a discount for paying a month in advance, or if there is another type of deal you can work out to reduce the fees a little.
Tutoring Location
Do you have to go to the tutor? Will she come to your house? Can you meet in a neutral place like the local library? Or is she currently a teacher and able to meet in her classroom at school? The fee may differ based on location as well – if the tutor has to drive somewhere to meet you, she may charge a little more to help cover her gas and extra time it took to travel.
What Should You Expect?
Find out how much notice the tutor requires if you need to cancel, and how she expects you to make those hours up. Find out what she expects if you are running late or got stuck in traffic when coming to pick your child up at the end of the session. Discuss the progress you would like to see your child make, and ensure that you and the tutor both know what success will look like.
Ask for References
Many times you will have the name of a tutor from a friend’s recommendation, but if not, ask the tutor for a reference. Contacting other families that have worked with the tutor will not only put you at ease regarding the legitimacy of the tutor, but will let you know how the tutor works with children and how successful the tutoring was, from the perspective of another parent.
If you hire a tutor for your child and end up unsatisfied for any reason, it is important to talk to her. You may need to clarify expectations, increase the amount of time your child is tutored, or receive a recommendation for another tutor. Make sure that above all, your child learns to love learning through his or her experience with a tutor.
Learn more about finding the right tutor for your child.
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