New York, Sept. 29, 2007
The ABC's Of Hiring A Tutor
Now More Than Ever, Parents Are Turning To Outsiders To Help Their Kids Get Ahead At School
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(CBS/iStockPhoto)
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Play CBS Video Video Advice On Tutors Professor Nancy Cardwell talks about when parents should consider enlisting a tutor to help their child in school.
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For parents who are involved in their children's schooling, keeping up with their work is a job in and of itself. If you seek outside help, does that make you a bad parent?
In the past five years, the demand for tutors has grown into a $4 billion business. This is partially because of the No Child Left Behind Act, the law which went into effect in 2002 that holds public schools accountable for students' academic achievement. The law also says that schools that perform below state standards have to provide free tutoring to low-income families.
Another factor is way that competition for college admissions has increased; as the time for standardized tests like the SATs and ACTs approaches more parents shuttle their teens to prep centers.
Nancy Cardwell, a professor of child development at Bank Street College of Education in Manhattan, recently spoke with The Saturday Early Show about the trend towards tutoring.
The Saturday Early Show: How do you know if your child needs a tutor?
Cardwell: Knowing your child is important. Give them a chance to wrestle with a topic. But, if you notice that an increased effort is not helping and you see that they just need an extra connection, talk to about getting someone to help. Sometimes teachers will suggest it if they notice a child struggling.
How do you hire a tutor?
Nine out of ten times, teachers are supportive of anything that allows their students to do better. There isn't always time to follow-up with the questions and ideas that children come up with. (Cardwell recommends finding out what is the best learning environment for your child. Even large schools break classes into small groups at times. Ask the teacher if your child does better in smaller groups.)
Rearing a happy, healthy, productive adult, who is happy in their life, is not about threading one needle and you (only) get that one shot to do it right and it's done. There are multiple opportunities to make changes that can transform your child's life in positive ways.
Some tips:
What about cost?
Tutors can range anywhere from $20 to probably $225. That's why you need to know your objective because then you can match that with what your budget is. It is an investment and a long-term one.
Today, tutoring doesn’t seem to have the same stigma it did years ago, when students would have been embarrassed or think, "I can do this on my own." But now there are pressures to do better in school and to get into a good college.
That's true, there's much less stigma, it's diminished in many circles. I think also that it opens the door for us to really pay attention that learning is a process and sometimes we need a little help.
It seems popular now, kind of like the "in" thing to do.
It is very popular, but I think what's happened is we've recognized that children need to have some additional help to do their best work in school. We're asking children to learn more, to do more in the same space of time that they've always had. Teachers are asked to do more. So children need some help sometimes to just close that gap between what we're asking them to do and really what they can do.
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- I have tutored children in the past in Reading and Spelling and I loved doing it but the thing I did not enjoy were the parents. I am very strict and will always be that way but and I always advise the parents that I am that way and they say that is fine but when I do put the rules in place they do not like me doing it their child, even though they always learn from me they are not pleased when I put my rules in play when it comes to their child.
I would love to be able to tutor again but I just can not handle the parents they are so difficult.
I think that you have to find a person that really loves children no matter what kind of personality they might have. A person who gains pure joy out of teaching children.
When I was teaching it was God asked me to do this because I never had children without him I could not have done it, he helped me every step of the way. - Reply to this comment
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- Good Day. My name is richard. Currently I am receiving SSI. I have been out of work for 20 years,
because of a disability. Recently my doctor has advised me that I should seek something to do that
would make me more productive to enhance my self esteem.
Because I have a degree B.S in Mathematics from
Hillsdale College in Michigan and some graduate work
from the university of Michigan in Statistics, I feel
that I am qualified to tutor (and have done do in the
past.) I have excellent character references. If interested please contact me at my email address at
rstein_80@msn.com. Thank you for your help. Regards. - Reply to this comment
