Some common drawbacks of homework tutoring
More and more parents are finding that one or more of their children need additional help with their schoolwork. The usual solution, although not the only one, in this situation is to engage an expert to provide homework tutoring. In many, some would argue most cases, this is really beneficial for all concerned. The teacher finds an additional form of income and the student gets one-to-one attention and really finds their standard of academic excellence improving. But there are drawbacks, as in most circumstances, which may occur with homework tutoring.
- there needs to be a successful personality match
- there needs to be an ongoing check of what has been taught each week
- there needs to be a link between homework and schoolwork
- there needs to be family support
In most cases with homework tutoring there is a teacher and a student, that is a 1 to 1 situation. This is not a teacher in front of 20 or more students, there is only one student. So therefore it is important that the teacher and the homework student have compatible personalities. Assuming that the teacher is a professional then it’s important that they have the ability to get on well with their student. This is where the parent needs to do a little bit of groundwork before choosing the homework tutor. Will this teacher be right for my child? Only the parent knows the true personality of the student and it is up to them to see that the personality of the teacher is ideal for teaching purposes.
Because the homework tutor is probably only in place once a week, it’s important that the parents understand what is being taught and what is being required for the student to do between homework lessons. If the parents take little or no interest in what has been set for their child, the possible effectiveness of the homework tutoring can be reduced.
It is most important that what the homework tutor is teaching the child is directly related to what the child is being taught in their normal school situation. It doesn’t matter how good the homework is in getting the student enthused about studying, there needs to be a definite link between the topics being studied at home and those being studied at school.
And finally unless there is strong family support for the homework tutor and the program he or she is providing, then that is a serious potential drawback to the whole homework tutoring program. It’s not sufficient for the parents to think it’s a good idea to have a homework tutor, they must believe that to be the case and also be enthusiastically involved. They must know what is being taught and be in a position to supervise any activities undertaken at home between homework tutor sessions.