Look for a tutor with a passion
It is extremely crucial to find a tutor with a passion for teaching. Having a passion for teaching differentiates the home tutors from the rest. A tutor with a passion for teaching will understand the child and cater to the child’s needs. Also, one will have patience with the child and focus on the progress more rather than the results. As much as the results are important as that is the focus of every child and parent, progress is as important as that. ‘Patience is virtue’ is a phrase all tutors with a passion for teaching preaches.
Personality
Some parents tend to ignore the tutor’s personality, which in the long run is bad. If the tutor is a personality that your child dislikes, highly likely, he will not learn anything out of the lesson. Ensure that the child likes the tutor’s personality as that will result in the child accepting the lesson and cooperating with the tutor. You might want to observe at least the first 2 lessons and see how the lesson is going. By doing this, you will have 2 options – either continue the lessons as it is going well or cancel and find another tutor.
Convenience
Convenience plays a pretty big role in differentiating excellent tutors from the rest. We believe, if the tutor lives nearby, the attendance of the tutor will be better. Yes, that is true, and it will be easier for you to schedule more classes if needed (We all know how children would love to have a last-minute crash course before their examinations). Besides location, it is important to look at the tutor type (full-time tutors/part-time tutors/student tutors). Some may meet part-time tutors through referrals, etc, don’t forget to know their main job. The tutor’s main job might be an issue during the planning of extra lessons.
Some parents might prefer ex-MOE (Ministry of Education) tutors as they have prior experience with marking exam scripts, setting exam papers, etc. On the other hand, some parents might prefer student-tutors (tutors who are currently pursuing their degree courses) as they have set through the latest syllabus and are aware of the changes in examinations. This is completely subjective; there is no right or wrong tutor. As a parent, you would need to see what you like and what is ideal for your child and decide.
Reasonable expectations
Upon signing up for tuition classes, it is normal for a child to expect higher grades. However, a tutor should not focus on the end goal only. Tutors need to have reasonable expectations to support the child emotionally. A tutor must direct the child’s attention to focus on the gradual progress in grades rather than jumping from failing marks to distinction marks. As a parent, you should ensure your tutor has reasonable expectations for your child. This will result in good progress throughout the lessons and acing the final examination.
Choose a Tuition Agency instead
A tuition agency has details of all the tutors and manages them. You can express your interest to the tuition agency, and they will do their best to cater to what you and your child want. They have a variety of tutors, ranging from part-time tutors to ex-MOE tutors and from various locations. You would have a higher chance of getting a good tutor via an agency instead of finding one on your own. Besides, you will be able to find tutors teaching subjects that are hard to find like Geography, Literature, etc. I would suggest for you, parents to contact a good tuition agency like ChampionTutor.
