One of the easiest ways to ensure that your kids get better at math is by hiring a private tutor to help them. Private tutors do more than just teach your kids K-8 math; they pay more attention to your kids than traditional teachers ever will because private tutoring is a one-on-one session.
Entering the search term “maths tutors near me” in your browser is an easy way to find tutors around your residence. But this strategy heavily depends on your location at the point of searching, which means some of the tutors the search engine will show you may not be the best choice for your kid’s specific needs. That is why this article explains all the options you have when looking for tutors.
Ask your friends for references
If you ask your kid’s peers’ parents, they possibly have used tutors’ services for their kids before and are in the best position to give you the recommendations you need. So, talk to other parents and ask them about the teachers they have engaged and their experience. If more than one parent has a bad story to tell about a particular tutor, it is in your best interest not to choose them, no matter how promising their resume looks.
Go to your kids’ school
Teachers often have a list of tutors who have excelled in math and can help your child do better. They are also eager to share this information with parents who need advice. So, if you have time, go to school, meet the counselor, and with their knowledge of students’ experiences, grades, and behavior, they will give you the right recommendations.
One of the best things about this option is that kids who are ready to teach your child and your kid have followed the same curriculum and use the same methods they encounter at school. The only difference is in how they teach math classes for 1-8 grades and the intentionality that follows the process.
Use the internet
If you typed “tutoring for kids near me” into your Google search bar, the internet would offer you numerous options to pick from, including agencies that offer tutors’ services and platforms where you can access online math classes for kids. Use this tip if you want to consider a wide variety of options instead of depending on the ones listed above. Of course, you must be careful to ensure that you are making the right decision.
Try online classes
So many online platforms offer one-on-one private tutoring for kids who need extra help with math. You can search for these platforms and sign your kid up for one or two packages. Some benefits of the online classes are that the tutors are highly professional, follow the school’s curriculum, use a student-centric teaching system, and incorporate technology and fun into their teaching.
Instead of just teaching kids following the curriculum, they talk to them, try to find out where a student may be struggling, and then work on turning those weaknesses into strengths. You can also schedule the classes to fall when you are home so that you can sit through one or two of them with your kid.
How to Pick the Best Tutors
After finding tutors near you, you have to sieve through the candidates to find the best ones for your kids, and here are four tips on how you can do this:
Interview candidates
Nothing is more important than an interview when picking a tutor for your kid. Whoever they are, they will be spending a lot of time with your child, and you definitely want to ensure that your kid is getting the best education for the money you are spending.
So, whether you are using an online or offline tutor, take time to talk to them. Once you type in “maths tutors near me” into the search bar, carve out time to interview every person you choose from the plethora of options the internet offers you.
Look for reviews
People love to give reviews when they get awful service. So, do not just pick out a random tutor and continue with them; ask for their reviews. If the tutor you picked is someone your friends and acquaintances have used before, then call them and ask them how they felt about the results they got. Do not just focus on the words; seek unspoken nuances as well. It may seem like paranoia, but double-checking is a good idea if someone spends that much time with your kid.
Check for a tutor’s teaching practices
You want a tutor who cares about ensuring that your kid understands what they are teaching, but not a tutor who wants to teach math for 1-8 grades and be on their way home. The former would always use a student-centric approach because they want your child to participate actively in the lesson. If you notice that a person is talking more about how good they are at teaching math rather than how they want to help your child understand math, they are a wrong choice for you.
Check a tutor’s passion for math
The best math tutors you can find are those with a true passion for math. Someone who enjoys math as a subject would teach math better because they are not just teaching, they are trying to instill a love for math into the kids. These tutors want kids to love the subject as much as they do. So, they will work overtime to ensure that students learn math in a way that they do not think of it as a chore. For this set of people, the more math lovers, the better.
Conclusion
Sometimes, a maths class taught in the traditional schooling system is not enough for your kids as they need extra intervention to become the stars that you already know they are. The tips in both sections listed above will help you find a perfect math tutor to help your kids become very good at math in a little time.
