Working together as a team to help your child succeed.
Rather than parents and tutors feeling that they are helpless and unable to do anything to get their children to do their schoolwork they should consider that they are part of a tutoring team. If the Parents, Tutor and Student can work together this will help your child succeed.
1. Communication is the key to making the Tutoring Team work:
The first thing a team does is they get to know one another. Spend some quality time with your child. Talk about things that they enjoy. Encourage your child’s Tutor to also spend the time to get to know your child.
Your child may not understand why they even need to be doing their homework in the first place. Consider having a talk with your child and your child’s tutor to discuss why they need to do homework and how it will help them for the rest of their lives. Much of what we learn comes from repeated practice over time. This will help your child understand why doing homework is important.
2. Establish each member’s role in the Tutoring Team:
Each member of a team plays an important role. A Tutoring Team is no different. There is the need for supportive parents, who care about their child’s success. The student should try their best to work hard and to work with their parents and their tutor. Tutors also play a supporting role to help establish lesson plans that can be adapted to the individual student’s learning styles.
3. Setting Team goals to work toward during Tutoring Sessions:
The next thing a team does is to establish a goal. What are you trying to accomplish as a team? You all are working together so that the student can master the specific skills that they need to learn and be able to advance to the next level. Establish specific goals with specific rewards. Involving your child in this process will help them to take ownership of their schoolwork.
4. Consistency and Keeping up the Moral of the Team: Don’t set your child up to fail
It is important to find ways to help your child succeed at doing schoolwork. Try to set tutoring sessions during a time when your child is the most productive – this could be different for each child. Some children are able to do their homework as soon as they come home from school while others may need some down time to play and release some energy. Others may work better after dinner. As long as you and your tutor are consistent and help your child stick to their scheduled homework and tutoring time- you will see your child is more likely to succeed.
5. Having the Proper Practice (Tutoring) Space and Equipment:
All teams need a place to practice and the proper equipment in order to improve their skills. Make sure that your child and tutor have the space and materials they need for their tutoring sessions. Your child’s Math Tutor may need to use a whiteboard or have access to a CD player or computer. Having the Space and materials can make all the difference!
If you view yourself as part of a Tutoring Team you will be more committed and active in your child’s learning process. When the Team wins a game or when your child starts to improve at school you will feel even more proud because of the part you played to help your child accomplish their goals.
