What is tutoring?

It's not a silly question; it's one we get all the time!

Most parents and students really don't know what their options are, and therefore few know how to pick a solution that's right for them.

Here's your quick, handy reference guide so that you'll be able to talk to tutoring companies and evaluate their services and their fit for your family! Let's get started by clearing up some common misconceptions. . . (click on any myth to see a detailed explanation)

Myth #1: "Tutoring" always means "help with schoolwork."

Myth #2: In order to sign up for tutoring, you have to commit to a regular, weekly schedule just like for piano lessons.

Myth #3: Tutors need to be certified teachers.

Myth #4: How much you'll spend on tutoring depends on the hourly rate of the tutor, so look for the cheapest hourly rate possible.

Myth #5: It makes more sense to have a tutor come to your own house.

Myth #6: Tutors are just people who don't have the experience/qualifications to be teachers yet.

Myth #7: There is such a thing as a "certified" tutor in Canada.

Myth #8: Tutoring is only for kids with problems.

Myth #9: Kids who are tutored always become dependent upon their tutors.

Myth #10: You should wait until the situation is bad enough that you need serious help before looking into how a tutor can help.

Myth #1: "Tutoring" always means "help with schoolwork."

In fact, most of the "tutoring" centres you know don't actually help your child with his school work at all! Most of the well-known educational franchises use their own curriculum and teach their own lessons. These lessons may or may not relate to your child's school work.

There are two main ways of approaching school problems: remediation and reinforcement.

Remediation is often described as going back to the student's "level" and then re-teaching the basics. This is the method most often used by large, commercial centres who have their own curriculum and their own ways of teaching. People who promote this form of tutoring believe that a child needs to learn specific skills in specific orders in order to ever really "get" math. They offer programs that are completely separate from what the student is doing in school. In fact, they are almost always teaching skills far behind the child's own school work because they are "going back to basics."

Reinforcement is often described as "supportive" tutoring: tutoring that specifically targets what a student is doing right now in school. This method is most often used by smaller tutoring centres or by independent tutors. People who promote this type of tutoring believe that even students with a weaker foundation can be supported and quickly brought up to their current grade level by strategic remediation, that is, only going back and picking up only the specific pieces you need when you need them. They offer an opportunity for the student to translate tutoring into immediate school-related results. For example, after just one reinforcement lesson, a student should be able to complete his current day's homework.

Ironically, most parents looking for help with schoolwork end up calling a "big name" place first, but these are precisely the people who do not offer that type of tutoring! They then find themselves trapped in restrictive, pre-paid remedial programs when they really need a reinforcement strategy. This is because remedial centres are so well known that parents call them first, even when what they are really looking for a reinforcement tutor.

Why are these centres so well-known? Because their pre-made programs are easy to implement, easy to franchise and therefore are highly profitable, generating the cash necessary for national advertising and developing brand recognition. Just like every McDonald's hamburger is the same around the world, a franchise learning experience is a standardized experience. Reinforcement tutoring cannot be standardized because every lesson is different. That's why it's so important to know the difference, and to know which one you need before you call a company.

Remediation tends to work well either for younger students (grade 6 and below) or for students who don't need to worry about keeping up in school. Remediation works best when the child can focus on the remediation curriculum and doesn't have to also juggle a separate, unrelated school curriculum. So, remediation can work if you have an agreement with your child's teacher that your child is getting support elsewhere, if your child is home schooled, or if your child is not currently enrolled in math.

Reinforcement is almost always the best seletion for struggling junior high or high school students who are best served by a program that helps them with their daily school work. At this older age, students are very sensitive to their performance in class and it is important to help them be successful in this environment. Students who struggle in high school are often pretty frustrated by their school work and are not really eager to take on a second, remedial math curriculum, too! This is why we suggest reinforcement tutoring (also known in academic research circles as "shadow tutoring") for Grades 7 and up. This way, the work done with a tutor directly relates to (or "shadows") their own school curriculum and works to bring them up to that current level as quickly as possible.

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Myth #2: In order to sign up for tutoring, you have to commit to a regular, weekly schedule just like for piano lessons.

Many people are hesitant to go to a tutor because they believe they'll be "sucked in" to a large committment. No student should go to their tutor just "because it's Wednesday" -- tutoring can be on an as-needed basis. Many students do need consistent, regular help because they find even their daily schooling a struggle. But, many students will only schedule a session with a tutor just before a big test to clear up any last minute questions and to get a final boost of confidence.

Tutoring to support school work should only be as regular as the school difficulties, otherwise you run the risk of students becoming over-depenedent upon tutoring.

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Myth #3: Tutors need to be certified teachers.

Tutoring is very different from classroom teaching, and requires a very different set of skills. (See our Founder quoted in the Washington Post.)

Tutors are focused on only one student at a time, and they must be highly capable of working one-on-one with students. While classroom lessons can be planned ahead of time, tutors must know how to create a lesson "on the spot" as they identify the strengths and weaknesses of their student. A tutor must be skilled in "reading" the student, and knowing when "I understand" doesn't really mean "I understand." No student wants or needs to be taught something they already understand, and no student can learn harder material when they haven't really understood the earlier work. A professional tutor must be able to judge when it's time to move on, so that the student is neither bored nor lost.

It is important to remember that "certified teachers" (which, by the way, is only a requirement for teaching in public schools, not private, religious or independent schools) have been trained to be public school teachers. Much of their training involves classroom management, public school regulations and policies, and how to deal with paperwork. They also learn how to include all students in the classroom, work with a variety of skill levels at the same time, avoid demonstrating favouritism and how to promote the social, moral and behavioural values of the public school system. Very few skills taught in teachers' college are important for tutors. And in fact, many of the key skills for tutors are never taught in typical teacher training programs: forming relationships, adjusting your teaching style to the student in front of you, letting the student lead the session, coaching a student to talk his way, step-by-step, through problem areas and adjusting your expectations on the spur of the moment.

Teachers have a very specific job to do, and so do tutors. Teachers teach classes of students and tutors teach individual students.

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Myth #4: How much you'll spend on tutoring depends on the hourly rate of the tutor, so look for the cheapest hourly rate possible.

So many families have thrown away money thinking they were getting a bargain! Please don't fall into that trap!

The truth is that you cannot predict the total cost of tutoring based on the tutor's hourly rate. The reason for this is quite simple, although most people don't know it: when you have a better tutor, you use significantly fewer hours of the tutor's time! It is not an exaggeration to say that an expert tutor can help your learn material in a single hour that a lower-quality tutor may need at least 2 or even 3 hours to cover and achieve the same quality of understanding. So in some cases, not only can a tutor who charges *double* end up being cheaper in the long run, but also this tutor doesn't waste your valuable time!

Many people think they can't afford "good quality" tutoring. The truth is that no one can afford to waste money on ineffective tutoring!

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Myth #5: It makes more sense to have a tutor come to your own house.

It's the ultimate in service, right? Wrong! A tutor that comes to your house spends just as much of his time travelling as he does tutoring. He is often tired, frustrated from battling traffic, and has to work in foreign surroundings.

Professional tutors use textbooks, workbooks, reference materials, sample quizzes, tests, which they simply cannot carry around from house to house. Since tutors must react to their students' needs, they cannot always predict ahead of time which materials will be useful in a tutoring session.

Also, students simply do not focus and concentrate as well in their own home as they do in an outside environment. There are too many distractions at home, despite the best attempts of parents to not disturb the tutoring session.

This is an example of a perceived benefit that is actually a significant disadvantage. Many tutoring companies like the "in-home" tutor model because it's easier for them, and they can mislead you into thinking it's easier for you, too! These tutoring companies are allowed to treat their employees as "independent contractors" (meaning that they don't have to pay CPP and EI to the government), don't have to maintain a real office space (reducing costs significantly) and many simply work as taxi dispatchers. And, despite all the money they're saving, they charge you more for this so-called benefit!

These companies can stretch large geographical areas and have literally hundreds of employees. How well do they know the tutor they're sending into your home? When they say they'll "match you up" with a tutor, they don't tell you that this matching process is primarily determined by geographics. In fact, tutoring companies have knowingly sent English tutors to homes requesting Math tutors, simply because that was the tutor in the local area. If the family complains, they'll just send someone different next time. But, what good does that do a student with a test tomorrow? It does no good. But, since an "in-home" company doesn't have to deal with families face-to-face, it's easier for them to go about their business without ever having to look you, or the poor tutors who have to work under these conditions, in the eye.

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Myth #6: Tutors are just people who don't have the experience/qualifications to be teachers yet.

As mentioned in Myth #3, tutoring and teaching are very different activities. Professional tutors are tutors because they love working one-on-one with students, establishing a personal bond and being able to tailor their teaching to an individual student. Tutors also work very different schedules than teachers, giving them a greater flexibility to tutor while pursuing other jobs or hobbies at the same time as tutoring.

Many tutors who take satisfaction, pride and joy in their work would never dream of giving it up to become classroom teachers. In recent years studies have shown that over 50% of new teachers in Ontario burn out and quit within their first three years of teaching. Tutors, however, are generally quite happy with their work.

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Myth #7: There is such a thing as a "certified" tutor in Canada.

There is no accrediting body in Canada for tutors. There is no Canadian professional organization of tutors. Anyone can call himself a tutor, and there is no point in asking if a tutor is "certified" because tutors cannot be certified tutors.

You will sometimes see tutors advertised as being "qualified." One would certainly hope so! Remember that the word "qualified" means "able" -- qualified is not a synonym for "certified" (which means having received official credentials from an accredited organization). And so again, there is no point in asking if a tutor is "qualified" -- that word has no official meaning, and therefore is simply used in advertising material because it "sounds good."

Update: July 2006: Sensing there is much money to be made in certifying tutors, a university student recently started "certifying" other university students who wished to become tutors. What criteria did they need to become certified? They had to have previously tutored for 25 hours.Twenty-five?! Professional tutors will work that many hours in less than a week! At the time of writing this, our Founder estimates that she has tutored approximately25,000 hours over the course of her career. If the choice were between a "certified" tutor and our own Founder, which tutor would you want?

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Myth #8: Tutoring is only for kids with problems.

About 50% of our students at Mostly Math are "A" students! Tutoring is not a punishment for underperforming students. Nor is it a sign that there's something "wrong" with your child. Some of the best students in your children's classes have tutors!

Tutors help strong students become even stronger, especially when they can't get enough personalized attention in the classroom. "A" students get tutors because they care about doing well and they know exactly what they don't know. Also, these students are often in very demanding schools or academic programs where the competition is quite high. Furthermore, many schools expect their students to have tutors in order to keep up with their academic demands.

We also work with good students who are just having a rough year. Maybe they've been ill or away and missed a lot of school. Maybe there is a problem with their teacher at school or they've had substitute after substitute and for whatever reason, just haven't learned very much this year.

Our summer tutoring especially brings in several high achieving students who understand the importance of preparing for the next year. We often work with students by filling in any gaps from the previous year as well as pre-teaching next year's material. These students walk into next year confident, skilled, and the "A" students that they know they are!

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Myth #9: Kids who are tutored always become dependent upon their tutors.

When you have the right tutor, you learn academic independence as well as content. In fact, as students have more tutoring, they learn how to use tutoring to their best advantage. Students who first come because they need help even starting their homework learn the skills necessary to tackle homework on their own. Then, they come for tutoring with their homework mostly done, just needing help with a few difficult questions. We've worked with students who had such little confidence, they couldn't write a paragraph without help. Eventually, these students come for tutoring with their essay drafts done simply asking for ways to improve and polish their work.

And, a large number of students who have been tutored become tutors! These students have learned not only their course material, but they have learned how to help themselves, and in the process, how to help others.

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Myth #10: You should wait until the situation is bad enough that you need serious help before looking into how a tutor can help.

Perhaps this should be Myth #1 as it's perhaps the most common, yet avoidable, mistake people make!

Most students should not need more than 1 or at most 2 hours of tutoring per week. Yet, by the time parents think about getting a tutor, most students are so far behind that it's simply not possible to catch up and keep up in just an hour or two per week. Not only is there so much material that the student never mastered, but the pace of a class picks up as the year goes on as teachers need to get marks in, cover the necessary units for exams etc. If a student only came in for 1 hour per week in September, there would be no catching up to do in October, when the material gets more challenging!

Truly, an hour of tutoring at the beginning of the year, when problems are easy enough to catch and it doesn't take much work to get completely caught up is worth five or more hours of tutoring later in the year! Not only are you saving time and money, but you're reducing fear, grief, frustration, fights and complaints. At the same time, you're increasing confidence, self-esteem, motivation and attitude!

The time to see a tutor is the first time you can't do your homework! If you think that's too soon because you don't need that much help, consider this: if your problems are all cleared up in 20 minutes, then that leaves 40 minutes of an hour session to get ahead and learn the next day's lessons. After that, you are already going to be able to do the next day's homework, too!

Instead of being just a little shaky after one day, a little more shaky the next class and letting things build up until you simply can't do your homework, you could be ahead right from the beginning! In the first situation, you came only once for tutoring. In the second situation, you probably need at least 2 or 3 hours to get caught up to the same level of confidence. Which option makes more sense?

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