How to Tell When a Tutor is Not the Right Fit

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How to Tell When a Tutor is Not the Right Fit

Bill Balatsos • Nov 05, 2021

Time for a tutoring change?

Inviting somebody into your child’s life takes some serious consideration, especially when their education is at stake. At Club Z! Tutoring Glenbrook, we often receive questions about how to determine if a tutor is a good fit for a student. It’s easy to think of the signs that a tutor is good at what they do, but what about the signs that a tutor is a bad fit?

Here, we’ll review the telltale signs of a tutor who is not the right fit for your child.

There’s No Change in Your Child’s Progress

Let’s start with the obvious one.

Learning a subject or changing a grade doesn’t happen overnight. It can take time for a child and a new tutor to settle into a routine and find the best approach to learning. However, if you don’t notice any improvement in your child’s grades or understanding of schoolwork, it could be a reflection of the current tutor.

Tutors aren’t magicians and changing grades requires work on both sides. If you feel your child is putting in an appropriate amount of work to understand their studies, it might be time for a new tutor.

Frequently Late or Absent

Tutoring should be purposeful and with an objective in mind. If your child isn’t studying for a particular test or assignment, the learning should be structured toward the current curriculum or future curriculum at school.

A tutor who is late or absent may skip, miss, or delay certain lessons from being thoroughly explored. This could impact your child’s overall test scores, success with assignments, and confidence in the subject.

Your Child Dreads Tutoring Sessions

In an upcoming blog post, we will discuss how kids need to buy-into, not only the idea of tutoring, but the tutors themselves.

Schoolwork isn’t everybody’s favorite task, but if your child dreads tutoring sessions, it might be more than the curriculum causing their distaste. Speak to your child to find out how they feel about their tutor, and what they like and dislike about the sessions.

When your child is gelling their tutor, they are more likely to be engaged by the subjects being taught. Engagement helps with retention, and retention encourages greater focus and higher grades as a result.

No Progress Reports

A tutor should know where your child is in their current lesson plan and how well they understand the subject matter. If a tutor can’t tell you how your child is doing or what they’re struggling with, it could be the wrong fit.

We recommend requesting weekly reports, including topics of study, strengths, and weaknesses. This helps you determine tutoring schedules and lets you communicate with teachers about the curriculum.

As with most matters in life, staying organized and keeping on top of your progress creates the best chance for success.

Now, it certainly takes two, as they say, meaning your child has to make an effort to make a student/tutor relationship work. If they’ve exhausted those efforts, and they’re still not getting the desired results, then it’s time for a change.

The Club Z! Difference

Club Z! Tutoring of Glenbrook specializes in providing individualized, in-home and virtual tutoring for students k - 12 in Northbrook and Glenview. If you want your child to work on developing skills that will translate to improved grades and self-esteem, contact us today at: bbalatsos@clubztutoring.com. You can also reach us at 847-440-3440 and by visiting clubztutoringglenbrook.com.

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