Signs that your child may need a tutor might not only show up in the lack of making high marks or good grades. Making the decision to use a tutor for your child can be difficult if you are not quite sure what you should be looking for. It can also be a great option to be proactive and bring a tutor on board at the first sight of any of these signs. The earlier you can intervene and provide the support they need, the less time they will struggle and easier it will be on their self-esteem to get back on track.
There are many circumstances in which a tutor can greatly benefit your child. Some signs are easy to see and some are more difficult. These are a few behaviors to look out for:
1. They show frustration doing school work
If you notice your child becoming frustrated when doing homework, it could be a sign that they are struggling with the content that is currently being taught in class. The earlier this is recognized, the better. Tutors are a great resource that can help with homework while also emphasizing difficult concepts so students don’t fall too behind in the classroom.
Related: Five ways tutoring benefits children
2. Confusion about the topics or questions
A child may show confusion about the questions on their homework, or they may not ask many questions because they do not know the questions to ask. Seeing your child be confused can be very difficult. Sometimes children just need another person to explain the process or topic to them or explain it in a way that they understand. A tutor can cater to your child’s learning style and help them understand topics more easily – helping them to be less confused when back in the classroom.
3. Lacking Confidence
There is nothing worse than hearing your child say things like “I’m just not smart enough” or “I hate school.” When children are lacking confidence in their academic abilities or when their self-esteem doesn’t seem to be where it used to be, a tutor can help restore their belief that they are capable. Some signs your child may lack confidence include:
- Putting themselves down
- Reacting to difficulty by simply giving up
- Withdrawing from school activities they used to enjoy
- Talking about how well other students are doing, but not mentioning their own achievements
- Being reluctant to try new things
- Acting out in class or showing aggression
Related: Keeping an eye on your student’s mental healt4.
4. Learning Disabilities
Students with learning difficulties typically show signs of struggling in all of their classes or subjects, rather than just one or two. They may really need one-on-one time with a tutor that can provide a substantial amount of repetition, positive reinforcement or simply validation that they’re on the right track. Sometimes, this extra level of support cannot be provided in a traditional classroom environment. There are many different learning disabilities that may require different approaches – for example, a student with dyslexia may need help breaking larger assignments down into smaller parts.
5. Grade Differences
Keeping an eye on your child’s grades can be an easy way to see if they need extra help. If your child has a substantial grade difference from one grade to the next, they could be in need of some extra support because they might not have fully grasped one of the concepts from a previous class, thus putting them further behind in their new grade level.
6. Test Preparation
Some students are great test takers, while others may freeze or completely blank when it comes time to take a test. As students’ progress through school and tests become a more prominent part of their overall grade, this can be very difficult for students as the tests can be long and in a different format than they are used to. Frequency of testing in the classroom increases a lot in the middle school and high school years, leaving less time to prepare or study. Some children have a really difficult time with tests and a tutor can help teach them test taking strategies. Sometimes students know the content but the test is what throws them off. A test prep tutor can assist in this area.
No matter what difficulty your child is facing in school, tutoring is a great intervention that can help get your child back on track. A tutor can also be a great prevention in stopping some of the above signs. If you notice any of these signs, or your student has a huge test coming up they’re not super confident about, speak with one of our directors at School is Easy Tutoring to learn more about our process and how a tutor can help!
