10 Reasons Kids Need Summer Tutors-Reason #9

Hi there, Charlie here with reason #9 kids may benefit from summer tutoring.

Reason #9: That last report card showed a drop in grades either during the school year or summer school.


For some students, grades fluctuate a little bit throughout their schooling years.  For example, I used to be terrible at math and science until I hit high school, then my grades picked up quite a bit.  My best friend had always been great at history, but even his grades fluctuated between As and Bs all through junior high and high school. 

The problem is, if an otherwise straight A and B student is suddenly bringing home Cs and Ds, there is a problem.

Sit down with your tutee and have a quick talk about what's going on.  Ask about the classes, homework, extracurricular activities, teachers - get a general picture of a day in the life of your tutee.  Ask your tutee why he or she has experienced a drop in grades.  Talk to the student's parent(s) if possible, and ask the same types of questions - maybe they have some insight into what's going on with your tutee's grades.

It could be that it was just a very difficult set of classes, maybe the schedule was too jam packed, your tutee could have test anxiety, or perhaps your tutee needs help organizing and prioritizing his or her daily study schedule.  


Whatever the case, if you are able to talk out the situation with your tutee, help him or her get organized, and instill in him or her a sense of confidence and enthusiasm, chances are the grades will show improvement during the next semester. 


It is also a good idea to continue the tutoring throughout the next semester just to make sure that the grades continue to improve, and to prevent a grade backslide during the semester. 

10 Reasons Kids Need Summer Tutors-Reason #8

© sxc.hu/ilco

Hi everyone, Charlie here with another reason why a student may need summer tutoring.

Reason #8: A student is trying to avoid going to school even though there is no bullying or other negative situation occurring.  

True, this can be a common complaint from students (and parents) everywhere, but avoidance of school is definitely something that can be lessened (or eliminated) during the summer.

Provided there is no bullying, and no other negative situation occurring at school, a desire not to go to classes could boil down to a few easily fixable reasons:

- no enthusiasm for the material or classes
- bored during class
- feeling overwhelmed by work
- a desire to have fun rather than sit in a classroom
- no confidence with the coursework
- test anxiety

Well, good news...I think you all know where I'm going with this by now...tutoring can help!

In situations involving a lack of enthusiasm for learning, tutors can play a big role in getting students hyped up about practically any subject - the wonders of science through cool experiments, the fun of English through story writing, even the excitement of mathematics through physics games or music.  Cases of boredom (assuming the tutee doesn't to be moved up a grade) can also be remedied by a tutor bringing in "real life," fun examples of class subjects.

Feeling overwhelmed by too much classwork or homework is also easily remedied by a few study habit modifications.  When I was a kid, I swore by the 80s favorite - the Trapper Keeper™!  I never went to school without it - I stored all of my class handouts, homework (both graded and pending assignments),  worksheets, even extra curricular information in that thing.  The point is that as soon as I got organized, my grades improved dramatically, and I no longer felt overwhelmed.  A quick chat with your tutee can help pinpoint areas where more organization is needed.

A desire to be out having fun rather than sitting in class (or work for us adults who are out of school) is another common complaint.  This one isn't really too difficult to tackle - an explanation of the time ratio can work wonders.  Sit down with your tutee and spend a few minutes going over how long classes are, and how long homework takes every day.  Then divide that by all the "awake" hours in the day - the classes and homework will most likely be a relatively small percentage of the total week's hours.  Explain how getting organized, and tackling homework ASAP can allow for more fun hours in the day, because all of the responsibilities for the day will be checked off the "to do" list.

No confidence with the coursework or test anxiety are also easily changeable by a great tutor.  Since this post is already pretty long (thanks for sticking with me this far), I'll point you to my other two blog postings that really get into detail about these two issues:
Self-esteem and confidence
Test anxiety

With some good tutoring, any of these problems can be a thing of the past for your tutee, and he or she will be ready to tackle the upcoming school year with renewed enthusiasm.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
© sxc.hu/ilco
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ilco

10 Reasons Kids Need Summer Tutors-Reason #7

© sxc.hu/nazreth

Hi there, Charlie here with reason #7 kids may benefit from summer tutoring.

Reason #7: A student is not paying attention to his or her classes or homework.

Maybe you have a tutee who has stopped paying attention during class.  Honestly, we all been there - I was quite the doodler myself through a few years of school - but it is important to tackle the issue before the next semester begins.

Kids who are enthusiastic about a subject, are excited about learning something new, or are confident with a subject will always be more likely to pay attention during class.  Can you make geometry as thrilling as scuba diving?  Probably not, but you can make it fun and interesting enough that your tutee wants to pay attention!

During summer tutoring it is also good to tackle good vs. bad study habits.  Work with your tutee on scheduling time for homework, let him or her know that budgeting time for homework means more time later for fun. 

Talk to your tutee about how he or she works in class.  Get an idea of where they sit, who they sit with, what they do - look over some class notes and help them learn the best, most efficient way of taking notes.

Ask about homework and study habits.  Offer some effective learning and studying techniques so that your tutee can get the most out of his or her study time.

By making a subject more interesting, giving the tutee confidence, and helping your tutee develop better study habits you will be arming your tutee with knowledge, self-discipline, and self-esteem for the upcoming school year!
-------------------------------------------------
Photo credit: © sxc.hu/nazreth
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/nazreth