A Private Tutor or a Tutoring Company?

You love your child and would do anything in your power to help them succeed. Looking at their academic performance, you know that they are smarter and more capable than what their grades lead you to believe. You’ve talked and worked with your child’s teachers. You’ve even done your best to help your child with their subjects. However you know that in order for your child to succeed, they need individual attention that neither you nor their teacher can provide for a myriad of reasons. You’ve finally reached the conclusion that your child needs additional help.

You’ve decided that your child needs that extra academic attention that a tutor can provide.

However, as you browse through your tutoring options, you discover that finding a tutor is not easy. There is in-person tutoring, online tutoring, private tutoring as well as peer tutoring. There are also a myriad of tutoring centers, all claiming to help your child succeed with their methodology. Your search has become confusing, overwhelming and most importantly, your child needs help now. You want them to have help as soon as possible. The clock is ticking.

What do you do?

First, take a moment to really understand what you are paying for and the value that you are getting. This may sound odd, but thinking through this beforehand saves you trouble down the road. It saves you the potential disappointment of discovering that what you thought you were paying for was not really what you received in terms of service for your child. Ensure that you are getting not only the best tutor to help your child, but also the best value for your dollar. The money you spend should go toward your child obtaining the best instructor and nothing else.

So if you select a tutoring company, understand what you are paying for is not just for that tutor and their level of expertise. You are also paying for the overhead of that organization. You are paying for their building, their electricity, their staff, marketing, and then comes the tutor which more than likely is only getting 33% of the advertised rate. This is why you often see tutoring companies charge fees in excess of $60 or more per hour. Someone has to pay for the cost. Such costs are passed onto you, the parent. Don’t be lulled into the fact that an expensive tutoring fee means that your child has the best tutor or the most knowledgeable person when using a tutoring company.

Compared to tutoring companies, private tutors typically charge lower fees. This is achievable because there are no overhead costs as mentioned earlier that a private tutor has to contribute to or incur. For you as the parent, that means that you are truly getting not only a good tutor, but an academic expert that you feel is charging an hourly fee that is equal to their expertise and ability to help your child. More importantly you as the parent will have the opportunity to select the tutor versus one being selected for your child, which a tutoring company obviously does for you. You know your child best, how they learn and interact with others. So shouldn’t you be involved in the decision versus a stranger from a company?

Finding a Private Tutor

You would think is a chore as you can’t simply find one in places like the Yellow Pages or a generic bulletin board at your local grocery store. Remember the clock is ticking and your child needs assistance now. You need clear and concise information to make an informed decision. Fortunately there are websites, such as LogonTutor.com, that make finding a private tutor a breeze. You just go to the website and type in your subject and zip code.

When searching on LogonTutor.com, you will see a list of tutoring profiles at the search results. Make sure that you take the time to read each profile and then contact any tutor that you view as a match for your child and their needs. Also make sure when looking at a tutor’s profile, you factor in their education, their references, their background check, and their experience. Most importantly when you and the potential tutor do connect with one another ensure that you feel that the tutor demonstrates compassion for as well as an understanding your child’s needs. Ensure that they want your child to succeed as much as you do.

If you take the above actions, you will be well on your way to making an informed decision. A decision that hopefully  you will feel comfortable with as well as your child versus leaving it up to a tutoring company that has fees built into their costs for your child.