When is tutoring useful at school?

When is tutoring useful?

More and more parents want to improve their children’s school performance by paying for private tutoring. The pressure to perform in schools is increasing and high school students in particular often take private tuition to improve their grades. Even good students who get grades in the twos and threes take tutoring to get even better. It is questionable whether tutoring is of much use in such a case, because particularly ambitious parents are more likely to achieve the opposite due to the increased pressure to perform. In addition, very few children find the idea of ​​taking private tuition pleasant, because the additional learning ultimately means less free time and intensive study of an unloved subject.

Tutoring is particularly effective if your child has major knowledge gaps in certain areas, for example because they changed schools, were ill for a long time or because they had other things on their mind than learning and school . Some children simply need a little more explanation than others on certain topics. In such a case, tutoring can be useful, especially if you have little time to study with your child, if you are not good at explaining the topic yourself, or if your child does not want you to explain anything to him.

What can tutoring do?

Tutoring should remain the exception and not become a permanent condition. Be sure to set clear targets: Certain gaps in your child’s knowledge should be addressed in a limited amount of time. It is better if your child only gets help on certain topics or in a single subject. Repeating the entire school material from a school year is not very promising.

Whether your child’s performance really improves depends on the quality of the tutoring. However, in order to be able to improve from a five to a two in a subject, a lot of time and patience is required. That’s why you shouldn’t have too high expectations and be happy about your child’s small successes. If tutoring institutes lure you with big promises, you should be careful, because miracles cannot be achieved through tutoring. Your child will be more likely to catch up on classwork so they can keep up with their classmates again. If you get a three on your report card in all other subjects, you probably won’t suddenly become a first-class student, even with tutoring.

What should you consider when tutoring your child?

Anyone can give private tuition in Germany, because no special qualification is required to be a private tutor. Therefore, when you choose a tutor for your child, you should make sure that he or she has mastered the material that your child is supposed to catch up on. There are a variety of professional tutoring institutes, sometimes schools offer homework tutoring and programs for their students, but older students and college students also offer tutoring to earn some extra money.

A tutoring lesson can cost between 5 and 45 euros, depending on who you book it with. However, the price is not necessarily an indicator of the quality. An older student may be able to explain the rule of three to your child better for a few euros per hour than the expensive tutoring institute. The most important thing is that your child gets along well with the tutor. That’s why your child should definitely take a few trial lessons before you agree on tutoring for a longer period of time. Make sure that your child is given individual support and that the tutor specifically addresses your child’s problems.

If your child is to receive private tuition in a specific subject, it is best to discuss this with your child’s teacher in advance. He can tell you where exactly there are still difficulties and what your child can repeat during private tutoring. He may also have specific suggestions about what your child should do on their own at home, such as learning vocabulary or doing homework , and where they could use tutoring support, such as reviewing grammar rules or practicing reading aloud.