If your child is having problems keeping up in school, hiring a tutor for them is a good idea. If they have attention issues, or just can’t seem to understand a certain subject, a tutor can get them through with private lessons at home. However, this plan could be counterintuitive if the tutor’s curriculum does not blend with that of the teachers in your child’s school. This is why it is very important for your child’s tutor and the teachers to communicate.
Communication between the tutor and the teachers ensures that the tutor is simply strengthening the knowledge your child has gained in school. It also prevents confusion, enabling your child to carry on well in school.
Ways That The Tutor And Stay In Touch With Your Child’s Teachers
1. Share Your Tutoring Plans With The Teacher
As a parent, you should let your child’s school know ahead of time that you are getting a tutor for your child. Let the teachers know your plans and what they should expect. This is what will open lines of communication between your tutor and the teachers.
Let the teachers know your main objective for hiring a tutor: so that they will work with the school to aid your child’s educational development in the classroom. Inform the teachers that you would like your tutor to get info on the goings-on at school, in order to better collaborate on the task at hand.
When all that is done, you should ask the teachers how they would like to communicate. You should expressly tell the teachers, and the school, that your tutor is permitted to talk with them (you may be required to write a note to that effect).
2. Set Clear Expectations For The Tutor
The tutor you hire should be clear on what you expect from them as well. Ask the tutor how they usually communicate with schools or classroom teachers. Using this information, you can decide what to maintain and what to discard. Then, inform your tutor of what information you would like them to share with your child’s school teachers, and how often they should do this. For example, your tutor could contact the teachers every 4 weeks (the end of the month), and inquire about your child’s progress in school. Tell the tutor of info they should not share with the teachers as well.
Also, let your tutor know if, and how, you would like to be in on their correspondences. For instance, the tutor should always let you know when they have communicated with the school, and what was discussed concerning your child.
Remember not to rush the process. Give the tutor some time with your child, and see how well the child responds to tutoring. It will take a little while before you get the information you want. The tutor has to know your child and is in touch with the teachers for some time before communication is fluent.
3. Help Work Through Differences In Approach
It is not a completely bad idea for your tutor is use a teaching method that varies from what the teachers use in school. Children learn new things in different ways. A different teaching method may help them understand their lessons in school better.
However, your child’s teachers may object to this, and with good reason. Listen to the teacher’s concerns, and facilitate communication between them and the tutor. They can discuss the situation, and work together to form some common ground between the classroom setting and the home. They can also stay in touch to monitor your child’s progress.
4. Keep The Focus On Your Child
It is important for all parties involved to know that the tuition decisions you have made are for the sole benefit of your child. Some teachers may get offended by the fact that you are hiring a tutor. Understandably so, as it may seem that you feel the teacher isn’t doing his job well.
Make the teacher understand that you only have your child’s best interests at heart. This will help maintain a calm and positive atmosphere. It will also keep the focus of the tutor and the teacher on your child’s educational development and success.
Let the teacher know that your child needs additional aid in their studies outside the classroom. You should also tell the teacher that their help is still required: they could provide necessary information to the tutor to make the child’s success a reality.
5. Keep Communication Open
This cannot be over-emphasized: keep communication open and information flowing. While your tutor and your child’s teachers may stay in touch and be on the same page, you are what links them to your child, and that is important.
You have all sorts of information regarding your child since you know him best. You know about their report cards, test and exam results, progress reports, and so on. It is important that you share these with the tutor, to give them an idea of your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
This information will also keep the tutor on track about what is happening at school. In turn, this lets her create an approach best suited to your child’s record. Also, this information gives her insight on the best time and manner to approach your child’s teachers for more knowledge.
Maintaining a constant flow of information between you and the tutor facilitates proper communication between the tutor and your child’s teachers.
Conclusion
Hiring a tutor may backfire if there isn’t proper communication between the tutor and the school teachers. To ensure that there is proper communication between the tutors and the teachers, you should let the school know your plans of getting a tutor. Listen to their concerns about this, and grant them permission to talk directly with the tutor. Once some middle ground is met, make sure that communication stays open between you, the tutor, and the teachers. And remember that the focus stays on your child.
You may be interested in these related articles too:
The Benefits of Getting an Early Tutor for Your Pre-Schooler
Parents’ Top Tips For Partnering With Your Child’s Teacher
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