How To Raise A Happy Genius

The latest research shows that one in four children in the UK, and almost half of the children in London, have private tuition to help them with their school work, and these figures are by no means unusual for many countries around the world. Yet, even though hiring some academic support at home is becoming more and more common, many parents struggle to know exactly what to look for when trying to find a suitable tutor. Some things are obvious (like ensuring they pass the appropriate police background checks which are required for working with children), but others are not. So, to help you find just the right person to help your child, Tom Crossley from TotalTutors London compiled this list of our top ten tips for finding the perfect private tutor:

1. Punctuality Pays:

Private tuition comes at a premium and every minute counts. Ditch a tutor that turns up late or wastes a lot of time sharing small talk with you when on the clock. Instead opt for one that is on time, gets straight to work and gives you feedback after the session is finished (not with ten minutes to go when you’re trying to prep the dinner or enjoy the relative silence!).

2. Don’t Drown in Resources:

Coming prepared is obviously a necessity, but a tutor showing signs of too much preparation can also be harmful too. Watch out for tutors with endless reams of worksheets in tow or a travelling library of textbooks. They should discuss resources with you first and get your approval of any texts they will be using. Look through your child’s work after the session and if it looks like they’ve just spent the whole time answering questions on a sheet, or doing tasks from a textbook, then save your money, miss out the middle-man and just buy the books.

3. Laughter and Learning:

Remember you aren’t hiring a children’s entertainer so your child shouldn’t be in fits of giggles throughout the session, but having some fun is an important part of learning. Great tutors engage children with fun activities and develop funny examples in order to establish a safe and relaxed environment which is optimal for learning. Funny teachers are good teachers so don’t assume that just because your child enjoys the lessons that they aren’t still being challenged or making progress.

4. Are you Positive?

Positivity is arguably the most fundamental tool when working with children. A good tutor will be constantly praising your child and boosting their confidence by focusing on their achievements and successes. It is also important for the tutor to openly communicate to you and your child their weaknesses and the areas they need to work on too. A balance between these two is vital. Think of Matilda’s teachers in the Roald Dahl classic: you don’t want a teacher like Miss Trunchbull who just focuses on the negatives and what children can’t do, but nor do you really want a Miss Honey who, let’s be honest, had fairly low expectations of Matilda and didn’t really help her to learn or teach her anything! Positive, but progressive is the key.

5. What’s in a Name?

It sounds obvious but your child’s tutor should really know their name before they arrive. And their age and year group. If a tutor can’t remember you child’s name after the first session (or they’re clearly dancing around it and referring to them with awkward nicknames like ‘champ’ or ‘kiddo’) then you have to question how personable they have been with your little ‘champ’. Similarly, if your child can’t tell you the tutor’s name then it is safe to assume the relationship may not last.

6. Customised and Personalised:

The tutor you hire is essentially working for you and your child and as such everything they do should be tailor-made and bespoke to your situation. The content of the lessons, the pitch and level of difficulty, the subject-matter and the speed should all be custom-designed for your child. Avoid a tutor that is desperately trying to flog some Peppa Pig poetry to your fourteen-year-old son or teach a maths question to your five-year-old daughter about the cast of Hollyoaks. Everything should be tailored, customised and personalised specifically for your child.

7. Go Pro:

You really don’t want your child’s tutor texting you about their weekend or accidentally calling your number instead of their mates’ at two o’clock in the morning and, let’s be honest, they really don’t want you to text them a photo of your child’s neat drawing or ask their opinion on a homework project you’re working on. This means it’s important to build clear and professional boundaries with your tutor and agree the best way to communicate. However you agree to talk, it’s good practice to establish when you will do this too. Simply saying ‘I’ll email every Sunday evening to arrange for the week ahead’ is perfectly professional.

8. Those Who Can, Teach:

There are a lot of people out there who will tell you that they can tutor your child and that their real-life, hands-on experience is invaluable to helping your child develop. The reality is that this is simply not true. Teaching experience and teaching qualifications are paramount when looking for a teacher. Not only do they definitely have the experience, skills, patience and resources to help your child, they can also explain how to do things rather than just showing your child how it’s done. This small, barely-noticeable difference can be humongous when it comes to learning.

9. Fashion Sense:

No, I’m just kidding! It really doesn’t matter what your tutor wears, but you’d be surprised at how many parents judge a tutor based on their appearance. If they are visibly unprofessional (with an X-rated slogan on their t-shirt or dressed inappropriately) then that’s a different matter, but what they’re wearing or how they look should not be a factor at all. Remember you aren’t hiring a friend here, so you should reserve all judgement until after the first session is complete and base it on your child’s work.

10. Recommendations:

If your tutor really does have all the experience they say they do, then there should be scores of parents willing to give a recommendation or a testimonial for them. Chances are that you have come across this tutor as one of your friends used to employ them and raved about their child’s progress as this is how most tutors are hired. If you are using an agency though or finding a tutor online, they should be able to provide you with testimonials about what previous parents have said about them. If you are unsure, ask for their contact details and drop them a quick line but remember: one bad review doesn’t mean they are a bad tutor.

Written by Tom Crossley, Primary School Teacher and Founder of TotalTutors London (www.totaltutorslondon.co.uk)