How to Know Whether Your Child Needs a Tutor

Contents

1. Question 1: Is the problem one-time or repeated?
2. Question 2: Where did the base break down?
3. Question 3: Problem at the level or in the organization
4. Question 4: Is there a specific deadline?
5. The decision tree
6. When a tutor is particularly useful
7. What to report before the first lesson
8. How to Check Your First Class

Not every bad score requires a tutor, and not every long-term problem is solved with an extra lesson. It is more useful to walk through the decision tree and understand what kind of task an external teacher should solve.

Question 1: Is the problem one-time or repeated?

Skipping a topic, failing a test or challenging week doesn’t necessarily mean a systemic gap. If the difficulty recurs for weeks or months, go deeper.

Question 2: Where did the base break down?

• The new topic is incomprehensible because of the old one.
• The child guesses the algorithm, but does not understand the principle.
• Errors are repeated in similar tasks.
• Independent work is much worse than working with a tip.

Question 3: Problem at the level or in the organization

Question 4: Is there a specific deadline?

An exam, a transfer to a new school, an international program or an Olympiad make an additional structure particularly useful.

The decision tree

1. Is the problem repeating itself? If not, we observe.
2. Is there a specific subject gap? If so, we define it.
3. Is school explanation not enough? Looking for another way to explain.
4. Got a deadline? Planning frequency and control points.
5. Is the problem not substantive? We work with her source first.

When a tutor is particularly useful

• System gaps;
• examination preparation;
• Regular feedback is required;
• The school pace is too fast or too slow.
• Practices that are not in the classroom.
• The child has a different way of explaining.

What to report before the first lesson

How to Check Your First Class

1. Is there a diagnosis?
2. Can the teacher explain where the gap is?
3. Is there a target for the coming weeks?
4. Is it clear how progress will be measured?
5. Does the child become more independent?

The right question is not “do we need a tutor at all” but “what specific problem we want to solve and why individual learning is right for it.”

What to read and do next

• Your Child Doesn't Want to Study: What Parents Can Do and What to Avoid
• How to Motivate a Child to Study Without Punishment or Threats
• When Tutoring Isn't Working: 7 Signs It's Time to Change Teachers
• How to Choose a Good Teacher: 12 Questions Before Your First Lesson
• How to Spot a Good Tutor: Signs of a Strong Teacher
• Selecting a teacher
• RALMIX Courses