Fire the Tutor and Free Yourself

You have been unhappy with the tutor you hired for your child. Neither have your child’s grades improved, nor has enthusiasm been shown by the tutor you hired. You wonder and worry whether there is an alternative.

Yes, there are. All you need is a computer at home, and an internet connection. Today on the web, you can find thousands of tutors you need. Indeed at one point, this author noted there were more than 2, 00,000 tutor online. Of course not all may suit you, but some will certainly be worth it.

Online tutoring is the newest alternative for those who seek quality tutoring of their children. There are tutors of all kinds, and tutoring agencies of various types; some specialize in one subject alone, and others cater to all subjects. These tutors are located within your own country, and also are from the rest of the world. Your alternatives are not limited; rather, they have grown, instead of the small group of teachers you knew within your own community.

In online tutoring, there are two things to consider. One is whether the other person – the tutor – is fully conversant with the English language and two whether the tutor knows the syllabi of your child’s school. Third, whether that particular tutor or agency has really got the skill set that is required to take hold of your child’s hand, and guide him through the various facets of the subject that he is deficient in.

You can check out these facts by going through some of the sites. Most probably for the English language capability, outside of America and US, the choice would most likely be India. India has a long tradition of learning, on which it places great value, and importantly, the subjects taught are likely to be nearly along the same lines as your child’s school, since the curriculum was set nearly a century ago by its then masters, the British.

Nearly all tutoring sites offer some kind of a trial. Try them out. You can be sure you will find one that will suit your pocket; some of the sites, at least from India, are quite inexpensive, say around $ 15 per hour. And the time difference between America and India helps. When your child has had horsed around enough in the evening, and it’s time to sit down for home work or study, at that time the tutor in India would have had his dinner and be ready for coaching.

Online tutoring, or coaching, entails three things; one, is obviously a computer system, and I am sure your child knows how to manipulate the mouse and use the keyboard, second is a digital pen, and of course something which can be easily provided in a Skype connection. The digital pen is for use on the virtual blackboard that is often used by the tutor and the student, and the Skype connection helps the student to communicate orally with his tutor. The most relevant factor here is that since the tutor is located at a distance, there is a certain degree of restraint on the part of the child and the tutor. Restraint on the part of the child is that he is more likely to be more attentive than when he was being tutored at home.

Another advantage of the system is that if the student comes up against a problem, after his time is up, or he has late night thought about, he can still submit his query to the tutor by email, and the tutor would be able to either post an answer on the mailbox, or can take it up when next they both get together online.

Some facts and figures cannot be converted into words or communicated via language. It requires a diagrammatic representation of the problem. That’s where the digital pen and the virtual blackboard come in. Both the student and tutor can use this to interact together. A more important use of such a system is that the tutor can post questions for the student, and the student can both copy it down or save the board itself, and then answer them one by one, as time permits.

Why India you would certainly ask? Quite a reasonable question; it is a fact today, unpleasant though it may sound to the American or the Englishman, that amongst the largest population which speaks English in the world is based in India. Without pressing the matter further, you too would have read reports that students elsewhere in the English speaking countries are themselves not able to spell simple words, and that their quality of language has gone down. My apologies, but facts are facts.

Please also be warned that that even if some tutor or tutorial agency is from India, that does not mean automatically they are saints. Sorry, there are scamsters everywhere. Therefore caution is also advised even when dealing with people from India especially over the internet. You should ask for and get verification of their ability, their capability as demonstrated by their degrees and certainly, ask for references. Even if the reference given is in a far off place, a telephone call, costing pennies, should show you the truth.

You might like to try out one website which this author has seen www.transwebtutors.com. They are one of the largest online tutoring service providers in India. They have highly experience tutors and very rich infrastructure. However you shall verify it yourself, by all means make all enquiries. After all it is your money that is on the line, and your child’s academic future is also on the line. There are other websites too, try them out, and choose the best one suited for your child. That is the bottom line I would say, not a site recommended by anybody.

Good Luck to you and good luck to your child.