In this era of cut throat competition, parents want to see their children rank No 1. Sometimes, children are academically advanced but can’t perform well in the class. Afraid of asking questions, taking time in understanding concepts, boring style of teaching in school, need of personal help are some of the reasons behind this. If these problems are not solved, students lose interest in study and their grades slip. Parents who observe that their child facing these problems can hire private tutors. Private tutors not only help them as additional teaching resource but also have close view on student's performance. looking at the calibre and strength of students, both students and tutors plan strategies to better grades. Below are tips parents should take care of while hiring a tutor.
Get references: An experienced tutor must have taught other students. Parents should ask for at least five referrals. Call them one-by-one and make notes of the feedbacks. You can ask questions related to punctuality, honesty, teaching style of the tutor, progress of student, pros and cons etc. Write down those feedbacks and discuss with the tutor. After all, one wants to hire a good and reliable tutor.
Background checking: By hiring a tutor you are going to permit a person to enter in your premises and teach your child, sometimes in absence of parents too. It's very important to check the background and educational credentials of the tutor. Contacting local enforcement agency like police station is the best way to get the background checking done. They will check the tutor's fingerprints, criminal records, driving records etc.
There are many companies who can check the educational credentials at cost of some price. Parents should only have the tutor come to your house if at least one adult is present at home.
Shop around: It is recommend to go with an individual and not a tuition bureau. This is because bureaus don't always hire knowledgeable tutors, or don't always assign tutors as per one’s need.
Being a middle layer between you and tutor, they want to have their own bite and they quote higher rate than the same independent tutor asks. This directly affects your pocket. There are many websites providing tutors listings. You can search them on qualification, tutoring needs, gender and location. Do the search, make a list of tutors, call them and talk about your tutoring needs, educational and payments plans.
Meet in public: If you are hiring an in-person tutor, plan to meet in public area for face-to-face meeting. Don't forget to tell someone in your family or a friend where you are going and when you will return. Also share tutor's contact details with your family members before meeting. Public places with many people around like coffee shop, cafeteria or library may be ideal places to interview the tutor.
Check work: In metro cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai foreign students teach foreign language and other courses. Before hiring foreign tutor for face-to-face teaching don't forget to verify their work eligibility. Checking work eligibility involves verifying that the prospective tutor is authorised to work in India. If their visa status doesn't allow working in India, they can’t do any paid work like tutoring.
(The writer is Vivek Singh, founder of BharatTutors.com)