At the halfway mark in the semester or changeover in quarter, students are receiving their first progress reports. For some, grades may fall below expectations, sparking concerns about academic performance. Before hiring tutors to remediate a perceived lack of understanding, I’d recommend reflecting and analyzing the course to more effectively pinpoint the issue and determine…
Now, at the mid-school year point, many families worry that a student’s fall term grades were less than expected, many concerned about a dwindling college admissions opportunities. Seeking to bridge the gap between what happened and expectations, families can rush implementation of a solution, typically hiring a tutor, without understanding what is breaking in the…
From the middle to the end of any semester, I start receiving calls from worried parents for tutor referrals. What I’ve learned in my decade of experience is that families hire tutors for a variety of reasons. Being clear on the specific reasons for engaging a tutor can make the the tutoring relationship the most…
At this time of the school year–after first semester grades and well-into the next semester–I receive increased requests for tutor referrals. Parents and students naturally assume that a less than expected grade in a class is due to content deficit–that somehow the student just “isn’t getting it”; “it” being the ideas and concepts presented in…
Learning is a combination of asking questions for clarification, quiet reflection to understand the meaning of the words spoken and action to test the lessons of what was heard. A possible re-examination may be needed to review the lessons and revise its application. Sometimes, this cycle repeats multiple times over many years. (Or as I…
