Published On: Tuesday, October 18, 2022|Categories: Education Info, Learning Strategies|

Academic tutoring for students often connects to failure in the minds of many parents and even teachers. “This student is dropping behind, so they need tutoring.” “Your child failed the class, have you considered getting a summer tutor?” At The Tenney School, however, we believe that comments like these undermine the true value of tutoring. Tutoring is not merely a remedy to fall back on if something goes wrong. Tutoring is an important tool that you can use to put your student ahead academically. The benefits of proactive tutoring are many!

Remember, there are different types of tutoring. Some tutors offer a class-like experience, where there is one educator and many students. This could be from weekly classes to monthly classes or anywhere in between. Another type of tutoring is called high-dosage tutoring. This is a one-on-one tutoring experience that is held around three times a week. Although it may sound daunting (and yes, it is a big commitment), high-dosage tutoring is extremely effective. Here are five ways this kind of tutoring promotes academic success.

1. Tutoring Addresses the Student’s Individual Needs 

Typical classroom education teaches topics generally. But it does not have the capacity to address an individual student’s needs and struggles. The schedule of learning cannot bend to accommodate a student who needs more time on a specific project, nor can it speed up for a single student who finds a concept easy. Tutoring, on the other hand, is much more tailored to the individual. It allows your student to spend time on what they need to work on while breezing past things that are easy for them.

2. It Allows for a Better Relationship With School

No one likes to be forced to do something they are not good at. That is just human nature – and we as adults should understand that. Students who are able to perform well at school due to tutoring will naturally have a better relationship with the school. A truly skilled tutor will not only help your student understand the academic concepts they are working on, they will also help your student see why these subjects are important and even exciting. When your student understands this, they will enjoy school and know the worth of the work they are putting in.

3. It Focuses on Learning, Not Performance

Unfortunately, many typical education systems are merely preparing students to perform. Giving the right answer in front of the class or scoring well on an exam is counted as good learning. But in reality, many students can spew correct answers without truly internalizing the information they need. In tutoring, the performance aspect cuts out and the focus is on true learning and understanding. Students can answer questions wrong – and then the tutor helps them understand the problem.

4. It Improves Social Skills in the Context of Academics

Classroom learning involves sitting and listening to a teacher. Tutoring, on the other hand, is much more relational. Students and tutors discuss things. Students are allowed to ask questions. They can express curiosity about something and go on a rabbit trail if they want (and good tutors recognize which rabbit trails promote learning). They can try different experiments with their tutor. This ability to cross-socialization with academics will stand them in good stead in the future when they go to college and beyond.

5. Tutoring Fosters Academic Confidence and Independence

A good tutor helps their student learn how to study. They do not merely spoon-feed their knowledge. Rather, they demonstrate to the student how to find the correct conclusion on their own. They teach healthy study habits and then encourage the student to take those habits and run with them. Through tutoring, your student will learn how to learn. And this is something that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Conclusion

Through all of these ways and more, tutoring highly improves a student’s academic success rate, not just for the present but for the future as well. Thus, finding a skilled and empathetic tutor for your child is extremely important. Look no further than Tenney Tutors. And if you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact us. Your student’s success is our goal.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!