Photo credit: martinak15
Many parents of pre-teens and teenagers feel like pulling their hair out. We can remember what it felt like to by young and rebellious, trying to grow up fast. But that doesn’t make it any simpler when attempting to communicate with or just scratch the surface of understanding teenagers.
During this long window of adolescence, students face multiple pressures, whether academic, social or home life. And as they grow into junior and senior high school students, stress just seems to increase with SAT’s and college applications.
In the midst of this anxiety and decision making, parents often find themselves rebuffed when their attempted advice is perceived as pushiness or disapproval. In situations like these, the one person who might be able to help even more than a therapist is a tutor.
But Their Grades Are Already Fine?
Tutors are not just helpful when it comes to raising test scores, all though that might be a real bonus. A tutor can be that outside voice of input in your child’s life when your own counsel gets drown out by shouting, screaming or crying.
Tutors are equipped to help guide your student through the process of graduating, preparing application materials and researching colleges. They can also help boost confidence in preparation for the SAT or ACT. But equally important is the extra friend and dependable adult that they provide for your child in the midst of what feels like the crisis of growing up.
What to Look for in a Tutor
A quality tutor can be great for your child’s grades. “Tutored students outperformed control students on examinations, and they also developed positive attitudes toward the subject matter covered in the tutorial program,” reports a study published in the American Educational Research Journal.
However, the extra benefit that can make tutoring really worth your while is the relief it can provide for your relationship with your child. With this added goal in mind, there are important qualities you’ll want to be on the lookout for when searching for local tutoring or clicking on find a tutor here.
First off, you will want to find a tutor whose personality meshes well with your student. This doesn’t always mean that the tutor and teen should be buddies. But it does mean that you identify the kind of motivation, help and encouragement that your child requires and then find a tutor who can work well with the teen, knowing when to push and when to step back.
In addition, you’ll want to make sure that the tutor is appropriately qualified. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the candidate have been teaching for over twenty years. In many cases, finding a college student or young teacher fresh out of his or her credential can have some benefits. First of all, they typically have added enthusiasm and excitement as they are at the start of their careers. Secondly, a younger adult is closer to your teens age which will help them empathize and help your teen to look up to them and think they’re pretty cool.
With these ideas for why and how to hire a tutor, you might be on your way to rescuing you and your teenager’s fractured relationship. And with your support plus the help of a good tutor, your child can improve his or her emotional health to better handle the stress of school and adolescence.
