As of the 2015-16 school year, the graduation rate in the U.S. was 84%. If that sounds pretty good, it’s because it is.
But, there’s one area of education where kids still struggle — STEM. Science, technology, engineering, and math industries are growing. In fact, it’s expected STEM jobs will increase significantly by the year 2020.
The Dept. of Education is going all-in on these crucial fields. In 2018, the DOE invested $279 million in STEM grants.
Parents can help, too. How? With professional tutoring.
The obvious benefit of tutoring is your child is more likely to get good grades.
But what if your child already gets good grades? Are they being challenged? Are they developing critical thinking skills?
Believe it or not, there are benefits of tutoring that go beyond grades. Take a look at eight of them below.
1. Child Gets Individual Attention:
The average class size in the U.S. is 21.6 students. Doesn’t sound too bad, but again, that’s the average. States like Oregon come in with 26.7 students per classroom while Vermont averages 16.7.
Even at 17 students per class, that’s for one teacher. Doesn’t a ratio of 1:1 sound much better?
The advantage of tutoring is that your child gets individual attention. You can opt for a group-type tutoring program but most professionals offer one-to-one learning.
2. Distraction-Free Learning:
It’s easy for kids to get distracted. It happens quite often. With 20 others students in the class, it just takes one to throw off your child’s focus.
In a tutoring program, your child is able to focus on their work. They’re able to invest 100% of their attention into each lesson plan.
There are no bells ringing, kids laughing, extracurricular announcements — it’s only your child and their tutor.
3. Child Grasps Concepts at Their Own Pace:
School districts and schools devise year-long lesson plans. There are certain criteria teachers need to cram in every week. There have state testing and subject exams to prepare their students for.
But not everyone is ready to move on with their class. Some kids struggle during one area of a subject. In school, it’s a bit of sink or swim.
Tutoring allows them to take the time they need to understand the content. They do it at their own pace.
For example, programs like Mathnasium draw up individualized plans that ensure your child understands what’s taught in class.
4. Encourages Good Studying Habits:
You encourage your child to pick up a book and study. Sometimes, they throw a fit. Other times, they may flat out refuse.
Many kids don’t like studying because they don’t know how to study. Tutors give your child the tools they need to study more effectively.
They’ll learn study strategies for making the most of their time. You’ll start to see your child is more organized. They’ll have a study plan.
They’ll start learning and using active listening skills. You’ll start noticing they find quiet places to study and do their homework.
These are all behaviors they’ll learn through tutoring. The chose online tutor or teacher should be flexible to work with your schedule and learning style.
5. Challenges Advanced Students:
Tutoring has a bit of a negative connotation in the sense that people think it’s only for struggling students. The truth is, tutoring is for everyone.
The same way some kids fall behind, others jump ahead. Just like teachers can’t abandon entire class plans to devote all their time to a struggling student, the same goes for those who are ahead.
When a child gets ahead of the class, they can get bored. Parents enlist tutors to keep gifted children motivated.
Because of the individual learning plans, the tutor will design lessons that challenge them. This keeps them interested in school and out of trouble.
6. Helps Children with Learning Delays:
Not all students struggle because they don’t understand what is being taught. Some children can’t understand lessons due to learning delays.
Yes, there are special education programs in the U.S. But, not every child has a medical or psychological diagnosis. In some cases, even when they do, the school district may not have a program designed to help their specific delay.
Tutoring is a way to combat this issue.
Some tutors are teachers who retired. Others have special qualifications to help kids with delays. This means they’re able to assist your child to understand the concepts getting taught at school.
With the individual plan and the ability to learn at their own pace, children with learning delays benefit greatly from tutoring.
7. Beats the Summer Blues:
Every spring, your child starts to get a little antsy. They see the school year is winding down and may even mark the last day on their calendar.
Their brains start focusing on summer fun. You may have done the very same thing when you were their age!
Over the summer, we tell ourselves our kids need a break. They’ve worked hard all year and deserve a few months off.
Except, the next grade rolls around and they’re a little rusty. Without the constant pressure to read books and work on math, they regress a bit. It’s called “summer learning loss.”
One way to ensure your child isn’t affected is through summer tutoring. It’s a refresher and primer course all in one. They’ll go over what they learned in the previous year and get ready for what’s next.
8. Improves Self-Esteem:
One of the biggest benefits of tutoring — if not the biggest — is it improves self-esteem.
Kids are sensitive. When they’re struggling in a subject everyone else grasps, it makes them feel bad about themselves. They shouldn’t — everyone struggles at some point — but it’s hard to explain that to kids.
Tutoring helps remove these feelings. Your child will start to see that no one’s perfect. Everyone needs a little help sometimes.
They’ll also start to believe in themselves when they conquer challenging lessons. Over time, their confidence will grow. You’ll see their grades start to improve.
This boost in confidence may carry over to extra-curricular activities or social situations.
Consider the Benefits of Tutoring:
The benefits of tutoring go beyond grades. Tutoring improves how your child learns. This gives them the confidence to overcome obstacles — both in school and out.
It’s important you know the proper steps to take to ensure your child has the best chance to succeed. Tutoring is one of them.
Another one is knowing different learning methods. Check out four emerging trends in education.
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