How to find a tutor and not waste your money

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

When choosing, consider why you need a private teacher, what kind of experience he has and whether the child is comfortable in the classroom.

According to statistics, every fourth high school student is engaged with a tutor, every fourth Russian family with schoolchildren is spent on tutors. Only 16% of parents hire a learning assistant for junior school students, but by the senior grades the figure rises to 43%. Regardless of age, the top three most in-demand subjects are mathematics, English and Russian.

And now from numbers to the point. If you are reading this article, then most likely you have already been visited by the thought of finding a tutor. This is a multi-step process, and there are a few things to consider for it to be successful.

Why do you need a tutor

It is possible that it makes no sense for you to spend money on a tutor. At least for now. And you can solve the problem with studying differently. Let's analyze the most popular options.

To prepare for the first grade

Hiring a tutor to prepare for school, if we are not talking about some highly specialized lyceum with high requirements, is more a tribute to fashion than a necessity. A child in first grade will simply be bored with re-learning to read and count. After all, he already knows how to do everything.

If your goal is to send your kids to school with a minimal amount of knowledge to make it easier for them to get comfortable, you can do it yourself. Learn the alphabet, syllable reading and counting to 10 in a playful way. Half an hour a day will be enough.

In order to improve academic performance

It happens that a student has fallen behind the curriculum in one or more disciplines due to illness. In this case, a tutor can really help catch up. Moreover, an inexpensive option (from 300 rubles per hour) is suitable - a conscientious student or a novice teacher.

Try to negotiate additional services with your school teachers. They know better than anyone else about your child's knowledge gaps.

It's another matter if a student is lazy and doesn't want to study. Until your student is motivated, a tutor will not help, and you will simply be wasting your money.

To prepare for admission to a prestigious school

Usually they start thinking about the transition in the fourth grade or later. Of course, no tutor will give you a 100% admission guarantee. And if he promises that there will be no misfires, then two options are possible.

The first is that your applicant lies and fills himself with a price. The second - in front of you is a teacher who himself sits on the examination committee. But it is difficult to find such a person, and his services will cost several times more than the average price (in Moscow - up to 10,000 rubles for an hour and a half, depending on the coolness of the gymnasium or lyceum).

If you are not ready to overpay, the best option is to hire a good tutor familiar with the specifics of the school. It is better to use word of mouth and reach out to parents whose children have already entered the gymnasium or lyceum you are interested in. An hour and a half lesson will cost an average of 2,000-3,000 rubles.

For in-depth study of a specific subject

Most often we are talking about English. You can get a solid knowledge of a foreign language within the framework of the program only in a special language school. Knowing this, responsible parents begin to worry about the level of preparation, as soon as the child sat down at the desk.

But is a private tutor suitable for a first-grader? Tete-a-tete classes can be boring, but in a peer group, learning will be more fun. Don't you see the result anyway? Put off English for a few years, wait until your student grows up and understands why learn all these incomprehensible words at all.

Another thing is when it comes to a teenager who is preparing to take a certified exam. If a child is focused on results, then the effect of individual learning will be higher than that of group learning. Services of tutors who undertake to prepare for TOEFL or IELTS start from 1,500 rubles per hour.

To prepare for the exam or exam

Let's say you are not sure about your student's knowledge and want to play it safe. It is better to start preparing for the exam in the tenth grade. This way you can get by with one lesson per week in each of the chosen subjects - instead of two in eleventh grade. The stress on the teenager will be less, and in addition, he will receive higher grades right now.

As for the OGE, if the child does not have any special problems with his studies, there is no point in puzzling himself with this question in the eighth grade. Proceed in the ninth - and everything will be in time.

The average cost of classes with an experienced teacher in both cases varies from 1,500 to 3,000 rubles for an hour and a half, depending on the qualifications of the tutor.

For self-education or professional growth

This is the best option. When a person is motivated to study and knows why he needs it, the effectiveness of a lesson with a tutor increases many times over. And besides the benefits, you also have fun.

Where to find a tutor

We have already mentioned word of mouth and the school where the child studies. But besides these old ways, you have the Internet at your disposal with its almost endless options. With their help, you can find the right teacher in your city. Alternatively, work with a suitable specialist online. Here are some helpful resources.

• Association of Tutors - the database has more than 97,000 tutors in 30 subjects. You are offered to find a teacher on your own or to help with the selection for free. In any case, the site's representative promises to contact you in 15 minutes.
• Your Tutor is a community of over 300,000 private tutors in a wide variety of subjects, including Japanese and Chinese. You can choose a teacher yourself, using the filters, or by calling the administrator.
• BUKI - more than 12,000 tutors from 250 settlements of Russia are registered on the site. Filters and reviews from real students help to navigate and find a suitable option.
• Preply is an international site where you can find tutors from 185 countries. The number of registered teachers reaches 29,000. Preply differs from other similar sites by a large selection of languages: from popular ones like English or French to exotic ones like Irish, Tamil or Punjabi.
• 5 ‑ easy - the platform provides data on more than 47 thousand teachers in general education, foreign languages, university programs, as well as psychologists, defectologists and speech therapists. Here you can learn to play chess and draw, learn the basics of playing music on the piano and guitar. Grateful students have already left more than 12,000 reviews on the site.
• Repetitor.ru - the service offers to choose one of 11,000 tutors in general subjects, foreign languages, as well as higher mathematics, music, painting and other disciplines. You can study with them in Moscow or remotely, from anywhere in the world. To find a tutor, you must fill out an application on the website. The procedure will take approximately 10 minutes.

What to consider when choosing a tutor

It is rarely possible to determine the first time whether a tutor is right for you or not. As a rule, the certainty comes after 1-2 sessions, or even after a couple of months. But right off the bat you can pay attention to such important points:

• education, certificates, place of work;
• experience and teaching experience - the more, the better (but possibly more expensive);
• personal recommendations and comments on the site (if you used one of the databases);
• human factor - you and your child should feel comfortable in the company of a tutor.

How much do you need to study with a tutor

Much depends on your financial capabilities. But the general recommendation is to take at least two classes a week. Otherwise, you will not feel a special result. Once a week, many tutors are engaged only in a consultation format: the student simply asks him the backlog of homework questions.

C-students are advised to take even more lessons, otherwise they are unlikely to be able to pull out excellent grades.

How to save money on a tutor

Whatever one may say, a private teacher is quite expensive. But there are several ways to save a little.

• Offer to start a mini-group. The tutor may already have one or more students with the same goals and level as yours. By combining, you can save from 30% per lesson.
• Learn about discounts. Some tutors have a discount system. For example, if you pay a month in advance, your payment will be reduced by 5-10%.
• Study online or come to the tutor's home. Distance learning tends to be cheaper. It is possible that the tutor will take less if he does not have to go to you on the other side of the city, and you yourself will come to him.

And the last thing: no matter what regalia, talents and personal qualities the teacher has, the result largely depends on the student. You cannot put knowledge into your head without efforts on his part.