How To Find A Tutor For Homeschooling
Before coronavirus, there was a little-known secret shared only by a few very busy parents. The secret was that with a little help, your child (or children) can achieve a well-rounded education or supplemental education experience at home — even when parents are too busy to be involved. How is this possible? Simple. Hire a private homeschool teacher to come to your house.
Today, this solution is no longer just the answer to private tutoring for homework help or assistance with a child's virtual school curriculum. It's also fast becoming the answer for busy families who want to make sure their homeschool curriculums are running smoothly. What about finding and hiring the right teacher though? As it turns out, that's the only part that can be complicated. Luckily however, education consultants who specialize in taking care of everything for you can help, so that even the process of finding and hiring a teacher who is the right fit doesn't have to take any time and energy.
Let's face it: homeschooling, especially through high school, can seem like an overwhelming obstacle for busy families. If special needs are involved, it can look even more like an impractical proposition. In the most extreme cases, both parents work, and neither one has the appropriate amount of time to devote to the most important aspect of their children's lives: their education. It's no wonder that for many families, homeschooling can seem like mission impossible. Yet since COVID-19, busy families have been starting to realize the value of outsourcing and now the secret is out. Much like tutoring, education and supplemental learning can be outsourced too. The difference is that tutors aren't trained or built for dealing with young kids, but teachers are. Enter the private teacher in your home.
Whether part-time, full-time, or "every once in a while as needed", a private teacher can take over completely or fill in the gaps. They also don't have to come with the hourly rate sticker shock of a private tutor. Of course, the hourly rate will differ depending on many variables: the location, hours and schedule, expectations, requirements, number of students, available number of teachers, local job market, and student needs.
So how would you use your very own private teacher?
The answer depends on each family's individual goals and needs. For some, the teacher acts as a more qualified version of a tutor. In this role, the teacher helps make sure the children are on task and keeping up with their virtual homeschool curriculum. The teacher will also check that they are understanding the subject matter, and answer any questions they may have. The teacher may also interface with the student's school or online teachers if they have them, to see what areas need improvement. Finally, the private teacher is there to provide the personal touch. Much like the nannies of the past, private homeschool teachers and tutors seem to be the additional family members in today's home education environment.
The solution not only improves children's prospects and their education, but also takes a big load off of the parents' time and energy, and may be the answer to their prayers if they are both busy. In addition, most parents know they are not always proficient in every subject a student is supposed to take. With your own homeschool teacher, no longer do you have to feel like those subjects aren't an option through home education. If you find that you need another teacher to occasionally come who is a specialist in order to round out certain subjects, much like hiring different specialist tutors for different subjects, you have that option as well.
One of the best things about homeschooling is that there are such a wide variety of curriculum choices available, and many format options. With the right professional teacher in your home, in many states, you can have your own custom curriculum provided that aligns with state standards taught to your child for much less than an expensive private school. Or, in most all states you can find courses that align with state standards taught virtually through a school or another accepted entity, and bring your private teacher to your house in-person to round out the experience. You don't have to worry or do any of the teaching. (Note: It is especially important for younger students to have at least some in-person human teaching interaction!)
Table of Contents
- How Do I Know If I Need a Homeschool Teacher for Private Tutoring?
- Benefits of Hiring a Private Teacher For Your Kids
- How We Have Helped Busy Families
- Case 1 - Florida
- Case 2 - California
- Case 3 - Texas
- Case 4 - Massachusetts
How Do I Know If I Need a Homeschool Teacher for Private Tutoring?
Your Family is Busy – You don't have time or energy to keep track of everything education-related or help all of your children as much as they need.
You Want Someone with More Expertise – You don't have to be the expert when there are teachers who are.
Regardless of your homeschool academic needs, if you live anywhere in the USA, we are here to serve and support you.
You Need Less Anxiety – You prefer not to worry about whether your child will pass a certain class because they don't know the answers or because you don't know enough about a subject.
You Want the Highest Possible Academic Success – Having a professional there and ready in your house will enable your child to have the highest possible grades and the best chance of success.
In-Person Inspiration – When a child is only interacting with humans on a screen, there is a huge disconnect. It can even have an impact on the child's self-esteem. This is especially true for younger children who require more human interaction to learn. A real teacher by your child's side can keep him/her socialized and engaged for a more normalized learning experience, so there are no negative side effects.
One Or More Children Has Special Needs – There are some situations where a virtual curriculum is not practical, even when it is customized and taught by a good teacher. Some children have difficulties with distractions and require hands-on experiences.
Your Children Need To Be More Engaged – Your child may not be enthusiastic about a particular topic, or is just not getting it. This can cause complications with parents, and it often helps to have a professional who knows how to make things interesting for that age group. Learning from a parent when it's a fun subject can be easier, but teaching your kids something they don't like can be a lot like teaching your own kids to drive. It can sometimes work, but it can also be a disaster.
Your Children Learn Better When It's Hands On – "Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn." There are many reasons why this is a famous proverb among teachers and schools. Most children simply learn better in person.
Benefits of Hiring a Private Teacher For Your Kids
Different Teachers – Learning from more than one teacher for older kids prepares students for the fact that eventually they will be learning from different teachers and be exposed to many teaching styles. Assuming they move on to college, this will become very important later.
Removes Frustration – Sometimes when there is a subject your child is having difficulty with, it's better to let someone else step in and teach due to the frustration it can cause. If other children in the family are doing well in a subject but one isn't, it can also mitigate any hard feelings to have a teacher for that child.
A Real Person Who is Always There to Answer Questions – Virtual schools and courses often don't have a teacher ready on a regular basis to ask questions and explain things, especially for one student at a time. They do usually have solution guides, but often that's not enough when you need a teacher to ask questions and explain things.
Someone Else to Hold Them Accountable – Sometimes a student may feel like a parent is being unfair or acting like a drill sergeant. They may treat the situation differently and respond better when they see there is someone else besides the parent holding them accountable for their work. It often helps to preserve the parent/child relationship when you can support your child while someone else is responsible for giving the grade.
Motivation – When your child understands a concept, there is a feeling of accomplishment. We all tend to feel successful and motivated when we continue to advance and move forward when we are learning.
Electives – Homeschooling isn't just for academics. You can also use it to teach electives you don't have the experience to do yourself. For instance, Teachers To Go supplies teachers for a wide variety of extra-curricular subjects, including languages, the arts, and musical instruments.
Comfortable & Controlled Learning Environment – The home is by nature comfortable, and a controlled environment that you can make changes to. Although you may have restrictions (with space for example), you will have the final say on modifying the spaces where learning takes place. For instance, you can have a room with less distractions during certain times for testing or subjects that take a high amount of concentration.
Frees Up Your Time – If you have more than one child to teach, having a homeschool teacher help out with subjects that one child needs extra assistance with allows you to continue working with the other children.
By its very nature, whether virtual or in-person, home school or private or public, school can often suck all of your time and energy. Many parents find themselves constantly checking their kids' grades online or freaking out when they find out assignments are missing. Since some participating schools and curriculums also send parents text or email alerts when new grades are posted, this can create a lot of anxiety when grades are low or when assignments are missing—not only for the kids, but also for parents. Luckily, assistance is now available, and having the right homeschool or private teacher for your family come to your house is becoming a quick and painless process.
How We Have Helped Busy Families
Although we have been helping busy families and providing professional homeschool teachers for private tutoring since 2007, coronavirus has presented new challenges. Here are a few stories in the parents' words about how we have helped busy families more recently during the age of COVID.
CASE 1 (Florida):
The Problem
As a single parent, I just don't have the time or knowledge to help my children at home with remote learning while I am working. The school program was worthless. One teacher read a story to our 7 year old before asking him to read, and then asked what the story was about. This was once a week for about 15 minutes, and they would have one assignment for reading and one for math. Our 8 year old only has two reading and two math lessons a week. They would also meet once a week as a class on Zoom. That was it. There was no review or individual assessment. It's not really education, and it's just not the same.
The Solution
I consulted with Teachers To Go and they talked to me for a long time. They listened to my concerns and showed me what options were available in my state. After thinking about it, instead of switching to a customized homeschool curriculum or changing to a different school, I decided for now to just have them bring in a real teacher who knows the state standards to supplement my kids at home with a "real" education while they do their virtual school work. Since this might be temporary, I decided they can always go back to their school in person later, or I can change schools or have a teacher do custom homeschool later if I want. After a few days, we were introduced to a teacher who so far has been perfect for my family. I can tell she really cares about the kids and knows what she's doing. I can rest easy knowing that they are learning and that they won't be behind, and that they will be competitive and prepared for whatever comes next.
CASE 2 (California):
The Problem
My husband and I both work and we have four children, two with special needs. Three of them are being homeschooled by me. The oldest was in public school, but he is way behind and now we want to pull him out. The problem is my responsibilities have increased with my work, and I am really stretched too thin. We already have a homeschool curriculum that we like and I just really want a teacher who will collaborate and take some of the load off. The teacher needs to be very organized and professional with experience, yet flexible enough to work with the curriculum we have chosen.
The Solution
Well, I can't be more happy—and relieved. The teacher is great with the kids, nice and caring, and great working with me. We decided to have her come three times a week in the mornings for now, and I would take over when she's not there. She brings a lot to the table, and her special needs experience has also helped a lot with improving one of my children's attitudes and engagement. It kind of already feels like she's part of the family.
CASE 3 (Texas):
The Problem
We have a daughter who goes to a very prestigious private school in Houston, and they moved to virtual learning only for the entire 2020-2021 school year. I understand this, but what my husband and I don't understand is that they are charging the same amount as they normally do in person. (Hint: it's a lot!) The online curriculum has a lot of technical bells and whistles, but not a lot of teacher time, and our daughter is only in 2nd grade. We think she needs some hands-on and someone to keep her company, as well as interested with her learning. We both work and don't have time to monitor and keep track of everything.
The Solution
When we brought in Teachers To Go, the first thing I told them is that we didn't feel like it makes sense to us to pay the crazy tuition this year when we are basically getting half the value. We asked them to show us some resources and options for homeschooling in our state, and ultimately we decided to go with a professional teacher who could create a custom homeschool curriculum for our daughter that is aligned with state standards. Now here's the crazy part: not only did the teacher turn out to be amazing and our daughter is happy, but we feel like we are getting top quality private homeschool individually tailored to her for less than 1/4th of the cost of the private school. We can always go back or try something else when this is all over, but we're not looking back on this decision. Well worth the investment!
CASE 4 (Massachusetts):
The Problem
So my children are both doing virtual learning this year during the pandemic, but one of them is easily distracted and doesn't respond well to screens. We've done tests with the school and doctors and they can't figure out why, but his eyes get tired easily. He really needs someone to come in to take the curriculum and teach it in physical form, nd then coordinate with his teachers. I am working and so is my husband, and we don't have time to give either of them really the attention they deserve.
The Solution
We so appreciate the help! Our teacher is wonderful and the process was easy. I knew she was the right one when we interviewed her, and sure enough, she's so good with the kids. She's been translating the screen time to hands-on every day and working with the school, and both kids' grades are solid. I can sleep now.
How To Find A Tutor For Homeschooling
Source: https://www.teacherstogo.com/homeschool-teachers-at-your-house.html
Posted by: thorntonmidess.blogspot.com
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