Guidelines on Choosing a Home Tutor

Choosing a home tutor for your child is a very important aspect in the child's school life. It is important for you to choose the right person for your child. Therefore we are offering you some guidelines you should follow, or at least take into consideration, when looking for a home tutor.

The first thing you should know is that a good home tutor is not the one that has a good educational background (meaning a university degree), strong teaching experience or is highly recommended by a tuition agency. We don't argue these aspects are not important. A good home tutor is the one that suits perfectly your child's educational needs. The perfect home tutor is the one that your child feels comfortable with, that stimulates your child's intelligence and commitment for study. All other aspects come to fill in this important ingredient.

So a good home tutor is the one that has the ability to make your child understand and pick up the subject he/she has problem with; the one that is able to discover your child's lacks on a certain subject; the one that can stimulate the child's mind and commitment; the one that has the ability to motivate your child to work hard; and, above all, the one that can set himself/herself as an example of morality and responsibility.

All these abilities make the candidate be a qualified home tutor but they aren't sufficient for being a reliable person. Therefore, we believe that a person's character makes him/her a reliable home tutor. When choosing for a home tutor you should look for these qualities in a candidate: responsibility, morality, punctuality, dedication and patience.

The question that arises now is how you determine whether a certain candidate possesses the qualifications required and the abilities you are looking for. Well, the answer is simple: you check the candidate's background. You ask to see diplomas, degrees, other educational qualifications he might have, letters of recommendation from previous assignments, school examination reports.

This will cover the qualifications aspect. The reliability aspect can only be tested in time. You have two options for establishing whether your home tutor is a reliable one. First, you could be an observant parent and keep an eye on the teaching sessions. Or, secondly, you could just ask for your child's opinion. Encourage your child to speak up and express all his/hers likes and dislikes towards the home tutor. In the end, the compatibility between the home tutor and your child will bring the best results.

In conclusion, the best way to choose a good home tutor is to do a bit of research and to get involved in the selection process. And don't be afraid to refuse or fire any home tutor that doesn't suit your expectations.