Are you on the fence about hiring an online tutor for your child? Still not sure it’s the right fit for you and your family? This blog will outline 15 reasons to hire an online tutor and how it can be advantageous to helping your child find the confidence they need.
But first, I know what you’re thinking….
Online will not be as powerful as in person.
I hear you. The same thing caused me concern.
As a classroom teacher, I couldn’t imagine being able to keep the attention of 10 and 11 year olds if I weren’t in the room. But then I remembered all of the times I wasn’t in the room. They still showed up respectfully and got their work done because of the relationship we had built.
This happens in your home too, doesn’t it?
Your child can still be counted on (most times) to do what you’ve asked. Even if you’re not right over their shoulder.
The same is with online teaching… and the added bonus, I, the tutor, am still there!
So really, as long as your child and the tutor have a good relationship, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be successful.
But don’t just take my word for it, here are our top 15 reasons, as cited by our community, to help you hire an online tutor with confidence.
Top 15 reasons why you need to hire an online tutor
Three years ago, before Covid times, one of my clients was traveling for the Summer. His parents really wanted us to continue our weekly schedule because we were preparing the child to write an entrance exam.
This was my first introduction to online learning.
We ironed out the niggles of which platform to use and how to keep the child engaged and enjoying his lessons.
We tweaked our sessions and adapted together.
Before long we found a rhythm that was very enjoyable for both of us.
This is one of the benefits of working with Bettering Youth tutors:
- We have been online long before the rest of the tutoring world and have plenty of experience ensuring our lessons are still fun, engaging and effective.
Following are some other benefits of having an online tutor:
- Online sessions allows more flexibility. Not only have I taught students while they were in France, Spain, Tenerife, Greece, Canada, Ireland and Dubai but we have also had sessions while they were visiting grandparents, on small road trips and at different times. This flexibility means we’re able to stay consistent with learning which helps to build that foundational knowledge.
- Being remote also means there’s no headache of driving your child to be somewhere at a specific time. Not only does this lessen the petrol you spend, but it also lessens the anxiety in the evenings.
- We’re an international company because of technology’s gift of connecting us worldwide. This means that you’re not constrained to work with educators within your local area. You can really research who you’re about to hire and make sure they line up with your values.
- The obvious reason of keeping germs at bay.
- Our sessions are always interactive and engaging – even our small group sessions! Students can discuss topics and areas of concern with the educator in real-time and use the interactive whiteboard to demonstrate their learning. This ability for children to ‘write on my screen’ makes them feel very special. As a result, they take more initiative in their learning.
- We can bring in virtual elements that we would not be able to include as easily during in person sessions. Last week, a student and I explored Henry ‘Box’ Brown’s journey along the Underground Railroad. As our tutoring session was online, we were able to map his journey using Google Earth.
- Our sessions are still personal. While we may not be sitting face-to-face, our tutors make every effort to ensure our students feel connected and confident to open up. We use a mindful flow of the session to enable time for connecting, sharing and learning. This session setup means we get to know your child, and they get to know us. This helps to boost their trust and they feel safe to learn.
- We’re still a presence, even if we aren’t sitting right beside your child. As educators, we’re used to commanding the attention of a room and giving ‘pay attention’ warnings with no words at all. This is still the case through a screen. Our cameras are always on, even while we share our screen, annotate, and teach.
- Skilled and qualified classroom teachers craft every one of our lesson plans. We understand that you’re investing your time, trust and money with us in order to provide your child(ren) with the tools and opportunities they need to progress. Therefore we always plan a bespoke learning plan that takes into account your child’s goals, needs, likes and method of learning.
- Our online tutoring sessions are safe. Bettering Youth tutors are all DBS certified. The platforms we use to host our sessions are all secured. We have been provided special instruction by Dr. Jacqui Taylor, One of the 20 most powerful UK entrepreneurs, awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science in recognition of her international web science work.
- An added benefit of our Virtual Learning Clubs is the community!
- Record and store all of our sessions. All of our Virtual Learning Clubs are recorded and accessible within 24 hours of the live session. This helps out even more!
- At Bettering Youth, we teach for above and beyond the classroom which means helping your child become literate in the online world. It also means helping them to be safe as they use these technologies.
- Our sessions provide your child a safe and experienced confidant to help navigate these uncertain times. All of our tutors are qualified mindfulness instructors or have a qualification with children’s mental health. Therefore we never focus on just the learning at hand.
Some words from our online community:
If you’d like to give online tuition a whirl…
We hope this blog has helped to answer your biggest concerns and now you feel confident with the many reasons why online tuition is still very effective.
If you’d like to dip your toe in the water first, and try before you buy, please know that our weekly Virtual Classroom for Real World Maths and Comprehension Club are restarting in April.
As a result, you’re invited to join our Free Trial for each of the Clubs.
Real World Maths
The Real World Maths Club an online virtual classroom for a small group of year 5 and 6 students to come together and build upon their Maths knowledge and connect it to real world applications.
In January – February half term we have had fun with Fractions, Decimals and Percentages.
In February – April half term we explored Geometry, shape and measurement.
Starting April 21st, we will shift our focus to Algebra –> a key area for students in upper KS2 and KS3.
If this is of interest to you, please click the link to get in touch with us about a free trial.
Comprehension Club
Tell any 9 – 18 years old child that they are going to read a text and anwer questions and I can guarantee that 9/10 times you’ll get resistance.
The school system’s approach to ensuring our children understand what they read is boring and superficial at best.
Our children are learning to dislike reading because they don’t like having to answer 3 mark questions when they don’t know what to write.
So what could we do?
Shake it up a bit and teach the skills required to feel confident answering those comprehension questions. Better yet, teach them that they already know the skills, they just need to apply them.
That’s what myself and the Comprehension Club-ers have been working on since January.
We’ve looked at media releases, fiction literature, biographical accounts and even Pixar movie clips to learn the skills required to boost comprehension.
In January – February half term we explored comprehension techniques.
In February – April half term we investigated fictional writing.
April – May half term will be to dive into poetry —> a topic many students usually struggle with.
Our club is almost full, but we have a few more seats.
Get in touch today about a free trial.
Our hope is that following this blog, you’ll feel confident about the numerous positive reasons to hire an online tutor.
Yes, it is better to hire tutors online so your child will not be left behind. Online teaching is really evolving nowadays.