How to Find the Best Tutor for Your Child in NYC
Your child may excel in certain academic skills but struggle with others. Some students, for example, do well in math, but have difficulty with reading and writing. Others might have strong academic skills but need help with executive functioning skills, like planning, organization, and time management. You may know that your child needs a tutor, but how can you find a good tutor for your child in Manhattan?
Evaluation
When seeking a tutor for your child, it’s important to start with a tutoring evaluation. You know your child is struggling with a skill, such as reading, but you might not know the specific aspects of reading they need tutoring in. For example, they might have difficulty decoding consonant-vowel-consonant words, words with blends, consonant digraphs, or vowel digraphs, or multi-syllabic word patterns. They may struggle with reading comprehension, including identifying important details, synthesizing the main idea, or making inferences. Before beginning a tutoring program, your child should start with an initial evaluation. This evaluation will help determine their specific areas of need, in order to come up with an effective tutoring plan.
Area of specialty
It’s important that your child works with a tutor who specializes in the skills they need help with. For example, if your child has writing challenges, you wouldn’t want them to work with a math specialist. If your child has dyslexia, they would likely benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring to effectively remediate their reading skills. When using a tutoring service, after receiving an evaluation, your child should be matched with a tutor who specializes in what they need the most help with, including specific techniques and methodologies.
Structured plan
Before your child starts a tutoring program, a structured plan should be in place to specifically address their areas of need. The tutoring should follow a systematic approach, beginning with your child’s levels and areas of weakness and moving upwards as they progress with their skills. For example, if your child has a learning disability or reading challenges and struggles to read consonant-vowel-consonant words, like mug, pat, or sit, they might benefit from a structured Orton Gillingham tutoring plan. This tutoring plan may begin with teaching your child individual letters and their corresponding sounds, and how to blend those sounds together to form words using a multi-sensory approach. The lessons might include tools such as colored sand, magnetic tiles, and a mini whiteboard, all as part of the structured lesson plan. Once your child is effectively able to read consonant-vowel-consonant words, the tutor can move onto words containing blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs, silent e patterns, multi-syllabic word patterns, and so on, all following a structured, systematic approach.
Personality connection
While it’s important that your child works with a tutor who specializes in the skills they need help with, it’s also important that your child feels a strong connection with the tutor. The right personality match is key and is important in helping your child feel open and receptive to new ideas and strategies that the tutor will teach them. Many children don’t respond as well to tutoring from someone they don’t feel a strong connection to. When using a tutoring service, after the evaluation, your child should be matched with a tutor who both specializes in the areas they need help with and who is a good personality fit for your child.
Finding the right tutor in NYC can be life changing for your child. Follow these ideas to identify a great tutor and help your child thrive in school.