I noticed how parents will often hire a tutor for math for their kids, but less so for reading. Today, my guest author Dusty Fox writes about what to expect from a reading tutor.
How Tutoring Can Help Your Child Learn to Embrace Reading (and Education!)
If you are a parent who loves to read, it can certainly be saddening and even frustrating if your child doesn’t share that same passion. Not only does reading have the ability to bring joy to an individual’s life–regardless of age–but it is often closely related to our ability to do well in formal learning and work environments. If your child doesn’t enjoy reading, this may lead to difficulties in the classroom and could even be directly linked to future issues in high school, college, and work.
Fortunately, anyone can learn to enjoy reading. Parents and children have a valuable resource in the growing network of qualified tutors across the country. Even children who claim to “hate” reading, move at a very slow pace, or give up before completing assigned reading projects can learn techniques to be able to read more efficiently and better process the information. These are the critical components needed for future success. Here are just a few of the ways in which tutoring can help your child become a better reader and have a more positive schooling experience:
Tutors customize their approach for each student.
Unlike the teaching that takes place in a classroom setting, tutors work one-on-one with students to provide individualized guidance. They customize their approach based on the needs of each student, which means your child will be able to learn in such a way that works best for him or her. If your son is a visual learner, his tutor can teach him how to develop charts or maps with the most important information he reads, using that as a study tool to process and remember key information. On the other hand, if your daughter does best learning from and remembering information in short snippets, they can work together on creating bulleted fact lists or breaking up long-format reading into shorter pieces. Kids who work with a tutor learn to identify and work with their best learning methods.
Tutoring leads to increased confidence and self esteem.
Students who work with a tutor not only experience better performance at school, but they also feel more positively about themselves. They learn that they are capable of working through things that challenge them and feel proud for overcoming obstacles. Tutoring teaches kids not to be afraid of difficult subject matter or topics, and that they are smarter and stronger than they may believe! This valuable lesson can greatly impact their outlook on life and ensure they set high goals for themselves instead of underestimating their own abilities.
Dusty Fox is a full-time world traveler and freelance writer who contributes to the Ivy Trainers network. Visit the Ivy Trainers website to learn more about the services they offer.
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
I believe in reading tutors. My daughter struggled to read on her own. She had both a math and reading tutors. Your wouldn’t know it today as an adult. She reads everything. The tutor helped in ways I didn’t know how. 20 years ago. I don’t think a lot of parents know about reading tutors. Great post.
Thanks so much Patricia! We use a lot of tutors and private coaches ourselves and it is something that we don’t ever regret! Sometimes 1 on 1 instruction makes a huge impact very quickly.
I really like this perspective! I don’t really like to read and I think it’s due, in part, to the lack of motivation I felt to continue learning for the sake of learning rather than learning to pass a test. When it becomes something more than just a project, that’s when kids have the desire to read and learn instilled in them and it will hopefully last a lifetime. Great post!
Thanks Gerald! I hope you find books that you enjoy because I think that is the key to wanting to read.
That really is the trick, isn’t it? I’m not even sure what genre I (or my children for that matter) would be interested in reading. Any recommendations for good starters?
Hi Gerald,
I would start with picture books when they are young and not reading independently. Then I’d try graphic novels and easy readers. That combo might hook kids on reading. It worked for my kids!
Sadly, I didn’t get into reading until my my early twenties. By the time I started reading, it became really hard for me to be able to concentrate on what I was reading. I think that the earlier the development of reading on your own the better you will become as a student.
Hi Ava,
It’s never too late. I’m glad you are enjoying reading now! I think it’s a kind of muscle that you build up. And a habit too.
With our daughter almost turning four years old my wife thought about hiring a reading tutor. Mostly to help her be more advance and prepared for when she enters kindergarten. It’s something that the both of us figured would be a good idea for her to do since she’s so active and willing to learn.
Hi Correy,
Your daugther might not need a reading tutor at so young an age but maybe just to have people read to her daily like preschool teachers and at home would be what I’d recommend.
When kids start learning things that they didn’t understand before, their confidence level goes through the roof. You are exactly right about that being a huge perk of using a tutor. Thanks for the advice!
Hi Drew,
Sometimes just a few sessions with a tutor is all your child needs and it does make a huge difference! My oldest had that kind of experience. I hired a friend’s daughter who is two years older to tutor her in math and science and after a few sessions, she was acing her tests. I loved the peer counseling too!
I think the opportunity to have a tutor work with your child would be well worth it if they could help instill in them a joy for reading. If you are doing all you can to help your child with their reading, it would be frustrating to not have the results you want. In this case, maybe a tutor could approach it from just the right angle and help them understand the joys of reading.
Hi Kayla,
Great point! I know that some of my elementary school teachers will take kids to a bookstore or library and help them find books to try out. That kind of personal attention would really help to encourage reading!
I like that you pointed out how tutoring can make your child more confident. In today’s world, a lot of children have things given to them or come by things fairly easily, so challenges can stump them. However, showing that they can do hard things and work through problems can help them be better equipped for difficult tasks in the future. Thanks for the article!
Thanks Hazel!
Hey,
Indeed a nice post.
I really liked your opinion that tutoring can help the Children in learning to embrace education.
I completely agree with you that students who work with a tutor not only experience better performance at school, but they also feel more positively about themselves.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Sharon,
I like to use tutors for subjects that my kids don’t have in school like foreign languages and also for when my child needs extra help. I’ve used student tutors and peer tutors for her too.