By Margot Bartsch

HE WAS nine years old and struggling in school, both educationally and behaviorally. It was a huge struggle to get him to do his daily homework, and his poor grades made him reluctant to even try to do the work.

Jason• just didn’t understand what was being taught in school, and his mom could tell the teachers were just ‘moving him through’ the grades without him being able to even read properly.

His parents decided to get an in-home tutor. Since the tutoring was one-to-one, Jason got individualized instruction that focused on what he needed help with, at a pace that was convenient and effective for him – and free of peer ridicule.  In his case, it was determined that his study and organizational skills, as well as how to do the homework correctly, were the main problems.

Because his tutor was a role model and really inspired him to love learning, his mom said Jason “has blossomed into the intelligent child I knew he was underneath. He now proudly shows me A’s and B’s on his spelling and math tests. Homework is now accomplished with ease, and his behavior has changed dramatically.”

Jason’s self-esteem, she said, has “improved exponentially, as he now has friends and a social life – which he has never experienced before. I attribute all of these improvements directly to the tutoring. He believes in himself – and his ability to get good grades.”  

This is the power of one-to-one, individualized instruction.  Whether it is a student with special needs or learning differences, a student that wants straight A’s for scholarships, or a student that just needs help with homework to relieve family stress, an in-home tutor can focus on that individual student’s needs.  

Often, the goal is to support in-class instruction first; and then, when assignments and current classroom concepts are tackled, missing building blocks can then be targeted.   Individualizing instruction has a positive impact on student academic skills, performance, motivation and confidence.  

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An individual educational plan can be created based on student skill deficits, teacher direction, parent concerns, assessments – and any other available information from testing, and professionals.  

Today’s classroom situations can be very challenging for both teachers and students.  There are students from a very wide range of skills and abilities, all in the same classroom.  Some students have difficulty focusing on paperwork – on a good day.  

The added challenge of dealing with active classrooms – where teachers have to spend large amounts of time just on classroom management – makes the task of teaching to so many different learning styles, needs and levels of understanding a difficult chore indeed.  

Our teachers work very hard to meet their students’ needs, but sometimes we expect them to be superhuman. When it is possible to provide one-to-one in-home support, families can often provide the individual attention that a student needs – to get over certain obstacles, reach their goals, compensate for learning differences, or just catch up on missed building blocks.

In addition, getting a tutor who really cares about the development of their student makes a difference – not only in a student’s academic performance, but also the student’s confidence, organizational and study skills, and dreams.  

In the end, like it did for Jason, one-to-one tutoring can make a lasting difference in a student’s life.

• Name changed for student confidentiality.

Margot Bartsch is owner of Tutor Doctor Fraser Valley. Contact: tutordoctor.com.

August 2010