Published by Programme B
The COVID pandemic has had a profound impact on education at all levels, all across the globe. Teachers are scrambling to find new ways of educating students and making sure they remain engaged.
Curriculums, grading modules, syllabi, and even the format in which standardized tests are being taken have all changed in accordance with the new normal. But unfortunately, in an online learning environment, many students lack the resources and social support that in-person classes provide.
Parents are also struggling. Working from home while at the same time trying to ensure your kids attend online classes and do their homework is a herculean task. Being a parent with a full-time job now means having two full-time jobs. Achieving a healthy work-life balance seems to be a thing of the past.
What Can Parents Do?
Fortunately, there are things you can do to improve the quality of your kid’s education during the pandemic. One of the best things to do is simple: pair your kid with a tutor who suits your kid’s particular needs and learning style.
Secondary and post-secondary tutors are rather common in the United States, where many tutors specialize in helping students do well on standardized tests — chief among them the SAT, MCAT, LSAT, and GRE.
In Canada, where standardized tests play a much smaller role in a student’s education, the main goal of tutors is to help students of all ages do better in school and reach their learning potential. More than ever before, the right tutor can fill in the educational holes the pandemic has punctured.
Tutors not only provide resources but also provide company. Whether a tutor meets with a pupil online or in person, the relationship is one-on-one and, in many ways, far more fruitful than the relationship between a teacher and a student.
A tutor is less an authority figure than a knowledgeable peer who understands your kid’s unique needs and learning style and helps them work through the course material at their own pace, in their own way.
How Tutoring Helps Enforce a Learning Routine
By being with a one-on-one tutor, whether online or in-person, your kid will be impelled to set aside a certain amount of time per week to work on schoolwork or school-related assignments. Like having a piano teacher who meets you once a week, having a tutor encourages you to do the work and make it impressive.
Tutors can also act as role models, teaching by example how to study, prepare for tests, revise their homework in every subject, and more.
With the pandemic, most tutors and tutoring services have moved online, which means parents can hire tutors from virtually anywhere in the country (or outside). Whether you are looking for a math tutor in Kitchener or an LSAT in Newfoundland, tutors are everywhere.
The cost of tutors in Canada ranges from anywhere between minimum wage to hundreds of dollars, with highly specialized tutors charging more on average than other tutors; MCAT and LSAT tutors for undergraduate or post-undergraduate students typically charge more than math and reading comprehension tutors for elementary school students, for instance.
Tutors tend to specialize in certain subjects and age groups, and although finding the right tutor for a student can take some time, it’s very often worth it. If you or your child is struggling with online schooling and tests, hiring a tutor can be a game-changing decision.