It turns out that a rose by any other name doesn't smell even half as sweet, and that is why it is important to dig around in the garden looking for the perfect bud ... or in this case, the perfect tutor. "A perfect tutor," you may ask? Well, I'm sure a perfect one is hard to come by, but if you think about the following things, finding a more perfect one is well within your reach. And a strong tutor within reach means that your child is only a hop, skip, and jump away from gaining not just academic success, but gaining learning that sticks to the brain. For English tutors in particular, here are some things you should keep in mind:
If the tutor has a company website about herself and her staff, is it saying anything of value on the English link? I've found that true lovers and students of English really have content that specifically addresses the "nuts and bolts" of English. So, what you should see is stuff like " ... writing for a specific purpose" rather than " ... learning at the child's pace". You should also hear educational phrases rather than sound bytes. So instead of " ... students feeling confident" listen for " ... developing a paragraph with its essential elements" A tutor of English will speak in terms of English - not in terms of politics.
Does the tutor and tutoring company have experience in teaching the aspects of English?
If you don't know, you should feel comfortable in asking. There are many tutors who know the basic concepts of grammar and writing, but I would argue a good chunk of the population also know, or think they know. But even if one has a basic knowledge, is that basic knowledge enough to know what grammatical concepts to teach for tests like the SAT and ACT? Even the big tutoring franchises that specialize in tutoring for these types of tests teach what to study and the strategies, but they neglect the content.
It's fine to say that the SAT tests are big in using pronoun misusage, but if proper tutelage in pronouns doesn't occur, we have a fine example of the blind leading the blind into the oh so troublesome ditch. A student can't identify what the pronoun mistake is if he doesn't know that "anyone" is a singular indefinite pronoun (singular indefinite pronouns are incorrectly connected with plural pronouns and verbs, and the standardized test makers love taking advantage of students not knowing basic grammatical concepts).
How 'bout writing? Does the tutor know the fine details of the ways to build a substantial discussion in the main body paragraphs of an essay? Does she know the rubric by which most of these essays are graded? Can he or she teach the rubric, alongside the aspects of the solidly written paper? If not, it's best to look for a tutor who does.
It's always a good idea to stop and smell the roses, but make sure the ones you're sniffing come up smelling like authentic roses.
For a truly sweet smelling rose, please visit http://www.excellenceinacademicstutoring.com/. Not only will you find flowers, but you'll also find a tutor who knows her English.
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