Getting Extra Help: Getting Outside Tutoring

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If the school resources don’t seem to be working or if you don’t feel comfortable in that tutoring situation, you can seek outside help. An outside opinion can provide new insight and solutions to problems. In addition to hiring a tutor not associated with school, you can also use the services of tutoring centers, check into books, or use CD-based and Web-based tutoring courses. Another option, especially if you feel as though you’re falling behind your grade level, is to take courses in the summer.

The following sections discuss some outside tutoring resources to consider.

Hiring a Tutor

If your school doesn’t provide tutoring at the level or in the subject you need, or if you don’t feel comfortable working with a tutor at school, you can hire an outside tutor to help with your work. This situation works similarly to working with an instructor tutor; that is, you determine your goals, set up a regular meeting schedule, decide how to measure progress, and communicate with the tutor and your instructor as to how the tutoring is working.

To find a tutor, ask for recommendations either from your school or from friends or families who have used outside tutoring resources. If you can’t come up with any recommendations, you can look up tutoring services on the Internet or in the Yellow Pages. In either case, prepare a list of questions. Some possible questions include:

• How long have you been tutoring?
• How many students do you tutor each week?
• What are your teaching experiences?
• Do you hold an instructor certification or an advanced degree?
• Do you specialize in a certain area?
• How much do you charge?

Get references from the tutor and call those references to get a firsthand account of how the tutoring session worked for them. You might ask questions of these references such as:

• Was the tutor timely and responsible?
• Did you show improvement?
• What activities did the tutor use to teach you?
• What is your opinion of the tutor?

Tutoring Centers

In addition to tutors, you can also find tutoring centers that hire many tutors with many areas of expertise. At a tutoring center, you can engage in one-on-one tutoring sessions as well as set up group tutoring. Like finding an independent tutor, ask for recommendations. If you find one through the Yellow Pages or Internet, diligently check out the company’s background and qualifications.

Using Other Tutoring Resources

Not all students like to work with a tutor. Perhaps they are shy or feel intimidated if they don’t know the right answers. If you’re one of these students, you may like tutoring resources that you can do on your own. These may include books, workbooks, CD-based training, Web courses, and so on. Ask your school for recommendations or visit an educational supply store. You’ll even find that popular retail stores (like Target or Wal-Mart) and bookstores of all sizes sell these types of resources.

Often, the publisher makes the learning entertaining and fun rather than just listing a bunch of problems and answers. These guides can engage you and help you progress at your own pace. For example, I had a student who struggled with fractions, so I bought him a small fraction workbook. After he worked through that, he gained confidence, and his grades improved. Workbooks and other self-paced resources help you practice skills on your own time that you may not have time to practice during school.