It’s Back to School time and many of you are thinking about hiring an English tutor for your children or yourself but you don’t know where to start. Whether you are looking for a tutor for the first time or thinking about switching, this TEN point guide is for you! Here are my must-have criteria for finding the ideal English literacy specialist to start your family on this important and worthwhile journey:
- A SERIOUS ASSESSMENT PROCESS: Any English tutor worth her salt will provide a thorough assessment that evaluates vocabulary, intellect, critical thinking, speaking, listening, writing skills and mindset (accountability, mental obstacles). My assessment is approximately two and a half hours in length and takes a prospective client through an in-depth interview, debate, vocabulary test, reading comprehension exam, a short, timed persuasive essay and culminates in my written evaluation that I share aloud. This methodical process provides us with a realistic assessment of your communication skills and helps me create strategies, lesson plans, work sheets and assignments geared toward your literacy requirements. A serious assessment also shows prospective clients how committed the English tutor is to them, their time and, their needs.
- WELL- READ: She has to have read, studied and taught all, or most, of the plays, novels, short stories and poems in your child’s curriculum and BEYOND. Diverse texts like Kushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan (1956), Flannery O’Connor’s Everything that Rises Must Converge (1965) and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845) are vital to the creation of a well-rounded thinker and a confident, empathetic, globally-engaged citizen. Your English tutor’s rich reading experience will provide more nutrients, value, to you, your family and community.
- MULTI-SKILLED: Your English tutor, in addition to being a serious and open-minded reader, needs to listen attentively, think critically, reflect, know at least three hundred years worth of global history and politics, and, be aware of current/topical events, issues and trends in science and technology. For example, if you are studying Ralph Ellison’s classic novel Invisible Man (1952), you need to be taught the historical U.S. arc that encompasses: slavery, the Civil War, Abolition, the Fugitive Slave Act, the Emancipation Proclamation, Reconstruction, Post-Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow, Southern Black migration in the second decade of the twentieth century, the Harlem Renaissance and the emerging Civil Rights Movement. Most students I work with do not have a cursory knowledge of important historical moments of the last three hundred years. As an informed English tutor, schooled in history, I can identify and fill that gap with relevant content because texts, like Ellison’s, do not exist in a historical vacuum.
- STRONG WRITING, EDITING & COMMUNICATION: Your English literacy specialist MUST be a wordsmith, articulate and write with clarity and economy. Full Stop. If she can’t point out and explain, with laser precision, your grammar, syntax, vocabulary, argument/logic inconsistencies, then move on. An adept tutor will teach you a method of writing, editing and proofreading that, with practice and consistency, yields excellent results, both short and long term. For example, I have developed an essay teaching-editing process that consistently and patiently shows clients how and why I make revisions.
- PASSION: Does your prospective English tutor LOVE what she does? Does she like working WITH people? Does she motivate you? Is she truly interested in helping you become more skilled and create your life vision? You don’t want to work with someone who is going through the motions, burned- out, cynical or jaded. You deserve better!
- CONSISTENCY: Consistent implementation of lesson times, payment procedures and attendance policies are essential to your successful client-tutor relationship and indicates punctuality, professionalism, organization, efficient time management and sound financial investment. Consistency, not talent, manifests success.
- NON-JUDGEMENTAL & PATIENCE: The ideal English tutor provides a welcoming, kind, supportive and patient learning experience free of judgement and labels. Young students, I work with, often categorize their mistakes as “bad” which is problematic. I explain to them that neither they nor their writing mistakes are bad and that we all have to start somewhere to build skills; the great Michael Jordan was once a beginner too. These kinds of exchanges are a big part of the tutoring experience and require sensitivity and compassion.
- INTEGRITY: Bottom line, do you trust your prospective English tutor? Go with your gut. Is she sincere? Is she listening to you? Does she really care about your self-improvement? Being an instructor, is a calling, not a quick or easy way to earn money, at least, it shouldn’t be. Is she making unrealistic promises and encouraging shortcuts? English literacy skills, like a master tennis serve, takes days, weeks, months and years of consistent learning, practice and development. Be prepared to work a minimum of 6 to 18 months together. I work an average of three to five years with clients aged ten to sixteen. A quarter of my clients will invest five to ten years in us and a quarter will hire me for a lifetime of writing and editing projects that matter to them and their tribe.
- MONEY: Low paid English tutors, as in other professions, devalue work and expertise. An elite English literacy expert, like me, has invested years and MONEY in training, skill development, brain power, to be the BEST at what she does. Choosing an English expert requires rejecting a “bargain” or “best deal” mentality. Valuing education, yourself, your child’s future, nurturing productive actions and fulfilling work have to be a priority for you because they are FOR ME.
- TRANSPARENCY: Your relationship with your tutor will flourish if there is clarity about every aspect of the work. An agreement that clearly outlines the time period, expectations, materials, confidentiality, content and strategy, and so forth, will remove uncertainty. Furthermore, weekly lesson logs and progress reports ensure ongoing and reliable communication.I hope this checklist answers important questions about finding a top-notch English tutor for your or a family member
. If you need to know more, send me a note and I’ll be glad to help you make this important investment.
Rosalin Krieger is an award-winning, featured English Literacy specialist, on the Rogers TV Program In the Know, a Toronto Public Library educational speaker, and an editor . For a complimentary 45 consultation call 647-570-1856 or visit her on Facebook or Word Warrior Communications.