Tutoring
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lizziebutnotdizzy
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:52 pm
Tutoring
I am a bit worried as I'm a first time mum with the 11+ and don't know what is the norm is in the way tutoring is given.
I have just started my son with a tutor. It is individual tuition at £30 per hour and he has now had his third session.
His tutor asked him on day one what he wanted to start with and my son said non verbal reasoning as he doesn't like English very much! OK verbal reasoning it is..... and has been for 3 weeks.
Is it the norm to let the child decide? Also if he doesn't like English, should the tutor be encouraging him to do something about it?
Is there anyone who can give me experiences of the way their child was or is being tutored so I know if I have made the right decision with this tutor.
Much appreciated if there is.
I have just started my son with a tutor. It is individual tuition at £30 per hour and he has now had his third session.
His tutor asked him on day one what he wanted to start with and my son said non verbal reasoning as he doesn't like English very much! OK verbal reasoning it is..... and has been for 3 weeks.
Is it the norm to let the child decide? Also if he doesn't like English, should the tutor be encouraging him to do something about it?
Is there anyone who can give me experiences of the way their child was or is being tutored so I know if I have made the right decision with this tutor.
Much appreciated if there is.
Hi lizziebutnotdizzy
Well in my opinion that's an excessive amount actually. How old is your son if you don't mind me asking so? The only reason I ask is if your son is in his early years then the amount you are paying will amount to a mortgage at the rate you are paying. I would expect around £10-15 per hr max. Here in Birmingham some groups charge around £5 per hour in a group to £10 at the most. Personally speaking you might be better off buying the books yourself and get your son to read as much as possible...all sorts e.g. fiction non fiction and basically amass a good range of words. Lots of good books have already been discussed e.g. Bond..Nfer etc. The first thing the tutor should have done is make a basic diagnostic assessment of your son and assess his strengths and weaknesses and build on that. I am very surprised that the tutor asked your son what he would like to do. It’s not as if you have a choice in the exam and you have to be a pretty good all rounder. Hope that helps!
Well in my opinion that's an excessive amount actually. How old is your son if you don't mind me asking so? The only reason I ask is if your son is in his early years then the amount you are paying will amount to a mortgage at the rate you are paying. I would expect around £10-15 per hr max. Here in Birmingham some groups charge around £5 per hour in a group to £10 at the most. Personally speaking you might be better off buying the books yourself and get your son to read as much as possible...all sorts e.g. fiction non fiction and basically amass a good range of words. Lots of good books have already been discussed e.g. Bond..Nfer etc. The first thing the tutor should have done is make a basic diagnostic assessment of your son and assess his strengths and weaknesses and build on that. I am very surprised that the tutor asked your son what he would like to do. It’s not as if you have a choice in the exam and you have to be a pretty good all rounder. Hope that helps!
best regards
Farooq
(In the field of observation, chance favors the prepared mind. Louis Pasteur)
Farooq
(In the field of observation, chance favors the prepared mind. Louis Pasteur)
i think yr paying way to much,i pay £22 for 1 and half hours plus my son can do upto three tests for free so he could be there for upto 4 hours,and its not right that the tutor lets yr son do what he wants,the tutor should be going through the subjects that your son is weak on,dont waste any more money just get rid of the tutor
Hi
We tried a tutoring group briefly, and our daughter didn't get much from it and more importantly didn't enjoy it so we took her out.
I then bought all the books (Bond etc) and encouraged her to read as much as possible. We did not have a tutor (not through choice, we simply could not find one - especially as everyone keeps the good ones secret as it means less competition!!) - and I went through the books with her. The hardest part is keeping them motivated - ideally I would of liked to do an hour a day, but realistically on average I would say we did an hour every third day for about 6 months.
We didn't decide until quite late on to enter for KE grammars so our preparation time was not ideal, but throughout our DD primary schooling I had always kept an eye on the curriculum and when needed moved my dd up a few levels at home to stop her getting bored i.e. in yr 3 she was doing yr4 & 5 fun work at home on the computer etc.
£30 is sooooo much money. Obviously worth it if he is good - but I agree with you it's quite hard to measure that! FM is apparently an excellent tutor, but I think she is booked up until 2024!! Maybe you could ask her to pm you with a few recommendations?
Good Luck
Lottie
We tried a tutoring group briefly, and our daughter didn't get much from it and more importantly didn't enjoy it so we took her out.
I then bought all the books (Bond etc) and encouraged her to read as much as possible. We did not have a tutor (not through choice, we simply could not find one - especially as everyone keeps the good ones secret as it means less competition!!) - and I went through the books with her. The hardest part is keeping them motivated - ideally I would of liked to do an hour a day, but realistically on average I would say we did an hour every third day for about 6 months.
We didn't decide until quite late on to enter for KE grammars so our preparation time was not ideal, but throughout our DD primary schooling I had always kept an eye on the curriculum and when needed moved my dd up a few levels at home to stop her getting bored i.e. in yr 3 she was doing yr4 & 5 fun work at home on the computer etc.
£30 is sooooo much money. Obviously worth it if he is good - but I agree with you it's quite hard to measure that! FM is apparently an excellent tutor, but I think she is booked up until 2024!! Maybe you could ask her to pm you with a few recommendations?
Good Luck
Lottie
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Sally Herts
- Posts: 126
- Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:06 pm
- Location: Herts
Gosh, £30 is typical around here, I believe, although I've not gone down that route. That's Hertfordshire for you, though.
I know (on the grapevine, so it may not be true, although it's on good authority) of someone who paid £90 right near the exam, for two or three sessions - I don't know how long the sessions were.
It really does depend on where you live. Here, the best tutors even interview potential students first, to see if the child is good enough to join their list!
I know (on the grapevine, so it may not be true, although it's on good authority) of someone who paid £90 right near the exam, for two or three sessions - I don't know how long the sessions were.
It really does depend on where you live. Here, the best tutors even interview potential students first, to see if the child is good enough to join their list!
ours did that, but I took it as a good sign - that she wasn't going to waste our money or raise our hopes needlessly, some kind of "base assessment" seemed a good idea. Plus, to maintain their reputations, they need to get good results and there's no point in putting a kid through a year of tutoring when there was only ever little point. If the 11+ is the main aim of the tutoring. There again, she only charges a fiver an hour (great little group sessions).Sally Herts wrote: Here, the best tutors even interview potential students first, to see if the child is good enough to join their list!
So are the exams tutor-proof??
Get the impression nobody knows, but why take the chance and not have some tutoring anyway?
£30 an hour, one hour a week, ends up to quite alot over the year (or even two).
Of course the tutors are going to say it makes a difference.
I would love to see some educational research that trys to link performance in the new CEM exams and the level of tutoring, however that can be measured. It would be very interesting indeed.
Get the impression nobody knows, but why take the chance and not have some tutoring anyway?
£30 an hour, one hour a week, ends up to quite alot over the year (or even two).
Of course the tutors are going to say it makes a difference.
I would love to see some educational research that trys to link performance in the new CEM exams and the level of tutoring, however that can be measured. It would be very interesting indeed.
