Tutoring questions -

Ask a potential tutor:

Are you a qualified teacher?
- the tutor should respond with a rough outline of degrees, teaching certificates if any, and teaching experience. There are many routes to becoming a good teacher, but doubt anyone who is lacking *both* certification and experience.

How long have you been tutoring?
- everyone has to start somewhere so being new at the job is not always a bad thing, but be cautious of someone with little experience especially if they are lacking academic credentials as well.

What subjects and grades do you tutor?
- the tutor should have a definite conception of what he/she knows and what he/she doesn’t. Mistrust anyone who thinks he/she can master anything at all.

What methodology do you use for reading and for math?
- the tutor should use some scientifically supported reading appraoch including *systematic* phonics, oral reading, development of vocabulary, and guided development of writing. There should be some variety and flexibility in the program, not just one book/workbook or whatever. Brand names are less important than knowledge and system in phonics/linguistics. The tutor should want to evaluate the child before making flat pronouncements. Avoid “whole-language” people who are just going to have him learn to love literature and make up his own stories — of that worked we wouldn’t be here. In math the tutor should want to teach number sense and problem solving, not just drill sheets. Again the tutor should want to evaluate the child before deciding what to do.
Above all a real tutor (as opposed to a literate babysitter) should *not* simply do the child’s homework with him, and should *not* just repeat the school lesson for the day.

Do you have any special training in teaching reading?
- most university education courses unfortunately are not worth the paper they are written on, some actively counterproductive. If you are lucky you may run into someone with Orton-Gillingham or Lindamood-Bell or Phonographix or Fast Forword or PACE training. However the brand name is *not* necessary if they know their stuff — remember, somebody had to write PG and LMB and they were good teachers before these programs existed.

How do you evaluate students?
- the tutor may use formal tests OR may use informal reading and math inventories over the first few hours. I go for the more informal inventories myself but some people like to have scores. Either way, the tutor should have some sort of plan and reason for it, not dump every child in exactly the same program without schecking for background and needs.

How often do you meet a student?
- various schedules are possible but with a young student twice a week is pretty much the minimum for continuous progress. The tutor should be aware of the necessity for steady work but also avoid the other extreme of tiring him with too much; every day after school may be excessive.

How long are your tutoring sessions?
- for a young student forty-five minutes to an hour is about the maximum in one session. It is possible to do extended work divided up into two or three sessions of different topics with breaks, as at school, but the tutor should have a plan in hand to make this effective. Even then, once a week for three hours is not as good for continuity as is three separate M-W-F sessions (although practically it may be all you can do, the tutor should be aware that it is a compromise.)

Where do you meet students?
- it is possible to meet at your home (the tutor should ask for a quiet and reasonably undisturbed place, but the dining table is often good) or at a tutor’s home office. Sometimes people meet at a public library but this is less effective, difficult to get privacy and a place to talk. At home, I don’t like to go to the child’s bedroom for various reasons, wrong atmosphere, and that is general for most tutors. The tutor should have an organized plan and reasons for it. For example, someone who uses extensive materials may prefer the home office because it is impossible to pack. I mostly meet people at their homes because it is easier for families with more than one child, but I am an academic type book, paper, and pen worker and have the car-office.

What kind of progress do you expect a student to make in a year?
- the tutor should *not* make absolute guarantees (how can you?) but should have a realistic expectation of gradual steady progress.

My child has a low IQ score and is delayed in language. What experience do you have with this kind of student, and what do you expect of him?
- the tutor should have *some* kind of experience with kids with difficulties.
By the way, I myself work mostly with gifted dyslexics / adults fallen through the cracks / math anxiety / above average but missing second language — different populations. although I have had a couple of students with disabilities, and if you came to me I would tell you that I have not much practical experience with kids like yours and so I would have to take him on a trial basis for a month to see how we could work together. If someone honestly tells you something like this, well, it’s your choice whether you otherwise like the tutor enough to take the trial period.
The tutor should have reasonable expectations, hoping for a year’s progress from 0.5 to 1.5 for example, *neither* entirely negative (avoid hiring a teacher who doesn’t expect the child to learn!) *nor* unrealistically promising to teach everything.

Can you do anything to raise a child’s IQ?
- the tutor should *not* promise miracles and guaranteed snake-oil cures, but should discuss with you various academic and cognitive training approaches that gradually help a child to use his abilities to the maximum and to raise his scores on tests.

What are your fees? And how do you expect to be paid?
- these vary tremendously. *If* the tutor is a retired teacher with a pension and a paid-up mortgage (and if they know phonics, these decades of experience are worth their weight in gold!) then they may do the tutoring as a sideline just to keep active and may charge a low fee like $10. Maybe a former teacher who married a rich oil baron and wants to feel useful. Failing a miracle like that, anyone charging less than $20 is moonlighting from another full-time job or is a student, just cannot make a living at that rate. Double-check their qualifications and their time availability and will they be too stressed? $30 to $50 allows a tutor to make a living and is reasonable where you are. Over $50 is high for Canada — is the person exceptionally qualified and using expensive specialist materials like Fast Forword?
Payment by the hour, the week, or the month are all reasonable, cash or cheque. Be careful of someone who is cash only as this means they may be avoiding taxes — are they professional? Extensive advance payment ties you into a contract you may not want.

Can you give me some local references?
- the tutor should be able to give you names and phone numbers of at least a couple of satisfied parents, or of previous school administrators, or if a student, of professors and peer-tutor supervisors. A person new in town — and we do all have to start sometime — may have out-of-town references but should have good ones. The tutor may have to call you back after getting parents’ permission to give out their names (next year, you will appreciate this same courtesy) but should get back to you with numbers.

In general, you should get a feeling that the tutor is knowledgeable, professional, friendly, positive, and caring about your child, but at the same time is not going to promise unrealistic miracles and is not going to become over-familiar. The tutor should ask you questions about his age and grade and abilities and other interests, but should stay on the academic topic.
When he is being tutored, dining table is usually good (get the other kids downstairs or in the yard). You should be around, definitely in the house, but *not* hanging over their shoulders. Let the tutor be professional and plan lessons, *including* some rewards (games and books, not food!) and occasional breaks, but keep an eye checking that the majority of the time is spent on work.

WOW, that was great Victoria. Thanks so much. I am going to print your reponse up and have something written down before the whole “interview” process. Still not sure if I should be going down this road, or stick to the road I was on before and keep sending him to “The Reading Foundation’ with Dr. Trush. I just wanted to see what is out there before spending another $10,000.00 this year. Gosh, too bad you don’t live closer to me, I would not hesitate to give you all that money to tutor my son!

Thanks again.

I just wanted to add to not be hesitate to change course if you sense things are not working out. I had a speech and language therapist, employed by public school, who had been trained in lindamood programs. She came highly recommended. She was a disaster for my son—she thought he had learned helplessness. In other words, he wasn’t trying because he had given up. I think she didn’t know how to teach him. He tested better than he could learn because of all the work we’d already done with him. We lasted two weeks of sessions before I decided this was doing more harm than good.

Not to discourage you but I have hired three different tutors none of whom have worked out well. I have done much better by taking him to “name brand” centers–Phonographix in Orlando and a Lindamood Center near me supplemented by tons of home work. I basically decided to hire people when we hit a wall and could not go any further together. At those points, I found I needed the most experienced people to work with him. I paid more per hour but at least he broke through some walls.

The other thing I have done with my own tough cookie is focus as much if not more on trying to remediate underlying processing difficulties. Personally, if I were in your shoes, I would try Audioblox for six months before spending more money on reading programs. It sounds like you took him to the type of place I have found reliably (not that there aren’t wonderful private tutors like Victoria but I didn’t find them) helps a child. In my experience you get a lot more bang for your buck and for your time if the child is processing better. Given that your child has a low IQ, a program like Audioblox may make a big difference in his ability to learn.

My son did LMB’s program Seeing Stars this summer and the therapist told me he progressed much faster than typical and attributed it to all the sensory work we had already done. And believe me my child was not a fast learner originally!

Beth

Beth, Iam wondering the same thing. Should I continue with what I have been doing. I was on Audoblox sit and am very intereted in purchasing this. I have just finished reading “Reading Reflex”, by Carmen Mcguiness, and loved the book and techniques.

There is a company here where I live and they try to find the right tutor for you. They have been searching for a couple of weeks with my criteria, and I just received an email from them. What do you all think? I hate making decisions, and I hate making the wrong decisions.

Terese:
i think I have good news, but you tell me. I have a professional with
experience in the reading techniques you are looking for. She is Oxford-
educated. However, she speaks with an accent (British East Indian), which might
be fine, but seems to me, in my professional judgment, a possible detriment to
one so young and with such challenges. She is $50.00 per hour, or $48.00 per
hour for 20 or more hours.

I have another option. A post-secondary student who has worked for me in the
past has moved back to Calgary. She also has training in the area. My previous
clients raved about her. She would be $28.00 per hour, or $26.00 per hour for
20 or more.

That is a huge $$$ difference don’t you think???

Sorry, I did not log it!

This is my gut…based mostly on my child—who functioned and tested as a “slow learner” but now is doing quite well in fifth grade, although he is clearly still LD. I don’t take IQ as written in stone but it does say something significant about a child’s present level of functioning. I found that even the best reading programs were tough for my child until I improved his processing. In other words, trying something like Audioblox may help him learn easier. I know the program can be used with preschoolers so it ought to be appropriate for your son. I don’t think you know until you try whether you can improve his ability to learn. If you can, life will be easier for him.

Personally, I would try that for awhile and see if you can see progress. If you do, then that is important information. At some point, you would then need to make a judgment call about how long to do audioblox alone as opposed to doing some reading instruction as well. If he doesn’t make any progress, then I’d probably go back to a tutor of some type with the understanding that things are just going to move slow for him.

I am basing this on the assumption that you know that there are not auditory processing issues complicating diagnosis. If you haven’t had him checked with an audiologist specializing in auditory processing, I would do that first. With my son, auditory processing has been part of the puzzle, although not the complete picture. Still difficulties in auditory processing can make learning to read difficult and can render IQ less accurate. If you can’t follow directions, you can’t do the tasks they ask.

Beth

My son has never been tested, but he follows direction well. Sometimes re-explanation is necessary, especially when it comes to “rules” say in sports. No one has ever told me to get him checked for APD.
The thing I would be worried about is using Audioblox myself on him, and having much more fustration. Sitting down with mom is not fun …. if you know what I mean. He listens better when it is someone else.

I think if you don’t want to or can’t work with your son then you really don’t have too much of a question. You can either go back to the center or try a tutor. Intense work seems to bring the best results but maybe your son has had enough of it for now. You are probably the best judge of that. If so, I’d find a tutor to try to keep him from losing what skills he has gained and to move him along. I’d consider trying the center again maybe next year.

Beth

Terese — the price ranges quoted to you are exactly in the range I predicted, $50 for very highly qualified and experienced, $25 for new but with some experience. Both are within reason.

If I were you, I would
(a) talk to each potential tutor on the telephone and get a “feel” for them. Look for professionalism, not just sympathy.
I wouldn’t worry so much about accent unless it is very, very strong.
(b) add to your list of questions: “Do you teach Audiblox? Audiblox is a cognitive training program. Would you be interested in learning to do Audiblox with my son?” A good tutor will generally be interested in increasing her repertoire — may quite reasonably be a bit cautious and say she wants to see the program first, but should be open to discussion.
(c) go to the website and order the home version of Audiblox which I understand is quite inexpensive, a lot less than you have already spent. You can get the tutor to work teaching it for 20-30 minutes as *part* of the session two or three times a week (let the tutor use her other skills the rest of the session), and you and your son can “practice” it as homework another two or three days.
(d) The Reading Foundation is highly regarded but apparently they have done as much as they can for now. I would think it might be good to let him do schoolwork and get individual reading help for now, and then go back to the Reading Foundation in a year or two when he is more mature and able to benefit more from the program.
(e) If he hasn’t been evaluated for CAPD and vision, yes, these are lines to pursue. Your reports on his expressive language are an issue here — he really needs to develop his own expressive language before reading more difficult language levels. Has he seen a Speech-language specialist? The university hospital should be useful here.

Victoria, he see’s a SLP through school only once a week in a group setting. He has been in speech therapy since he was 3 yrs old. I have recently hired a private SLP, and we start our first session tomorrow.

Terese — just going by what you have said here, I think work with the SLP, as intensive as possible, is a very good start, probably the thing he needs most now. Audiblox is not guaranteed but may be very useful. Then tutoring, both something like Audiblox or other cognitive work, and language/linguistic-based reading and writing, to maintain his gains and make steady forward progress.
Nobody can make any promises, but he is at a level now where he has some foundation skills and things should start to come up over this year. I really hope to hear from you again in four and nine months and see how he is growing.

I will let you know how things go in the next few months, or if I have some more questions for you.

:)