Should you hire a summer tutor for your child?

School’s out!  The campus is deserted.   What happens now to the 10 months of learning your child just acquired? Well, he will lose 1 to 3 of those months over the summer.  Do you want to get him tutoring this summer?  . . . maybe.

. . . But what happened to those “lazy crazy days of summer” ?  

Your child just completed 180 six-hour days of hard work.  Next year she will do the same.  Summer after summer, she probably loses 20% of each year’s work; the loss is cumulative.  That loss effects grades, achievement, college acceptance and lifetime income.  Sun-filled, lazy summers are tantalizing, but they also are a major cause of underachievement.

Anyway, your child WILL have time for the beach.  An investment of just a few hours a week for 8 weeks of summer is nothing compared to the time, effort and learning lost from the previous school year.

My kids go to great schools, why should I pay for tutoring in the summer?

Since Socrates, people have known that tutoring is the most effective method of teaching. Cambridge and Oxford Universities still use the tutoring system for undergraduates, one tutor for two or three students. Tutorials like theirs create a more personal and rigorous academic environment than the group teaching and testing that characterize most of our schools. 

However, tutorials year round would be incredibly expensive.  Even the best US schools sometimes have to create classes as large as 25.  No student can get much individual attention.    That individual attention is best for every student; for those with math anxiety,  slow reading,  weak vocabulary, or other needs, it may be critical. 

I didn’t get tutored in the summer, and, look, I turned out OK! What’s different?

The world is different!   Work is different -- more technological, more intellectual, more global.  Now, postsecondary, not secondary, education is the gateway to many jobs.  Your child’s lifetime economic security, standard of living, and quality of life depend on his level of education.  

Consequently, college entrance is more competitive. Some of the most competitive colleges have admission rates under 10%.  SAT’s and ACT’s matter much more than they used to.  Colleges eliminate students by SAT and ACT scores.   Plus, because so many students now get tutoring, those who don’t are at a disadvantage in the competition for limited spots at good colleges.

What if my child doesn’t want tutoring?

She probably does.   Our children live in a global world; they know that in some countries, in some parts of the US,  and certainly in Westchester County, tutoring is simply “what you do.”    That old “summer school” that you and I remember is long gone.  Back then, “school” or “tutoring” in the summer were remedial (and dreaded).  Many students and their parents now value tutoring more than other activities they might buy.  Even during the recent recession of 2007-09,  when spending was generally down,  spending on tutors was up, growing at more than 5% a year.

For you and your child, tutoring may even be a blessing.   Haven’t  you ever gotten into a tangle with your child over homework? . . . tried to explain a math problem? . . . tried to encourage her when she was at her wit’s end over a course?   A professional summer tutor can provide more confidence, better grades, higher test scores, better colleges,  higher quality of adult life, and so much less teeth-gnashing at home. 

Is private tutoring the only educational option?  

No, of course not.  The greatest loss over summer is math; the second greatest is reading.  There are a number of options for helping your child maintain, and even augment, math and reading achievement. 

Some of them are quite inexpensive:  the library; math workbooks and games; safe, educational internet sites and phone aps; or summer camps with individual tutoring components.   Others, such as travel and apprenticeships are more expensive.  Many of those activities are associated with some gains in achievement.

Summer is certainly a time for relaxation, but it’s also a time for learning.  We expect budding athletes and actors to spend the summer at soccer camp or repertory theatre; we expect young swimmers to have swimming coaches and young pianists to have private music teachers in July and August.  Why shouldn’t budding adults have summer training in the skills they need for adulthood?  They should if they are to have high grades, good college experiences, and successful futures.

Best,

Joan Barickman

Tutor for Tests, Study Skills, and Academic Class Work