Hiring an Online Tutor: Three Questions to Ask – And One Not To
I’ve been getting several requests for online tutoring in the past few weeks. As COVID-19 social distancing restrictions enter the third month in New York City, many parents are worried that their child’s fallen behind their peers whose teachers have been more actively teaching. Others want an online tutor to provide enrichment that their child has been missing. Whatever YOUR reason for interviewing an online tutor, here are three questions you should ask – and one not to worry about.
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1. “How long have you been online tutoring?”
Not all tutors feel comfortable teaching online. Not only does doing so require some technical skill, tutoring online – like all good teaching, actually – demands flexibility on the part of the instructor. Zoom link not working? WhatsApp video intermittent? The online tutor needs to be able to adapt and quickly redirect the student without getting flustered so that the remainder of the session’s productive.
2. “How do you teach <math/English/Spanish/etc> online?”
The best online tutor will have a concrete plan for online tutoring of the subject matter that your child needs help with. She should be able to give you an example of another child that s/e’s helped in a similar age range and subject, but if she doesn’t do so, ask about it. You might also ask what are the particular challenges of doing so, and how the online tutor has dealt with them.
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3. “What will my child learn and do in a typical session with you?”
Great online tutors are great teachers: they formulate specific learning objectives for every session and class. The online tutor worth his salt should respond with at least two or three different types of learning activities – no kid wants to do the same exact thing every week! Nevertheless, each activity should be another way to achieve the same goal, whether that’s improve critical reading ability, augmenting elaboration in analytical writing, or mastering the fundamental of algebra.
Just yesterday, a potential client asked me a well-intentioned but ultimately unimportant question, so this is the one you DON’T need to worry about:
“Are you familiar with the curriculum in my child’s school/grade?”
The best teachers know how to teach THEMSELVES. I told this mom that while I’m not familiar with her fourth grade son’s teacher’s curriculum, not only would I be willing to email the teacher to find out about it, I could also figure that out pretty easily on the NYC DOE website. More important, I explained, is that I’d be able to diagnose her son’s issues with reading and writing, design engaging lessons to help correct them, and offer supportive feedback during the lesson so that he can grow into a more careful reader and a more deliberate writer.
Have YOUR OWN question about education in the age of distance learning? email it to me now.
Dr. P.
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