Playtimes HK Magazine September 2018 Issue | Page 53

Y
ou’ve seen the splashy adverts
on buses; you’ve had the
WhatsApp messages about
must-try tutors from your
friends. But how do you choose the
tutor that’s right for you and your child?
And once you’ve chosen, how do you
get the most out of the tuition itself?
Over half the students in Hong
Kong have after-school tutors. In fact,
a recent LegCo publication put it at
50-75 per cent of kids here, and they’re
doing almost five hours a week. That’s
a lot of kid time and a lot of parent
money, so you want to make sure
you’re getting the most from it.
In my years of tutoring, I’ve seen
some parents who really know how to
get the best out of their child’s tutoring.
Read on to find out how they do it.
Choosing a tutor
In one way – and only one way –
finding a tutor for your child is a little
like dating. There is no best tutor, only
what works best for you. Put some
time into figuring out what your child
needs so you know what your version
of best is. This really helps when you
speak to potential tutors; you can
easily spot the ones who respond well
to what you’re looking for.
Have a specific goal in mind
This might be ‘Increase my child’s
understanding of calculus,’ or ‘Improve
my kid’s oral presentation skills.’ If
your goal is just to follow a friend’s
recommendation of a great tutor, your
child’s not going to get the most out of
it. The clearer you are on the specifics,
the better you’re able to choose the
right tutor for your child.
Know what your broad focus is
In Hong Kong, it can be easy to get
sucked into always thinking of the
next exam or test. But education is a
marathon, not a sprint. Your long-term
aims are important for a tutor to work
towards, so be clear whether you want
to prepare for a future move abroad,
to foster independent thinking, or
perhaps cultivate creativity.
features
Require original feedback
Some tutors just tell you what they
think you want to hear – if you say
your daughter has weak grammar
grades, those tutors will suggest a
grammar class. However, a good
tutor will give you specific feedback
related to your focus and goal. They’ll
assess the deeper issues behind
your child’s grades. Perhaps your kid
understands grammar rules perfectly
well, but she’s careless. In that case,
grammar classes would be dull and
unhelpful. The tutor might suggest
some drilling in the run-up to exams,
but they won’t recommend a weekly
class of it. Instead they might advise a
writing class to improve self-checking
and grammar use in context, which will
also help with long-term improvement
and enthusiasm for the subject.
Getting started
Tutors do not do the same work as
school teachers. Of course, a well-
prepared tutor follows a curriculum,
but they also adapt it to fit a child’s
needs. If you want to get the best
out of that individual attention and
flexibility, make sure the tutor is well-
informed about your kid from day one.
Share your focus and goal
A writing class can be tweaked to
emphasise descriptive vocabulary,
creativity, or grammatical accuracy
among a host of other things. Remind
your tutor about the focus and goal
you have for your child in the first few
weeks to help them prepare exactly
what your kid needs to improve.
Set expectations
If your child doesn’t have time for
homework, make it clear straight away.
Or perhaps your little angel has a habit
of ‘forgetting’ their homework and
needs a note sent home specifying
what’s been assigned. Requests like
this are easy to accommodate. There
are many things which parents wait
too long to tell tutors they want, such
as exercises which follow the school
curriculum, or good enough grades to
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