Fluffed tests and a bad report card lead many parents to plague their children with school even during the vacations. Even those who actually write good grades are gladly sent for tutoring. After all, there is now enough time to continue to focus on learning and deepening the material. But does it make sense to study during the vacations? How differently do teachers, students and parents see it? Is tutoring during the vacations really advisable? Under what circumstances are summer courses worthwhile for students? These questions may be on your mind, which is why we’re taking a closer look at the topic of tutoring.
The purpose of tutoring
Tutoring is used to help students with difficult subjects in school, improving grades on the one hand, but also the general understanding of learning. There are many different forms of tutoring, be it tutoring schools for groups or tutors for private lessons. Tutoring during the vacations is especially popular with parents to help them remember the school material over the days and to address problems from class. Maybe a test was flunked and you want your child to do better next time.
Summer courses for children are therefore a popular way to transfer learning to the vacations. But many parents like to forget how it makes the child feel. After several months of school, you finally have time off, only to continue doing math during the vacations. No wonder tutoring is so controversial. After all, the vacations should be time off and not continue to be used to study for school. Does it then make sense to study during the vacations?
Which subjects are particularly affected?
The subjects, of course, depend greatly on the child and the learning problems, but science is especially in demand. Math intensive courses for summer vacations receive particularly many requests, as this is where the greatest deficits between individual students can be found. Foreign languages also fall into this category, as they tend to get lost in the context of school, especially in terms of actual speaking and comprehension.
Tutoring is a better way to tackle such problem subjects because the groups are smaller and so each student gets better attention. This is not always and everywhere the case, but it is a reason why many parents resort to summer courses for students. They themselves are just as unable to take care of the learning progress, so it’s better to ask a professional.
When does tutoring during the vacations make sense for a child?
But when does tutoring make sense? Which students are most worth cramming for, even during the vacations? This is difficult to assess, as every child has his or her own strengths and weaknesses and reacts differently to a learning environment. Some may have difficulty understanding certain concepts. Others have no problem. Children, like all of us, are individuals. If you’re thinking about tutoring, it’s best to involve your child in the decision.
Private tutoring during the vacations is especially worth a look when significant learning deficits are identified. In most cases, a teacher will contact you if he or she notices that your child is having problems with a particular subject. In such cases, tutoring makes sense.
Poor grades are also an indicator that the child may have learning difficulties. However, grades are also just a part of school and do not always reflect the true performance of the student. They are individual tests of knowledge and everyone has a bad day. Here it is especially important that you listen to your child and ask specifically what he did not understand and where tutoring is needed. Many learning weaknesses are uncovered in this way, for example a reading and spelling weakness, which is less related to comprehension and more to learning behavior. Through targeted tutoring, students learn to cope better.
Tutoring is also a good way to catch up on lost material in the event of prolonged illness or other absences from school. Otherwise, many children find it difficult to catch up after the vacations, even if the school material has been made up separately. A tutor is always a better help than the parents, because he is trained in pedagogy.
Effective instead of tedious
If you decide to tutor during the vacations, it’s important to approach it the right way. Don’t send your child to cram every day, but rather make the lessons effective and entertaining. Math during the vacations is bad enough for students, tutoring at the same time should not feel like a hurdle, but more like an opportunity. By the way, it’s best to start the course right after school ends. That way, the child is still in learning mode and absorbs the material better. You should then use the end of the vacations for relaxation and fun.
Such tutoring courses are also the perfect way to make learning more active and exciting. Courses focus on active participation of students, which makes learning much more enjoyable right away. Here you should compare different courses and their offers to find the best tutoring for your child.
Learning is better with friends
Another advantage of tutoring is the small learning groups. Your child is given the proper attention that he or she does not get in normal school lessons. It is even better if friends participate in the tutoring. This way, most children learn much better. After all, the “suffering” of tutoring is shared among themselves and tasks are mastered together.
Summer courses for students are also a great way to make new friends. In the groups, children meet each other who have similar problems and exchange ideas about them. This promotes social interaction, but also helps them cope better with learning. So an intensive math course during the summer vacations is also the start of a new friendship.
See tutoring not as a punishment but as an opportunity
In all of this, it is important that tutoring is not used as a punishment. This will only have the side effect of your child associating learning with a bad experience. In the end, no one will gain a positive benefit from attributing such a value to tutoring.
Talk to your child about why you decided to tutor during the vacations. Math during the vacations is not a punishment, but a great way to reinforce the material outside of school and catch up on learning. The child should be aware of this as well. Learning is something that should always be linked to fun. After all, we learn all our lives, but if it’s seen as a punishment even in childhood, it doesn’t do anyone any good. It is better to approach the matter positively so that all sides are satisfied.
Recreation and fun is important
However, if you decide to get tutoring during the vacations, it should not overshadow your actual free time. Short intensive courses are fine, or individual lessons during the week. However, the child should not feel as if he or she is still going to school during the vacations. Free time, games, and fun are incredibly important for balance after weeks of only being in school. Tutoring should not feel like a continuation of that, but should be used separately.
Good communication with the child is also important here. Compromises help both sides to find a good middle ground and the tutoring thus looks in a positive light. Rewards for successful learning days are also welcome and an effective learning method to spur the child on. You should avoid overwhelming your child, which is why it’s so important to talk to your child. After all, neither parents nor teachers attend tutoring, it’s the students.
Conclusion
Parents like to resort to tutoring during the vacations when they notice that their child has deficits in certain subjects. However, this idea doesn’t go down so well with most students; after all, the vacations are meant for not having school. Does it then make sense to study during the vacations? In the end, only you and your child can make that decision, because everyone learns differently and perceives school material differently. In some cases, it is definitely worth cramming even during the vacations. It is the best time to catch up and learn in small groups. However, you should not overwork your child and always let him or her have a say.
Related Article: How Often Should Kids See a Tutor
