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“I don’t want to go to school. It’s boring.” “My stomach hurts.” “The other kids are doing better than I am.” Whether in the car on the way to school or at the dinner table, many parents have heard one, if not all, of these complaints from their child. These grumblings could be just a passing phase. If they persist, however, they can be warning signs that he is having problems in school and might benefit from the help of a tutor or supplemental education provider. The five questions below can help you determine whether your child needs additional help outside of school hours. 1. Is she maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 or higher? If not, she might need extra help to boost those grades. A low grade in a subject is an obvious sign that she is having trouble. If low grades are common, more study time and a tutor or supplemental education provider can help tremendously. 2. Is getting in trouble at school a common occurrence for him? If yes, he could be having problems adjusting or has special needs. If the problem persists, talk to his teacher. She may have noticed such signs as inattention or slow progress, which may indicate that he needs a tutor or supplemental education provider. 3. Does she complete homework assignments? If not, ask yourself and your child why these assignments are not getting done. Instead of doing the work, does she sit at the table complaining: “It’s too hard,” or “this is too much work?” Do you notice her struggling to focus on a task, spending more time daydreaming than writing? These are warning signs that she might be falling behind and needs extra help to catch up. 4. Are you constantly dealing with complaints of stomachaches or feverish temperatures when getting him ready for school? If yes, and he has been a given a clean bill of health by your family physician, he may be using these excuses to stay home because he is having difficulty understanding the material or completing the work. Whether it’s the learning environment or the rigor of the assignments, he might need extra instruction to improve his performance as well as his attitude toward school. 5. Do her test scores reflect her daily performance? If not, then the problem might not be that she doesn’t know the answers, but that the actual test-taking process is what’s giving her trouble. It could be that she does poorly on certain types of tests, such as multiple choice or essay. A tutor or supplemental education provider can teach her test-taking strategies, writing techniques and other skills to help increase test scores. 6. Does he have special needs? If yes, and tests have shown he has a learning disability, such as Dyslexia or Attention Deficit Disorder, then it is important to pay special attention to those needs. The one-on-one assistance a tutor or a supplemental education provider can provide may improve performance in school and help develop academic skills. By Kara K. Murphy |
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