They're easy because they tell you that they test your child and start their program where your child tests. They offer a preplanned educational schedule for your child, in order to go to the next level you need to complete the assignments in the current level. Some of these places employ credentialed teachers, reward good behavior with tokens, and have a comprehensive payment schedule. On paper these educational tutoring chains look like the perfect place for your child to get ahead in school.
What parents don't know is that however well your child does on their initiation test they are placed on the lowest level program. Hence, some children will spend 3 or 4 tutoring sessions completing basic level work that is too easy for them. The worst and most disturbing part of these tutoring facilities is that for the entire hour your child is completing worksheet after worksheet and booklet after booklet while being supervised by a paid adult. There is no specific instruction on what each child maybe struggling in. For example, a child who has a hard time with long vowel spellings will do the same exact worksheet as a child who is having a difficult time recognizing when to use the wh, sh, ch, th sounds in their spelling. Even though these are two completely different problems each child does the same work.
Specialized instruction is always better. Worksheets, computer clicking, and choosing abc doesn't teach a child. Always look into all the options for your child's tutoring needs and choose the best program, company, or facility to help and easy your child's educational experience. Just because you see that car driving around town or ads saying it is the leading tutoring company may not mean it is truly the best for your family.
Well, unfortunately the majority of the families and students I work with can afford(money wise & academically wise) to work with Sylvan for a simple reason. Sylvan does not work on the individual student immediate needs, relevant to the class that they need to pass. For example, a student may not be passing their Algebra class and needs help in that specific area, including homework and test preparation but Sylvan excludes that type of direct assistance. Rather Sylvan assesses student's comprehensive math skills and focuses on strenthgening a students weak areas in math when they are not relevant to the class the student needs to pass. Ill never forget the parent that told me they just spent $3000 at Sylvan and "My kid still didnt turn in anymore homework and still didnt pass his class."
ReplyDeleteDont get me wrong if your little students needs Math skill improvement and practice go for it. But if your little student needs to pass a class, start tutoring when the semester starts and go with the local teacher or tutor who knows the content.