the Cost of Tutoring

Online tutoring service, using Skype connection (free downloadable software) to turn the computer into a telephone connection. They also used a "whiteboard" on the computer screen. Both the tutor and the student could use the whiteboard and see what each other were writing or drawing with the mouse. My daughter used the service for math and chemistry for about a month when she fell behind in school. She would go online in advance and schedule her 30-minutes sessions for the next week. When it was time for a session, she would log in to the tutoring website and once they became available, the tutor would "call" her using a Skype connection.

The service was helpful and my daughter. We especially liked that when she scheduled her sessions, she could designate a specific topic that she wanted to work on and the tutor would brush up on that topic prior to calling. It was easy to sign up for, and the customer service person was very patient in answering all of my questions and understanding my skepticism before I paid with my credit card for an automatically reoccuring charge. It was also very easy to cancel once no longer needed. We cancelled after the first "half-price" trial month, rather than renewing for $99/month. My only complaint is that the tutors were sometimes difficult to understand because of very thick accents. I think they were in the middle east somewhere - but at least they were patient and very smart.

If your student is having trouble at school with subject matter that you can't help them with, I highly recommend tutoring. If a child wants to learn but just "isn't getting it" they may just need someone to use a different method to go over the material. If face-to-face tutoring isn't an option for you (it wasn't for us because we're in a rural community and the closest professional tutoring center is about a 25 mile drive for us) then online tutoring can be a great alternative. Plus, it's easy for the kids to do for 30 minutes before they catch the bus (to review for a test they know they have that day) or right after school, or even on Saturday night when they're up late.... It's a little pricey, but well worth it if the student really wants to put the effort in. Just "not getting it" makes the kids feel helpless and stupid, and when they do "get it" they have much higher self esteem, not to mention better grades.