Start Tutoring Early and Avoid the Panic Button
It’s April, and the calls start flooding in…
“My daughter has an AP exam coming up in 3 weeks, and they need to learn all of the material from the course in that time frame! Can you help us?” Or, “My son has a D in math, and he needs a C to avoid summer school.” Or, “College apps are due in a month and we haven’t started!”
Parents and students alike too often see tutoring as a last resort—-a panic button to push under desperate circumstances. While ENGAGE Tutoring will happily help if you need to cram, we prefer a more sustainable approach.
We do our best work when we develop rapport with the student at the beginning of the year, have time to help them internalize the content, and can repeatedly practice the study and executive functioning skills necessary to prepare adequately for tests. If the student has those systems in place, they never have to feel the horror and stress of being underprepared right before the big day.
Here are four reasons why we advocate for students to start tutoring at the beginning of the year:
They get the pick of the litter when it comes to subject matter expert tutors.
As the year progresses, tutors get booked up, so the beginning of the year is your best chance at getting a tutor that fits your schedule and needs.
You have time to fill in the gaps from previous years before the workload becomes overwhelming.
Because courses progressively build upon themselves year to year, students often miss fundamental material necessary in tackling the following year. If we start early, we have the time to make sure those gaps are filled and they have met the prerequisites for understanding the new material at hand.
You can practice executive functioning and study skills BEFORE the stakes are high.
If we try to learn study skills from scratch while cramming for content with limited time, we might keep the material short-term, but it will disappear from your brain the minute after the test. If you slowly but surely digest the material and practice executive functioning and study skills before the big tests, you will internalize the material for use in the long-term.
It’s August. A new year is upon us, and you have time to start early.
We’d love to help!