Tips On Choosing A Tuition Teacher You Have Never Met

The process of looking for a a 1 to 1 private home tutor or tuition teacher for your child is not easy at all.

Firstly, where do you start your search for a tuition teacher? The song "Where Do I Begin? comes to mind because that is exactly it "Where and how to find a tutor?" The focus of this post is on 1 to 1 home tutoring. We'll talk about other forms of tuition in a later post.

Where And How To Find A Tuition Teacher For Your Child

• Talk to the parents in your child's school
• Ask your child's teacher
• Post in parents groups on FB (remember to be careful about what information you post online)
• Post on forums (as above, be mindful about what you  post in public)
• Ask a tutor agent

Of course the best way is to ask for word of mouth recommendations from parents in your child's class or school. You may also ask your child's class or subject teacher but do it discreetly. Some teachers may not like being approached in this manner while some others may know someone even if he or she is not offering tuition services and will be happy to share that information with you.

Who Can You Get To Teach Your Child At Home?

1. Students or those from higher educational institutions who are awaiting their results
2. Part Timers
3. Full Timers
4. Current or Ex-school teachers

Naturally the rate goes up with each of the above mentioned as you go down the list.

What Is The Market Rate For 1 to 1 Home Tuition Classes?

The current market price is around RM35-RM40/hour. This differs according to your location and also the type of teacher and their qualification as mentioned above and your child's level. Some of the more experienced may charge higher while students may give you a lower rate. 

Tip: If your child is in lower primary, you may not need a highly experienced one so you can consider a lower rate teacher with less experience and qualifications if that is more within your budget.

How To Choose A Tuition Teacher You Have Never Met?

• Interview them over the phone
• Request for a trial class if possible before you commit
• Check their qualifications (ask to view the paper qualifications)
• Check their rates against your budget

What Questions Should You Ask The Tuition Teacher When You Interview Them?

1. Ask about their qualifications and whether they are a part-timer or full timer and how long they have been tutoring
2. Ask about their experience, specialty and availability
3. Ask about their rates and compare by checking with other parents in your location and at your child's level
4. Do not be afraid to ask personal questions. This may give you a better idea about the tutor and whether he is suitable to teach your child. Personal questions include age, whether the tutor has any siblings, is married with kids etc.
5. Ask about their teaching style, strategies and believes. Are they strict? Do they believe in giving a lot of homework? What methods will they use to teach? 
6. Find out how well they know the syllabus. (Make sure you know the syllabus too so you can evaluate this better)
7. Find out their cancellation policy. Can you cancel classes. Will you be charged? etc.

Seems like a lot of questions to ask? We believe it is important because talking to a person will give you a much better idea of their suitability so make sure you talk and ask questions. Don't worry if you can't ask them all at once. At least ask the basic which is qualifications, experience and fees.

The Most Important Tip!

If the tuition teacher is someone whom you have not met at all but one that you got through a tutor agent or online through a forum or public group, please exercise the same care and caution you would when dealing with someone you have never met before online before allowing them into your house and alone with your child. Be mindful of that! We can't stress this enough. This is the most important tip of all!

Lastly, we have a Parents/Tutors Forum on our website. We provided this platform to fulfill a need for the parents in our Facebook group. It is a free platform for parents and tutors to post. We are not a tutor agent and do not collect any fees from parent or tutor. We do not know the tutors who post there personally, neither do we vet them since we are not an agent. So we recommend that parents pay attention to the most important tip when using the forum.