Tutorspree

Tutor Features: Meet Dan

Dan is one of our most successful tutors, having spent hundreds of hours tutoring accounting, Excel, and microeconomics. He’s a strategic manager and CPA in New York, with degrees in Accounting and Economics from the University of Michigan.

TS: How did you get started tutoring?

DN: I got started tutoring my senior year in college for the accounting club. I was really excited to get involved, because it was a great way to make some money, and practice for my teaching job in grad school. I really ended up enjoying it, because it gave me the chance to understand what topics were difficult for people, and allowed me to practice relating the material to students uniquely.

TS: What do you like most about tutoring?

DN: There is nothing better than that moment where you can see someone get a concept that has been bugging them; it’s like a light goes off in their head. There is something about helping someone understand tough concepts that is really fun and valuable. It’s also fun to try new and interesting ways to communicate the tough material, relating the concepts to each person. As a tutor, it is almost impossible to teach things to students that they will get right away. It’s more important to get them thinking about it properly, and give the right tools so that they can learn on their own.

TS: Tell us about your best tutoring experiences.

DN: The best tutoring experiences come from students with an open mind and a desire to learn the concepts, while the [not-so-good] are the ones that have no interest in the material, and only want to know ‘how to pass’.

TS: What’s it like being a tutor on Tutorspree?

DN: Tutorspree has been amazing for me. It has allowed me to focus on the part of tutoring I like, the teaching, rather than the annoying parts of finding and managing students. Tutorspree does all of the tough work and screens students that may not be really interested, who are also the ones that are the toughest to deal with.

To find a great tutor like Dan, visit his profile and others at Tutorspree.com.

How to waste $44 million on tutoring

In 2011, the U.S. government spent approximately $650,000,000[1] of taxpayers’ money on Supplemental Education Services (SES). SES is a part of No Child Left Behind that intends to provide extra tutoring for low-income students in need. As of late, more and more incidents have arisen that have brought to light the gross mismanagement of this taxpayer money. It has been wasted and misused, and even a source of fraudulent income for individuals and corporations.

To begin: the fraud. Recent allegations have been brought against Princeton Review for cashing in on SES tutoring they never actually provided.[2] In one telling invoice, 74 students were signed into tutoring on a day when class was not even held.[2] Furthermore, the company used tactics to pressure the employees into forging these numbers. One employee enticed with such tactics earned $16,000 in bonuses over two years, for reporting high “attendance,” much of which was likely forged.[3] Princeton Review isn’t the only organization accused of SES fraud. The Trenton School District has put their 10 highest-paid SES tutors into question as a result of tutors receiving as much as $114,562 a year in federal funds.[4] The school district has cited $321,000 as being “questionable” payments.[4] Similar cases are cropping up all around the country. In Miami: $445,250 worth of questionable payments.[1] Baltimore: $100,000 worth of special education tutoring that did not take place.[5] Ashbury Park: $460,000 worth of questionable payments. Detroit: $173,000 to an individual never given a tutoring contract.[6] Dallas: $143,000 worth of fraudulent claims.[7] New York: $858,779 in questionable payments from 2009-2011.[8] Columbus: $15,000,000 disbursed without approval.[9]

Among this astounding amount of fraud is the poor utilization of these massive federal funds. School districts given government money for SES are often required to spend astronomical amounts on the services– otherwise it is taken away from them.[10] Chicago, for example, was budgeted $67,000,000 for SES this year, and has spent only half of it.[10] Now they’re forced to scramble to spend the rest. This scramble likely means tens of millions of dollars wasted. In San Francisco’s public school district, funds are also poorly utilized. A tutoring company called ARC will be paid $559,523 for its services; yet administrators say the tutoring is ineffective and unlikely to improve test scores.[11] In the Dallas Independent School District, some unnerving numbers were recently reported: only 40 out of 29,349 eligible students received funding for SES.[12] That’s less than 1%. And as shocking as this number seems, the school district explains it saying that the SES tutoring provided is ineffective and surrounded by potential fraudulent activity.[12] Sound familiar? Reports from the 2004-2005 school year reveal low SES attendance is nothing new. In 2004-2005, only 17% of eligible students enrolled in SES[13], and in the LA Unified School District, only 8% enrolled with high attendance.[14] In the LA District, SES-tutored students once again showed little improvement.[14] It seems as though the program hasn’t learned its lesson.

The numbers stand for themselves. Government funds are being stolen by fraudulent means. They’re being wasted by school districts with no way to spend them. They’re being ineffectively utilized by low SES attendance rates and poor improvement among those students that attend. The mismanagement of these funds means consequences for the taxpayers, and more importantly for the students who are truly in need. The unfortunate truth is that these numbers are only the tip of the iceberg. Among these recent controversies, more are sure to arise and beg the question: Is SES worth it?

Stickers, Sandwiches, and Success: Teaching Strategies and Tips

The following post first appeared in School Improvement Network as a guideline for student achievement best practices.

Teachers face a wide number of challenges both in and out of the classroom. Below, two amazing teachers share student achievement best practices and strategies and steps that have proven successful in their teaching careers. Jamie Nestor has worked with students from grades 5-12 for over ten years, teaching Latin and Ancient Greek. Aaron VanderYacht started out as a Teach for America corps member and now teaches reading, writing, and math in grades 4-12.

For Aaron, a successful lesson starts with the mindset of his students. He recognizes that every student does want to achieve more, so he takes the time to assess each studentís attitude, strengths, and areas for improvement. Meanwhile, Jamie uses a “student-centered” approach, so that her students have more control over how the curriculum runs.

“I start by activating prior knowledge ñ figuring out what students know when they come to me. Then, I identify misconceptions and work to deprogram them and build upon truths,” says Jamie. She would also take note of what type of learner the student is, such as auditory or kinesthetic.

The next step is to keep the student engaged and establish motivation. To accomplish this, Aaron uses funky colored pens or paper, stickers, jokes, and laughter throughout his lessons. He hints, “As much as a 9th grader might try to pretend that he doesn’t care about some silly sticker, you can bet that somewhere in there he’s excited. Nowadays, I love to carry around stickers, stamps, and other simple rewards.”

Despite these efforts, it is inevitable that some students will start the lesson feeling lazy or unmotivated. You might hear, “Iím never going to get this, why botherÖ” or, “I donít need any help, Iím fine.” To counteract these attitudes, Aaron makes sure to highlight positive progress along the way.

“Even when working with a student who is really struggling, I try to constantly create ‘positive sandwiches’. This means that I will start most of my comments to a student by highlighting something positive (‘I see your organization is really clear in this paragraph.’), follow it with constructive feedback (‘I see you tried to add a detail from the paragraph, but this detail doesn’t directly support your topic’), and then finish with a positive comment ( (‘Let’s look back at the text, because I saw that you did a great job of highlighting a lot of important details.’). When feedback is ‘sandwiched’ between positive comments, problematic reactions are less likely to ensue later on,” he says.

Another common challenge is figuring out how to tailor these strategies from an individual level to a classroom setting. “It takes careful planning, strategy, insight, and adaptability to anticipate and provide what each child in the room needs for the best learning outcomes,” says Jamie. “Thatís why tutoring is so great. In a 1:1 setting, I can build a relationship with a student more quickly, and with that, perceive what that child needs. I can then provide that learning space more immediately and with undivided attention.”

Regardless of where the lesson is taking place, getting direct feedback from students at the end of the day is vital to moving the lessons forward. “One of the best things that a student can say to me is, ‘That was easy!’ I always respond by saying, ‘Of course it was, because you practiced and put in hard work so that it would be!’ It’s especially meaningful to me when I hear this after a student has taken a major test or quiz. Knowing that he or she is able to sit with their work and feel confident and relaxed is what makes teaching exciting,” says Aaron.

9 Myths About Tutoring

This post first appeared on Parent Involvement Matters to debunk some classic myths about tutoring.

If your child is falling behind on schoolwork, who do you turn to for help? It may seem like the process of finding a tutor outside the classroom is messy, expensive, and just not worth the effort. You might not even know where to start. However, the one-on-one attention may be exactly what your child needs, and finding a qualified and reasonably-priced tutor is not as difficult as you think.

Below are nine common stereotypes you should consider as you explore learning resources outside the classroom.

1. Tutoring is only for the ëstupid kids’.

Some students might take longer grasping a subject, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t have the ability to do so. Those who reach out for tutors are doing themselves a favor by acknowledging that they need and want to improve. Your child should not feel ashamed for asking for help.

2. Tutoring is only for rich families.

While you do hear stories of the privileged folk spending hundreds of dollars on private tutoring, this is generally not the case. Finding a normal, reasonable tutor is actually quite easy, and the grades and skills your student earns will pay off in the end. Check out the average per hour price for tutors in major cities.

3. If you need a tutor, the teacher isn’t doing his or her job.

Maybe class sizes are large. Maybe your child’s teacher is great, but there’s not enough time in the day for individual attention. If your student needs help, it’s time to get that help, not to start pointing fingers.

4. Your child doesn’t need help.

Just because your child doesn’t ask for help right away, doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t need it. Stay up to date and in communication with your child’s teacher to make sure everything is on track.

5. Tutoring takes too much time.

A little goes a long way. Even spending one hour per week on a subject can make a lasting impact. And once your student gets their handle on a certain concept, chances are, they’ll have the confidence to tackle on and absorb new material. Most tutors are also flexible and should work to accommodate your busy schedule.

6. It’s impossible to find a smart, reliable tutor.

No one likes going through pages and pages on the Internet looking for a tutor that only might be good. Nor do we like telling people that we’re being tutored by our neighbor’s aunt. Although tutors are often matched up through word-of-mouth and telephone phones, it’s not difficult to find someone with the right skills, motives, and dedication (see #7). The search engine at tutorspree.com can help you find the perfect fit.

7. Tutors are just in it for the money… and they’re not worth the money.

Don’t settle for someone who learned the subject ten years ago and hasn’t used it since. There is a common stereotype, no doubt perpetuated by the messy word-of-mouth system, that tutors are informal and unprofessional. However, the best tutors are actually full-time teachers, teaching assistants, and education professionals. They’re people who love what they’re doing and want to use their free time to continue teaching.

8. Tutoring is only needed to save you from getting an “F”.

Don’t wait until the last minute if your child is falling behind! Tutoring can also be a source of enrichment and a powerful tool to learn something new.

9. Tutors will solve all of your child’s problems.

Tutors are not walking encyclopedias who can give your child all the answers. Don’t expect your tutor to do your child’s homework for you. On the contrary, your child should develop the learning and comprehensive skills necessary to independently apply knowledge to problems. Make sure to communicate with your student’s teacher for continual feedback on what areas need improvement.