when do you need a tutor?

The role of a tutor is to help you when your academic skills are not at the level you think they should be at. If one or all of the following indicators are true for you, there is a good chance that you need a tutor:

- You are having trouble keeping up in class

- You have difficulty completing class assignments in the allotted time period

- You have difficulty completing homework assignments. No matter how long you spend on homework,it's neither complete nor accurate. This may indicate a lack of basic skills or a weakness in a specific academic area.

- You feel that the other students are smarter than you are

- When your class is divided into groups, i.e. reading groups, you are consistently in the lowest group

- You consistently receive failing or below average grades independent of how hard you seem to be working, where before the grades were improving or holding steady. Your teacher or school counselor recommends it. This may happen at a parent-teacher conference. It may also occur when progress reports are issued, or at report card time.

- Caught in a cycle of frustration and failure, you show an increasing lack of confidence and motivation.

- You have lost interest in learning.

- You experience extreme anxiety before tests and exams.

- You are reluctant to go to school, fearing failure and criticism from others.

- Your teacher reports to your parents that you are acting out, becoming a behavior problem in your class.

- You say, "I'm too stupid. I'll never understand this stuff." You hear yourself say, "I give up".

There could be other reasons, however, that you are having trouble in school, rather than the need for a tutor. Perhaps you are under stress due to family concerns or illness. Or you may have a learning disability that you were never aware of. If you are questioning the reason for your academic problems, you may want to seek professional help to see what factors are truly contributing to your difficulties in school. If you are a parent, you know that nothing is more frustrating than not knowing what to do.