Summer Tutoring: it’s a great time to fill in any gaps

Would your kids benefit from some tutoring sessions this summer? How did e-learning go for your children during the shutdown? After being home with and observing them, do you suspect they might have some gaps in their learning? Did you discover that they may respond better to someone other than you to help them with those areas of weakness? Summer tutoring can close those gaps so they are ready for and confident about school starting in the fall.  

Online Learning Experiences Varied

I asked people on Facebook how online learning was going during the COVID-19 shutdown. I learned that everyone’s experiences varied greatly.

• Video chats could consist of daily check-ins with teachers and classmates, a one time per week social hour with classmates, or no live interaction at all.
• Work assigned varied from stimulating projects and creative assignments to a giant packet of worksheets only.
• Some schools expected a similar level of rigor as before and even had finals while others made the work optional.
• Grading methods varied a lot. 4th quarter could be counted equally with 3rd quarter toward the semester grade, 4th quarter could not affect 3rd quarter’s “frozen” grades, 3rd quarter grades could only fluctuate up or down 5%, or grades were Pass/Fail.
• Due dates may have been daily, every-other-day, or weekly. Some working parents appreciated the flexibility of the one-week deadlines, but others couldn’t motivate their kids to get to work.
• Some high school kids regularly finished all their work for the day in 10-20 minutes while some younger students (including Kindergarteners) had 5-8 hours of work each day.
• Teachers may have interacted with students online, created online slide shows, recorded themselves teaching lessons, and made online labs, assessments, and games. Others just provided packets and youtube links to other people teaching. I’m sure a big factor in this discrepancy was students’ access to technology.
• Some schools ended their school year slightly early. My friend in Japan said her daughters’ school will be continuing all summer with only a 2-week break in August.

No matter what digital learning looked like for your family, one thing is probably true. Your children’s teachers probably weren’t able to teach the same quantity (and sometimes quality) of content. I don’t say this to criticize teachers at all. My husband worked hard to deliver history content to his middle schoolers in the best way possible. However, he wasn’t able to cover nearly as much as when he could teach in-person.

How Did Distance Learning Go for You as a Parent?

Were your kids happily independent or was it like pulling teeth to get them to sit and work? Did you have to help young children do everything and teach them how to navigate using a computer and mouse? Was an adversarial, frustrating relationship with your child a result? Were you having to work while also helping your kids and keeping them on task?

Here in Colorado, school is now out for summer in most districts. Parents are breathing a sigh of relief (me included!). I know for many, it was a rough slog to the finish line. You’re probably ready to have some free time, finally. You may not want to push your child to do more academics this summer. 

Does Your Child Have Areas of Weakness?

Despite feeling the need for some much-deserved rest, are you also wondering if your child got all they needed during online learning? Do you suspect they have some gaps in their education from not getting the full curriculum or normal teaching experience? While working with him or her, did you notice deficiencies or areas of concern? Perhaps they don’t read fluidly, take good notes, understand how to do certain types of math, know how to study for tests, or write well. This period of doing school at home was enlightening for many parents. They realized things about their kids that they never knew before.

Spring Shutdown + Summer Slide = Record Learning Loss

Summer slide is already a real phenomenon kids experience over the summer. I’ve written about this before on my blog here and here. Because of the shutdown, learning loss has been compounded for many students who did not have an ideal online experience.

Summer is a great time to work on any areas of concern. It’s much easier to give concentrated focus on them now than during a busy school year. This might be an especially ideal year to try summer tutoring. Most kids, unfortunately, have fewer opportunities for camps, travel, and other activities. 

During summer sessions, we can review the previous year’s curriculum, preview the upcoming year’s material, and clear up any confusing concepts. It’s also a great time for rising juniors and seniors to focus on test-prep for SAT and ACT.

I can help your child grow in their skills and confidence as they prepare for their next grade level. I customize my lessons to target any gaps and focus on those areas. Please contact me if you’d like to chat about how I can help your child and to schedule some summer tutoring sessions.

I hope you all enjoy your summer break after your spring semester finishes! Enjoy the sun and stay healthy!