As the parent or guardian of young minds, we are often guilty of worrying if we are doing the best for our children. It isn’t difficult today to understand why. It’s evident that the needs of tomorrow can be totally unknown to us today, and we want our children to have all of the advantages. One of those big decisions can be whether to go for one-on-one tutoring for your child, in any subject, but especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Many factors weigh in when you are deciding whether to bring in outside help and when stem tutoring is involved isn’t any different.
How Does Your Child Relate to STEM Topics?
The first step is recognizing whether STEM topics are your child’s strength or weakness. Does the mention of science or math cause anxiety and stress, or excitement and eagerness to participate? In my house, the tears began with the mention of an English paper or Academic Writing course! Good news though, there are many benefits to one-on-one tutoring for your child should you choose this path, whether their reaction is the former or the latter!
If the resulting reaction is often stress, with or without tears, stem tutoring is still a great choice since science, math and technology can only be beneficial in our current time and beyond.
STEM Tutoring Lays the Groundwork for Life Success
The value of STEM, from understanding the science from various sources, or accessing and mastering the technology needed to successfully attend an online class or meeting, couldn’t be illustrated any better than the last year for any of us.
Engineering is one of those topics that helps one to be well-rounded and connect the science, technology and math to real-world applications. Engineering is also very broad and offers the possibilities of learning the differences and nuances of biomedical to civil and beyond. Regardless of your generation, the need was great to catch on and catch up in 2020 with all things STEM!
Sparking Children’s Love of Learning STEM
A student excited by an extra science or math class is an eager learner. Encouraging this student to enrich their learning with one or more one-on-one stem tutoring sessions with a qualified, engaging and knowledgeable instructor is a gift of learning.
Where a traditional class, or currently even more untraditional full time online learning course will educate a student, it is somewhat challenging to go deep into a subject with a large class and/or a class with a variety of academic levels for a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the content. Classroom teachers do their best to accommodate all students’ needs however there is no replacement for the engagement and attention available to a student in a one-on-one tutoring session when there is a need.
One-on-one tutoring, no matter which subject is the focus, helps a child be accountable for their learning and progress from lesson to lesson, as well as helping them to build confidence in currently present and developing skills. Accountability takes a couple of forms. If the instructor encourages the student to choose a topic of interest or incorporates the student’s interests in the lesson content, the student will listen with intent and carry the lesson beyond the classroom setting.
Giving Children More Confidence in Their Abilities
Additionally, any homework or outside investigation will be at the will of the student. Instead of calling your classmate to remember the homework, the onus is on the student to be prepared for the next lesson. Interest in the content helps the homework to be more of an exercise and less of a chore. And also, this belief in oneself is one of the single greatest stepping stones to success. I have often voiced that, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” The fear is more in achieving a success than in realizing a failure!
I find STEM a very viable content in that students can look everywhere for inspiration and relevance. It’s also a timeless content as well as ever changing and updating. Rest assured that deciding to afford your child even one one-on-one stem tutoring session will benefit and often lead to interest in more sessions or widen the scope to other contents! I suggest that you engage as well because it is never too late to learn something new.
Barbara Ashman