You can easily determine whether or not your child needs assistance in math by looking at the report card grades. As a parent, you want your child to excel academically. Some children can motivate themselves, while some need to be encouraged in order to catch up. Others need assistance to advance past the current curriculum. In terms of developing math skills, you do not have to postpone giving a student needed assistance.
Nevertheless, there are signs that you should look for to determine whether you should get a tutor for your child.
They include:
* Dropping grades: Always review the grades of your child. Dropping from an A to a B may indicate a need for further assistance. Do not postpone action, expecting your child to improve that grade. Instead, hire a tutor right away; if you delay, your child’s performance might get worse.
* Declining enthusiasm: Elementary school children love learning new subjects like math. They love learning new skills of counting, telling time, and handling money. All these subjects are related to math. If your child is not enthusiastic about such subjects, then a math tutor may help improve the situation.
* Losing interest: Your child may have been interested in math; then all of a sudden, this interest disappears. This could be a sign that your child is bored. Perhaps, your child is very smart and therefore in need of something more challenging. A good tutor will provide the extra challenge that the child needs.
* Negative opinion about math: To gain more insights about how your child handles math, talk to the teacher and the child. The teacher will tell you how the child handles math problems. You can also learn about the perception that your child has towards math by direct conversation. If the child dislikes math, a properly qualified tutor may be able to improve the way this subject is viewed and approached. The tutor may identify the reasons your child dislikes math, and provide the necessary assistance.
Math has a linear nature and it is an important subject that requires discipline. Each year, a math course is built on the previous year’s curriculum. Thus, if you miss a concept or lesson, you will not master that particular skill; and building another concept or skill on top of that will not be easy. Therefore, to ensure that your child does not slip further, you should get the assistance of a math tutor to as soon as you notice any of these signs.
