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Elementary school kids in Los Angeles are really stressed these days trying to stay on task in a crowded classroom. Their parents are working longer and longer hours at the office and end up not having the time or energy to help their kids with math, reading and writing assignments.
Twenty two years of experience as an associate elementary school teacher at Yavneh Hebrew Academy, Hancock Park taught me that elementary school students everywhere need tutoring in math, reading and writing. In a “Legacy Lab” interview I shared my views with Dr. Azriela Jankovic about Raising Confident Children using American Sign Language to help boost the child’s confidence while being tutored.
Studies have supported what I’ve learned in the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence article, “Reversing the “Summer Slide” their study, “Evidence Review: The Transformative Potential of Tutoring” supports my personal research: “as much as two-thirds of the achievement gap in the elementary grades can be directly traced to learning loss in the summer”.
In BranchingMinds.com their post “Is Tutoring Effective?” points out that “Students are unlikely to catch up to their grade-level peers without receiving effective supports” (elementary school tutoring)
Some children need more language arts and math support than they’re able to get in the classroom so that they can enjoy higher levels of learning later and the only way for me to help all elementary school students succeed was for me to become a full time one-on-one tutor.
Deciding I wanted more credibility as an elementary school tutor, in 2005 I completed a 35 hour All Kinds of Minds “School Attuned” workshop at the Summit View School in Los Angeles.
Became a Competent Communicator in 2008 with Toastmasters
and received my certification as an Advanced Tutor in 2022 with the National Tutoring Association
I believe that elementary school students learn in their own unique way. The sad fact is that even in a typical primary grade classroom of 25 children and 3 staff some elementary school students can feel left behind. The question that I always get from the elementary school child’s parent is; “What should I do next?”
First Steps to Elementary School Tutoring
A 10 minute meeting is set up with their Mom and Dad to get to know everything that I can about their child:
- How do they feel about reading, writing or math?
- Which elementary school do they attend?
- What do they enjoy doing?
- What do they do during recess?
When I first meet the child either remotely or in person, we begin by getting to know each other.
We start with a game, an American sign language exercise or a science experiment or some music.
First I ask them how their day was. Celebrating their interests and hobbies helps me to connect with them and I assure them that are really smart. All they need right now is a little help in reading, writing or math.
My students are like my family. I truly care about each and every one of them. It’s very gratifying to see them succeed after I specifically focus on their own unique area of need, whether it’s math, reading or writing.