To Tutor Or Not To Tutor, That Was Our Question!

My son is a typical boy. He loves math, he is OK with reading, and he does not like writing.
You can deny this type of sexism all you want, but there are inherent traits in boys and girls, that is why they are different. Why do girls prefer pink and boys do not? DNA!

My son was given extra writing work to help him keep his marks on grade level in 1st grade. By 2nd grade he was unable to maintain the grade level standard (even I agreed with this even though his 2nd grade teacher was so abysmal that I filed a complaint with the NYC Board of Ed!).

We are now in 3rd grade. Yes we! His writing is still not on grade level, and I could let my denial be fed by the fact that his math is above grade level and that evens things out, but that won’t help him on the state wide tests that start this grade.

And I have tried everything, but the love I see when it comes to math (he will ask for math equations to solve when we are walking in the street!) is not there for writing, and I have cajoled, bribed, and even threatened. I have even used the blog hook! He loves to join me at blog events, he loves the fun venues (Dylan’s Candy bar for goodness sakes!), and he loves the swag (like father, like son!)! I told him he could start his own blog, I think the time is ripe for tween blogs, and I told him he could fire me as soon as he becomes successful (that’s a lie!). Crickets. He wants his own blog, but he thinks he thinks he can hire writers!

So, should I spend the money and hire a tutor? Do I give in to the school system that is pushing these kids farther and farther every year, way faster than it was in my day (that would be when we were still writing on rocks!). I have heard several of my friends with children of varying ages using tutors so I decided the expense might be well worth it.

So I started researching tutors. He has one at Hebrew School with a few other kids and the increased individualized attention works well for him. We are not allowed to use a teacher from our own school so I asked his current teacher if she had a recommendation. Her person teaches at the neighboring school where we know a lot of students. I did my due diligence and found she had rave reviews.

We had our first session this past week. I wanted to start the new year off right! Turns out this teacher lives right across the street from us and is super flexible scheduling wise. All the signs pointed towards success! I hope I am not jinxing it, but the first session was great. My son is bright, but he is also pigheaded. I tell him to write about what we did the day before and he has writers block! Well, the one to one instruction from a 4th grade teacher who knows the system was fantastic! I am so happy I made this decision. Hopefully this will make a positive difference for this years test and more importantly for the rest of his academic career and beyond.

After all, he needs to support his dad in the lifestyle I am ready to become accustomed to when he grows up and gets a job! All kidding aside, I am glad I am able to take steps to help my child, to smooth out the road before him when possible.