How To Find Tutoring For A Homeschool Student

Lots of homeschool parents want their children to get some type of 'supplemental' instruction. Having some type of additional feedback and engagement can ameliorate some of the common concerns about homeschooling. Supplemental instruction can come in many forms: co-ops, online tutoring, and in-person instruction.

One of the most common ways to supplement your child's income is by hiring a tutor. However, this is often easier said than done. How do I find a tutor? Are they qualified? And so on.

What is the best type of tutoring you can imagine? Most people will agree that a college professor would be a great resource. You might think this will be crazy expensive? Not necessarily.

An easy trick for finding qualified tutors

Finding adjunct college professors who are willing to tutor is actually incredibly easy. Graduate student teachers assistants and college/university adjuncts rarely get paid well. While they have (or are working on) a very high-level degree, they are desperately working to make ends meet. The salary of an adjunct is often the same as a retail worker.

Find a bulletin on any local college campus and post a flyer offering around $50 per hour for tutoring. If you can afford a higher hourly rate you will get even more attention. This offer will be pretty quickly taken up considering how little most associate teachers are paid.

If you specifically target graduate students you can probably low-ball them even further.

The hourly rate will probably fluctuate depending on the subject

Generally, graduate students and adjuncts with science degrees will value their time a bit higher than, say, a creative writing major.

Finding graduate students pursuing teaching careers

If you are really on a budget you might have luck reaching out to graduate students studying to be a teacher. Some of them might agree to help out for free in exchange for the experience. Many of these students are required to record a number of teaching hours or volunteer hours. The majority of the time these students will be required to work through some type of formal arrangement with a school. You can always contact the university program and ask if there is any way your child could be included.

You can never be too safe

You can never be too cautious, so it's best to ask the potential tutor for a resume and a few recommendations. One the one hand you probably don't want to be overbearing in order to really give your child the 'full experience' of learning from someone new. On the other, you should take all preventative measure to ensure your child's safety in all ways.

Community college enrollment

Enrolling in a community college class or an online course is the other easiest way to essentially get supplemental 'tutoring.' Students that attend an in-person class at a community college are given access to the same resources as fully enrolled students. Most community colleges offer some type of free tutoring. And community college classes are extremely affordable. Some community colleges charge less than $100 per credit hour. This works out to be about 300 dollars for 3 months of education with the college's resources.

The community college environment varies greatly. Some community colleges are filled with college drop-outs or flunk outs who are trying to get back on their feet. Other times community colleges are actually filled with hard working professionals who are interested in learning and working towards a degree. This is to say that community college classes are often challenging and comparable to 'real' university classes.