Tutoring Info

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Tutoring Info
3
Wed, 07-12-2006 - 9:25am

Hi all,

Has anyone ever used a tutoring service such as Sylvan Learning Center or Huntington Learning Center? My 15 DD is in need of learning study skills. She will be a sophomore in high school next year. This year wasn't terrible grade wise (ended up with a 3.0 overall GPA, all honors classes), however I know how much effort (or lack thereof) she expended. She has always had to work a little harder than her older sister, but now that she is in high school she needs to develop some good study skills. She seems to think attending class and doing the homework constitute "studying." When she becomes overwhelmed she glazes over. We have offered to help her but she just says "I'm fine." She did finally admit that she would like some kind of tutoring for study skills.
I was just wondering if anyone had experience with these services.
Thanks

Avatar for suzyk2118
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-30-1997
Wed, 07-12-2006 - 9:43am

Not first hand; we did go to Sylvan a few weeks back to check them out and ds was more determined than ever to do it on his own vs. there. What I did was get on our library's website and look at what they had on test taking and study skills. In ds's case his study skills were fine but he has some test taking issues. At any rate, two books that we found useful were: How to Do Your Best on Tests by Sara Dulaney Gilbert, and a sister book How to be School Smart- Super Study Skills by Elizabeth James and Carol Barkin. These seemed to be at the upper MS and lower HS level, written in a very friendly manner that ds was open to reading. There are MANY more study skills books out there, but these gave some quick pointers that he saw would be useful and he used them this summer when he took HS Health, and felt really good about how they helped him. Best of luck!

Sue

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2004
Wed, 07-12-2006 - 11:27am

Sylvan, Huntington, etc. tend to be expensive with questionable results. They advertise a guarantee of sorts that test scores will increase X% with their services.
The catch: They use their own tests which can easily be manipulated.

If your daughter can maintain a 3.0 GPA with honors classes, my take is that she will not significantly benifit from these programs. Many school offer "how to study / how to be a good student" classes which provide the foundation for good habits.

Fortunately, your daughter has proven that she can produce. For my kids, at age 15, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish motivational issues from lack of skills.
For what it's worth, I think most 15 yr. olds (and perhaps most high school students) think attending class and doing the homework constitutes studying.

D

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Wed, 07-12-2006 - 11:41am

I don't have any firsthand experience with either program, but I DO have a friend who looked into Sylvan for her DD and found it VERY expensive ... as Daddio mentioned ... and the techniques the Sylvan tutors were going to use were ones that were not so unique, and could easily be utilized at home at no cost.