Student/Family FAQs
Why Commonwealth
Education?
We take your educational goals
seriously. We also take the headache of
vetting tutors out of your hands. We
fully screen our instructors, both for their academic abilities, and for their
personality match with our students.
What subjects do the
tutors teach?
We cover a wide range of subjects including math, science, English, and many foreign
languages. Many of our math tutors are
engineers; our English tutors have vast experience in composition and literature;
and our foreign language tutors are fluent, native speakers of foreign
languages. If you or your student has a
specific subject that you have questions about, please contact us.
How often do you
recommend tutoring sessions?
While all students' needs differ, we have found that two 1
to 1 1/2 hour sessions per week are ideal.
This allows continuity during the week and over the weekend, while not
overwhelming the student. We find one
session per week is not enough, as too much time is spent each session
recapping the work of the previous week, as opposed to building on that previous week's work.
On
the other hand, we find that having 3 or
more sessions per week provides diminishing marginal returns for our
students
and tutors, as it provides too limited an amount of time to absorb the
material
covered before new information is introduced. Of course nothing is set
in stone as individual circumstances may differ, but we have found that
these guidelines are a good starting point.
We are uncomfortable
having someone we do not know come into our home. Can we meet with our tutor somewhere besides in our home?
While some trepidation about having
someone else in your home is understandable, we recommend students meet with
their tutors in their home and with a parent or guardian present for the first
3 sessions. We believe that a quiet space where the
student is most comfortable is the optimal environment for students to learn.
Our tutors go through an extensive
application process, a formal in-person interview, and educational and criminal
background checks. We are very confident
in our tutors, and believe that you will be as well. Of course, if the relationship does not seem
to be working out or you have questions please call us.
Why does a parent or
guardian have to be home during the first 3 tutoring sessions?
Our reasoning is two-fold:
1) The first session is typically a "get to know
you" session for both the student and his/her family as well as the
tutor. We've found that the associated
tension of the first meeting is relieved more easily when a parent or guardian
is present.
2) The "silent partner" theory. While not actively involved in the tutoring
session, the parent or guardian that is in the home during the session is
surely able to glean insight into the effectiveness of the sessions for their
student, and we ask for and welcome feedback on our tutors. We ask for monthly feedback reports from our
students and their families to make sure that the sessions are moving in the
right direction.
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