Does your new high school student have a serious case of freshman fatigue? Are they feeling emotionally exhausted from nearly a full year of remote or hybrid learning?
The pandemic burnout struggle is real—and as you’re probably well aware, it’s had a significant effect on students and parents alike.
High school students of all ages and grade levels have faced extraordinary challenges trying to remain focused on their studies during a global crisis. Freshmen in particular have had a tough go of it: the transition to high school is challenging even in normal times. During the last year, this difficult adjustment phase has been compounded by world events entirely out of their control.
With the end of the pandemic (mercifully!) in sight, you may find yourself wondering how you can help your student break through their fog so they’re no longer slogging through their subjects.
Tutors have always been an excellent resource for parents and students. But now more than ever your student may benefit from the special skills gained from these engagements.
How Do You Know If Your High School Freshman Needs a Tutor?
Whether or not your student needs a tutor is ultimately a personal decision for your family to make. But if any of these scenarios sound familiar to you, tutoring may be just the solution your student needs:
- Your student has already tried different strategies for effective studying (remote study groups, flash cards, teacher check-ins) and none of these techniques are working
- Your student is struggling in one specific subject
- Your student has a learning challenge or struggles with one or more executive functions
- Your student didn’t easily adapt to remote or hybrid learning
- You and your student are both feeling too overwhelmed to even know where to begin
Why Hire a Tutor for Your High School Freshman?
If you do decide that your student needs a tutor, know that they’ll benefit from this experience academically and emotionally in ways you never would have imagined! Tutoring will help them:
- Get tailored academic support. If your student is struggling to understand and retain the subject material, you can select a tutor who specializes in the specific subject they need help with. At its best, a tutoring engagement even encourages students to become more passionate and enthusiastic about subjects they once dreaded.
- Become more confident. A good tutor does more than just teach a subject. They also build students up, carry them through difficulties, and help them navigate their emotional needs. The result is a student who feels confident to grow, take risks, and meet their full potential.
- Develop as human beings. With the perfect tutor, a student walks away from the tutoring experience with more than just a better grade or a higher GPA. They have the unique opportunity to evolve academically and personally with the guidance of a dedicated mentor.
You may ultimately decide that your student needs outside help beyond standard tutoring, in which case academic coaching may be a better option. Academic coaching sits at the crossroads of tutoring and therapy, providing more holistic support to teenagers than tutoring alone.
