From the inside of the business mind
I see more and more parents who are having problems with there children and education seek the assistance of private education such as Sylvan Learning Centers and Kuman Centers. If your a parent at all considering these institutions let me give you some advice. I worked as an assistant director to the Center Director and Director of Education at a Sylvan Learning Center. Just to let you know when calling any of these type of places anyone who answers the phone is trained to enter into Selling mode once your on the phone. Most places will usually try to get you to book some sort of assessment test. Sylvan for example offeres a Cat 5 test based on your students grade level. I would like to let parents know that we did get quite a few children who tested well above grade level. The center director will still try to find a place for your student in the program and you will have to determine if several thousand dollars is worth it. Also if you are enrolling 2 students really try to push for discounts for the programs even if the Center Director or someone else tells you they are not offered. You will have the assessment then the meeting with the center director about the results and setting up the program. this process is almost similar to buying a car. You DO NOT have to enroll at this meeting and can call at a later time after you think about it. Like the Center Director at our Sylvan, he did not advertise any discounts but if 2 students were going to be enrolled or you had special financial needs he would usually give a discount. Also to note about the assessment if your child is really smart and say is in the 7th grade but his test results show him at the 13th grade level. This results are skewed and your child is really not at a 13th grade level or capable of the work. It really means that your child is very able to do all the 7th grade work he is given and could probably do high school freshman level work.
* I would like to go off subject here to speak about kids and ADD or ADHD. Nearly more then half of the kids who atteneded the Sylvan I worked at were on some sort of meds for these disorders and I'd say maybe even only a quarter of those kids really needed them. Don't be so hasty put your child on medication. I hate to say this but some kids just lack discipline and like to slack off. The good thing about Sylvan for this is the 1 on 1 attention they get from the teacher and the positive reinforcement. Alot of kids just badly need a fire lit under them to get them going. Alot of kids lack major self esteem and that will greatly affect there involvement in life, education, extra activities, almost anything. There is just so much pressure placed on grades that you wonder if the child actually learned that and retained it or just recited information they just read. Alot of kids almost feel useless because other students have A's and there struggling to keep a C. They are just as equal as other kids. Also if a kid tells you that well there teacher doesn't like them... don't always assume the kid is lieing because I've run across some teachers who actually do not like kids they teach and will be harder on them and that creates a very serious problem.
At Sylvan the assessment will also determine a length of stay for students. Just to let you know our Director of education use to lower this number to make it mor realistive because this # can range from 50 to 300 hours and usually was in the hudnreds. That is alot of time and a HELLOVA lot of money. This number is usually crap but basically Sylvan says your child will be up to grade level by the end of it but in many cases i've seen the student reach grade level much faster. In several cases I've seen alot of students in the math area jump 2- 5 grade levels within 72 hours. Students seem to accelerate through math programs much faster then reading. By the way if your student needs one program and not the other don't bother enrolling them into 2 programs because your just wasting money... If you want acceleration its best to seek it at school or from a college or high school tutor. Also don't forget that after school alot of kids get burnt out and Sylvan can actually hurt them rather then doing good if there leaving school and attending Sylvan for 2 hours then they may have sports, ect. Just like people get burnt out at work. So many kids get burned out from school.
* I would also like to blog about how underrated teachers are. I've worked with teachers and alot of teachers who seek work at Sylvan are doing so usually because they could not get a teaching position at a school or they are retired, ect. I cannot say it enough but teachers do not get paid enough. Just to note somone whos somewhat comeptent in business could be a Center Director at Sylvan without any sort of College degree. I Just graduated High School when I started working for Sylvan and I'd say after a year of employment I could successfully run the Center. However the Director of education is a much more important position requiring former teaching experience and state credentials. For the love of god if your going to send your child to Sylvan be involved in all the meetings and his progress. It not only shows the kid that you care but it really helps you get your moneys worth and justify the costs for the education. Anyway if you think your kids having problems in school try to help them out yourselfs or spend more time with them if you can. However if you want to put the money out Sylvan will actually help I've never really had alot of experience with the other type of private education but I'd say in 80% of situations Sylvan will help your child. If you have any more questions about private type tutoring, Sylvan Learning Centers, or anything else regarding education, learning processes, learning disabilities just leave a blog.