Why Not Sylvan?

I'm feeling a bit frustrated that I can't find a student to tutor for the summer.  Thus far, I've only taken moderate measures to find a student, but I've gotten no leads.

While talking with a friend today out at a  play date, she said she had seen that Sylvan was looking for tutors.  I told her I'd worked there before.  Not only does the job not offer the pay or hours I'm looking for at present, but I don't agree with their teaching practices.

This is how it worked when I worked at Sylvan almost ten years ago.

The administrator preforms an assessment (i.e. a standardized test).  Based on the assessment, the work targets specific skills.  The tutor does not see the assessment or choose the activities.  The administrator gives a list of the activities and photocopies of the needed materials wait for the tutor in the student's binder.  While this was a plus for the tutor because it meant no prep work, it also meant the tutor was disconnected from the content.  Additionally, the tutor works with three students at once at one table.  Most of the work is skill and drill.  When I tutored, I worked with grade school students practicing basic phonics; these were not subjects I was qualified to teach.  But, I didn't need to know how to teach it because all I had to do was read what was on the cards.  I was paid minimum wage until I hit a certain number of hours, then I got a small raise.  Meanwhile, Sylvan is charging parents about $50.  They require at least two hours a week, but recommend four.  Sylvan was happy with my performance and wanted me to give them more hours, but I couldn't because I taught full time and worked on a master's.  So, they dropped me from the schedule; they never officially fired me or even collected my key! 

Just now, I looked up the pricing information for Sylvan.  I've looked before and couldn't find it.  The web pages always said to call to find out and that it varied depending on the length of services the child needed to reach the goals.  But, today I found a Sylvan page that gave prices.  Here it is word for word here:

Get started at Sylvan for just $155 for a single program test, $230 for a comprehensive evaluation in Reading, Math, and Writing. The Registration Fee, due at enrollment is $75 (lifetime family fee).

The hourly teaching rate will vary depending on how you pay. You can get a discount by prepaying for your program, and we have a Payment Plan. The hourly rate is $45-50. Students usually come 2-4+ hours per week for fastest growth. 

After reading this, I went to my local Sylvan's page and the one for Portland, and neither one gave this information on pricing.  But, I did see promotions for $100 off or $25 off an assessment.  Obviously, the price must be steep to offer such discounts.

This same individual Sylvan page said that a private tutor is a "band-aid" to your child's problems.  I agree with this to some extent, but only because that is what the parent wants.  Usually, the parent wants the child's score at school to go up.  With the student I tutored a couple months ago, I could have worked more with him and fixed some of the problems he was having, but I was there to make sure he passed the 8th grade.  Getting the assignments completed was the primary goal.  That is more about what the parent wants out of the tutoring than my teaching.  A good teacher / tutor should be able to do a better job of accomplishing the same goals as Sylvan if the parents allow the tutor to do so. 

Also stated on this site was that the Sylvan tutor is always sitting right with your child, which apparently is not the case at some of the other big tutoring centers.  This is true, but the tutor could have two other children to help, so its not one-on-one instruction.  They claim that they don't do skill and drill through worksheets, which is possible it has changed over the years, but I would be surprised.  The page simultaneously claimed that the students aren't teaching themselves, which is true.  The students were not teaching themselves through the worksheets; they were going through lots of practice exercises.  I never felt like I was really helping my students while working at Sylvan.  The materials I had to work with were not engaging them and I had no way of knowing if they were achieving long term success with any of the material we covered.  When a student need more help with a topic, I didn't have the time or resources to cover it.  It was not student centered learning. 

I'd also like to point out that Sylvan makes up to $150 an hour for the work one tutor does with three students, but the tutor is not paid even a tenth of that.  That shows how much Sylvan values the tutor:  They don't.  And with their program, they don't need to.  The tutor could be just about anyone reading off the prescribed materials.

Here is why a private tutor is better.

First of all, a private tutor will be able to tailor all work around your child as a person with unique interests and abilities.   Sylvan's approach was impersonal; any time spent getting to know my student was time off task which I could not use inform my instruction.  But, if I am a private tutor, I can take just about anything I learn about a student and use it to inform my instruction in various ways.  A private tutor has the option of personally making all materials and making all selections for texts.  This ability to choose really allows the child to be engaged and the materials to be tailored to the student.  And even though Sylvan totes that its rewards system promotes self esteem, it is still only focused on what a student can not do.  A private tutor can teach the necessary material utilizing the child's strengths. 

Second, a private tutor probably does not use a standardized test. Instead, a private tutor uses several ways to gather data about your child.  The discussion will start with the parents, but doesn't end there.  The tutor talks with the child, and perhaps most importantly, examines actual student work.  (Student work is the best source to see what a student really knows.  It doesn't mater if a student can preform a skill in isolation on a work sheet if the student can't apply the skill in a real situation).   A private tutor could even form a strong relationship with classroom teachers to get maximum results. As the tutor works with the child, she collects data through multiple venues instead of scores on worksheets and a second standardized test.  Not only can a tutor use any type of assessment, but also can use informal interactions of observing and talking with the student to inform instruction.  Through real interaction, the tutor and student can work until the child truly understands the material. 

Third, a private tutor will be an expert in the subjects.  At Sylvan, I rarely felt like an expert.  Even when I was working within my comfort zone of high school students, I wasn't following my own curriculum.  When I worked with the younger students, I had no training on the material.  But as a private tutor, I am only going to accept jobs that cover what I know.  I decide the pace and curriculum (based on the student needs), and can prep myself accordingly.  At Sylvan, I had no idea what I would be covering or even which students I would be seeing until I arrived. 

There are other small benefits, too, such as more flexible scheduling, the ability to meet in your home, and more direct and meaningful communication for the parent.  These seem small, but can make a world of difference to the ease of the tutoring on the family.

Really, it comes down to this: Who would you rather fix your car or your plumbing?  Someone who is specifically trained and experienced and can diagnose and address the problems directly, or someone who is hired to read a manual and run tests?  If you'd choose the professional for your car or home, why wouldn't you for your child?