It was his mother, Teodora Alonzo, who was Jose Rizal’s first teacher. Perched on her lap, our National Hero learned how to read his books and say his prayers. It was also she who discovered his love of poetry and encouraged him to write with rhythm and rhyme.
In the same manner, many children across the country still learn their ABCs on their mothers’ laps. By the time they turn three or four, most kids find themselves in preschool. However, an increasing number of children are staying at home to learn reading and writing from their mothers and fathers.
Indeed, homeschooling has become an increasingly attractive option for today’s parents for a number of reasons.
First, the rising cost of tuition fees has become a real challenge for some families, especially those with a number of children. There is also the issue of safety. Parents who fear for their children’s safety amidst rising crime rates welcome homeschooling. Gruesome stories of kidnapping are enough to drive any parent nuts. More importantly, homeschooling provides parents and their children the opportunity to spend quality time together in a very special way.
But what if the parent gets sick? Or what if he has to attend to an important matter? Should his child’s homeschooling program come to an abrupt stop?
Not necessarily.
It is during these instances when the support of a professional becomes necessary. Much like Rizal’s parents, who employed the services of Maestro Celestino and Maestro Lucas Padua to give him private lessons at home, parents are turning to tutorial services to make sure their child’s homeschool program goes on uninterrupted.
“In such cases, we acquaint ourselves first with the family’s homeschooling curriculum before matching them with a tutor. We want to make sure that there is a smooth transition from the parent teaching to the tutor teaching,” explains Rossana Llenado, president of Ahead Tutorial and Review Center.
It is also advisable for the parents to interview the tutors to see if his personality fits in with their home environment.
Nicole David, a full time tutor at Ahead Tutorial and Review Center for the past two years, says, “A good tutor need not just be intelligent, a good tutor should also know how to express himself.” This way, the tutor can break down the most complex concept in its simplest form. A tutor who can express himself well can explain why a student’s answer to a test item is wrong and how he can correct it.
Empathy is also crucial. Llenado knows young people prefer tutors who are more or less their age as they would be more open to them. For instance, David is careful about choosing her words well when correcting a student’s mistake. “You must be sensitive to their feelings when pointing out why an answer is wrong. I tell the student that what’s important is that he did his best” , she says.
Homeschooling has become a real option for families, and tutorial services are there to provide the proper support to make such an option happen.