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Our daughter had bad problems (math, reading, comprehension). We tried private tutors and school teacher tutors - nothing really improved.
We talked to the school about Sylvan and they discouraged us claiming they just "teach to a test" (guess what, isn't that what the public schools are doing?)....
We put it off a year because of the schools comment and she kept going downhill.
In dispair we finally went to Sylvan in late 5th grade (she was flunking). We stayed with Sylvan thru Junior High. She entered High School a year above grade level and became an A/B student. Sylvan was the best investment we ever made.
I would go there again in a second. I'm just sorry we didn't go there sooner.
All of the teachers we encountered at Sylvan were certified teachers. In almost every case, they were a public school teacher who was working Sylvan part-time. They said the best part of their work day was at Sylvan - low ratios (4:1) and they were working with people that wanted to learn.
I can't explain their system, but it does work. They are very focused on a certain set of skills for each 8 hour block (maybe 12 hour). They get tested 3 times to insure retention.
We looked into taking my daughter when she was in elementary school, but because she was completely bored in school. Her grades were below what she should have been doing and we discovered that when she was learning something "new" she got the really good grades - when they were reviewing or doing something new that was too basic for her we saw the C's and D's.
We opted not to use them because of the price. Its expensive. We ended up making sure we had enough challenging things for her to do at home - and that was an option for us.
If my situation were different - and I felt we couldn't have done what we did - or if either of my kids had a problem where they needed more specialized attention then what I can do - I would have figured out a way to do it.
I don't know if any of these programs are a good choice for your son. I wish I had more advice for you. Follow your instinct though - no one knows him like you do. Listen to what your gut is telling you - you will make the right choice.
I'm resurrecting this post because I'm in a situation now where I may need to enroll my child in one of these programs. She is having continual problems in language arts and special attention at school, home and private tutoring has not worked.
I have heard Kumon is the worst of the 3 (of course it is the most affordable from what I hear as well...) but spending $ on something ineffective doesn't seem bright to me.
Sylvan and Huntington are not being forthcoming with what the cost will be. While I want to do everything in my power to help my daughter, economic times are hard right now. I don't mind forgoing extras to pay for this, but I have to be sure we CAN afford it. I don't want to go in for the evaluation to see how great it is and see it's just not possible. Can anyone give me an idea of HOW much this would run in order to see if I should proceed?
I'm resurrecting this post because I'm in a situation now where I may need to enroll my child in one of these programs. She is having continual problems in language arts and special attention at school, home and private tutoring has not worked.
I have heard Kumon is the worst of the 3 (of course it is the most affordable from what I hear as well...) but spending $ on something ineffective doesn't seem bright to me.
Sylvan and Huntington are not being forthcoming with what the cost will be. While I want to do everything in my power to help my daughter, economic times are hard right now. I don't mind forgoing extras to pay for this, but I have to be sure we CAN afford it. I don't want to go in for the evaluation to see how great it is and see it's just not possible. Can anyone give me an idea of HOW much this would run in order to see if I should proceed?
Thanks!
I swear by Sylvan... after we went to our introductory meeting they were very honest with us about cost and time. I would spend every penny again in a second.
They charge by the hour. They work in blocks of time. For an individual course you will usually go once or twice a week for an hour each (so one course, twice a week would be 8 hours a month). My rate many years ago was $40/hour, but we prepaid a bunch of hours in advance and got about a 15% discount that was then good for the rest of our lives there...
Once they do an assessment, they can tell you the grade level your child is at for each skill... they then estimated the time to master a specific skill to the proper grade level... add up that time for all the skills and we had the estimate... they were fairly close to the original estimate.
How forthcoming they are with information may vary by center... it is a franchise and our owner was excellent as were all the teachers... if you aren't getting the right info from one center check the other - it could be the owner...
I swear by Sylvan... after we went to our introductory meeting they were very honest with us about cost and time. I would spend every penny again in a second.
They charge by the hour. They work in blocks of time. For an individual course you will usually go once or twice a week for an hour each (so one course, twice a week would be 8 hours a month). My rate many years ago was $40/hour, but we prepaid a bunch of hours in advance and got about a 15% discount that was then good for the rest of our lives there...
Once they do an assessment, they can tell you the grade level your child is at for each skill... they then estimated the time to master a specific skill to the proper grade level... add up that time for all the skills and we had the estimate... they were fairly close to the original estimate.
How forthcoming they are with information may vary by center... it is a franchise and our owner was excellent as were all the teachers... if you aren't getting the right info from one center check the other - it could be the owner...
Thanks Dave - your reviews do seem glowing! I will check into several of the centers in my area.
This does sound much better than the Kumon program. I didn't meet one certified teacher on staff at our center. All the tutors were H.S. students working after school. I'm not sure if all the Kumon centers are like this...
The Kumon center that my kids attended was run by a former teacher. The tutors were either retired teachers or college students. My kids got a lot out of Kumon, especially in math. They use drills and repetition to master math concepts, and in our state that was not being taught in public schools. (In reading Kumon is beneficial for grammar, spelling, writing, etc, but I didn't see a lot of improvement in reading per se.) There's a thread about Kumon--under the parenting section, I think--that might be worth reading before you make a decision.
One thing that is annoying me with Sylvan and Huntington..they STILL won't be honnest with me. Each want $200 for the "assesment" which is fine, but I need to know how much it will cost. If I can not afford it, then I can not afford it. I don't want to pay $200 for assesments to find out I can't do this. I know it is marketing and sales, but I've been up front. Finally I told them forget it. ONE center said they'd have their director call me tomorrow...I must admit, that does not please me at all.
I have always done a lot of volunteer work in my kids classrooms over the years and have had lots of conversations with teachers and other parents regarding tutoring - private tutoring vs. sylvan/kumon type places vs. just working with your kids yourself. By far... teachers want parents to work with their own children more over any other kind of "store bought" tutoring. I am constantly hearing teacher's tell parents that "you are your child's best teacher". I hear them say that the sylvan type places are too expensive for what they are. I even heard this from one teacher who earned extra money by working at Sylvan in addition to his regular teaching job. He worked there, yet he didn't recommend sending your kids there unless you were also dealing with some kind of emotional or behavioral problems which might make it hard for you to work with your own child at home.
They sell the Kumon workbooks at most book stores. There are lots of good workbooks out there. Teachers also, if you ask them specifically, can show you things to do with your child.
Basically, it's just practice, practice, practice.... kids learn by doing... over and over until they get it. All it takes is your time and commitment. And it doesn't take long. Maybe 5 - 15 minutes a day depending on what it is. The important thing is to do it daily - same time for the same amount of time each day.
It's also helpful to know what sort of learner your child is. Once you figure out how they learn, you can find a method of teaching them that works best for them.
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