Greater Sudbury Northern Life Reporter Janet Gibson  
When William Paul graduated from teacher's college at
Lakehead University, he felt lucky to land a supply teaching
job at Rainbow District School Board. But moneywise, being a
supply teacher isn't the same as being a full-time teacher. So
when a staffer at Algonquin Public School tipped him off that
Tutor Doctor was looking for tutors, he decided to give them a
call.
"I just wanted to stay involved with the students," he said.
Paul is one of 45 teachers that Tutor Doctor has recruited
since it hung out its shingle in September. The company, which
makes house calls, offers tutoring to elementary, secondary and
post-secondary students in person or over the Internet. "I knew
the need was there but I didn't know it was so big," said owner
Diane Wilson, a former insurance broker.
Most of the time, tutors sit across from their students in the
dining room or at the kitchen table, Wilson said, adding a
parent or guardian must be home.
Paul said there are several reasons why a parent might hire a
tutor, but what it boils down to is, "every student is not
going to be reached."
For instance, Wilson said, a child might get sick and fall
behind, they might be shy and hesitant to ask questions or be a
visual learner instead of an auditory one.
"Sometimes you can get by on 75 per cent," she said. "It you
need 85 per cent to get into the program of your choice, a
tutor will bring you up 10 notches."
Wilson assesses the students, then matches them with a tutor.
"To make this work, the student has to feel comfortable with
the teacher," she said. The bond between the two builds
self-confidence in the student, who then feels comfortable
asking questions.
Most of the tutors, she said, are certified teachers. The rest
are students attending teacher's college. She recruits staff at
all four of Sudbury's school boards. "The schools receive me
fine because I'm not soliciting, I'm recruiting," she said.
As for getting clients, tutors are on their own, said Rainbow
District School Board director of education Jean Hanson. "On
occasion, we get asked to send information on private tutors to
parents," she said. "We don't have the capacity to verify the
caliber of commercial tutors."
Tutor Doctor says a survey done by the Canadian Council on
Learning found that one-third of Canadian parents with children
aged five to 24 had hired a tutor. The Rainbow board has no
statistics about the number of students seeking outside help.
To learn more, call Tutor Doctor at 705-523-0100.
