Tutoring is an important part of success for the student, the teachers and the parents. 

What happens when it appears that you can't take your student any further in their education? How do you recognize the issues that are "blocking" your student from continuing to the next level in their education? 

Through eight years of tutoring I have come across the following blocks and the steps to help tutor "blocked" students. , My goal is to give teachers and parents the ability to recognize the blocks, take them apart one by one, and bring students, that are behind in school, to the next level of education.

Let's take reading as an example. According to statistics... ":a student that does not learn to read by 4th grade will more than likely end up in prison". online.regiscollege.edu.

 Why would lack of reading have such a negative impact on a persons life?  I perceive it's because a person must be able to read in order to function in todays society. Imagine trying to complete an application for a job, fill out an application for a drivers license, etc., if you can't read.. Frustrated children turn into frustrated adults that can not cope in a society that depends solely on the ability to read.

Below are a list of common fears and suggested procedures to locate a blockage in learning and help the student that appears to be stuck.

1) Fear of failure

You may be dealing with a child that is a perfectionist. He/She wants to perform at the highest level possible and is not patient enough to understand there are steps to learning. Learning is not magic, it is a process.  He/She wants to please not only you, but they want to feel pride in themselves.  Imagine a student that has reached 4th grade and can't read. How do they admit to that without seeing themselves as a failure. 

A perfectionist is unlikely to ask questions and may believe they can figure it out on their own. Perfectionism is not a bad quality, if channeled correctly. This personality can be mistaken as hardheaded, obstinate or even rebellious. Placing a child in the categories mentioned above is detrimental to said student.

What do you do? First, recognize the signs stated above. Provide that student with a safe learning environment. I tell my students that the only way I can help them is for them to make mistakes, which gives them permission to make mistakes. Sometimes I even applaud them when they don't succeed, which removes the fear of failure. I expect them to fail, I want them to fail. How else will I know what they need to understand?

2) Fear of embarrassment by peers

If the learner is afraid that they will disappoint those trying to engage with them, they will withdraw. The symptoms of this fear include: refusal to participate, lack of  engagement with other students during a discussion, or refusal to do anything that would draw attention to themselves.

Often times this student is labeled as dysfunctional. However, this child is simply uncertain of the subject they are learning and does not want to suffer embarrassment or be label as ignorant.

I often play a game with my students. I may use flashcards that I know they can read, or math problems that I know they can complete. I make it a game and tell them that if they win more than they lose I'll do something silly. At one point I had rabbit ears that were really big. I pretended that I was embarrassed that I had lost and I wore the ears during the entire session. They usually laugh and and laughter encourages learning. They are no longer afraid to be embarrassed because I embarrassed myself first.

3) Fear of the subject

Yes, there are students that simply afraid because they don't understand the subject matter so they shut down. There may be a blockage, or a hole in this student education that prevents them from asking the questions that will unlock their ability to learn.  The subject of Math was a learning block for me, which is odd because I'm a musician and music is based on math principles, I understood math until I got to algebra.

I essentially missed 6th grade math. My teacher was either self involved or possibly lazy. He showed us movies and the biggest challenge we had was to figure out the Roman Numerals at the end of the movie. Therefore, I lacked the skill to move on to algebra. This teacher did not test us to choose  placement he simply asked each student what level of math we wanted to join.  Guess what class I chose? Yep, Algebra.

When I walked into that classroom and the teacher began trying to teach algebra I felt like I was in a foreign country. My personality leaned toward both the fear of failure and the fear of embarrassment, which later became fear of the subject and  caused me to reject what I could not comprehend. I was labeled as a slow learner, which I was not. I was simply afraid of what I didn't understand. If I'd had a tutor that recognized that I'd missed 6th grade math I would have likely succeeded at algebra. However, I didn't have the ability to tell anyone what issue I was facing.

In order to erase or dissuade the fear of a subject, when tutoring,  I go back a grade and have them do problems they know how to do. I slowly increase the level of difficulty and guide them through the procedures. I do not expect them to complete grade level work. I have to find out what they don't understand. When they succeed at one level it gives them the confidence to try the next level. 

These problems are solvable. 

Success Stories

 I had one student that acted like she could not read. This student was in fourth grade. She had been labeled as a difficult child.

When I began tutoring her I erased the labels and invited her to discuss the topic we were studying. I opened up a book for early readers and simply gave her a chance to read without any input from me. This freed her from the fear of trying to please me and showed me the skills she possessed and those she did not.

I tell my students, "You can't fail if you try." Why? Because my job as a tutor is not to find out what they know. Our job is to  to find out what they don't know. 

Recently, I had a student make an error in math.  I told him that I was proud of him for showing me what he didn't know. He was confused at first. I then, told him that I can't help him if I he doesn't try and in trying he showed me what he needs to know. 

One day, during a tutoring session the director of facility came to observe a session with a second grade student. The director asked me "What is she doing?"  I simply replied, "She's reading to me." The administrator said, " She can't read. We tested her." I suggested that this administrator observe the student. This student was not aware of the conversation, so I turned to her and asked her to read. When this student began reading the administrator was shocked.

The student had tested at kindergarten level. She knew numbers and shapes and letters, but was afraid to put those letters together in front of someone else and even when privately tested she was afraid of disapproval..

The first thing that must happen in tutoring a student with these three fears is to recognize the fear and put the child at ease. Find the lacking piece to the puzzle of their education through listening and observation.

Are any of the above behaviors hindering your students learning? This is the first question I ask myself in order to provide the education and stability that this student needs to succeed. It is essential to approve of this student, even when they make mistakes, thus addressing the fear. Time, encouragement, and observation are required to be an effective tutor. 

Because I've experienced my own hole in my education,  I am sensitive to the holes, or blockages that hinder my students. My goal is to "unlock the block" and give each students the opportunity to move beyond the label. Don't allow blocked learning to hinder the future of your students education.