Parents seek homeschool teachers for many reasons. How do you find a homeschool teacher, and what does it cost? Sometimes you need to finish more work around the house, or a student struggles with a subject, and they need more insight to succeed. Other times it’s beneficial to find a mentor who is a specialist in their field to help an advanced student gain a deeper understanding of a subject they love. Regardless of the reason, there are plenty of outstanding homeschool teachers available, and you’d be surprised how economical it is to hire them. Getting the best education shouldn’t have to be a struggle, and tutors can certainly help your home learner accomplish their goals. I’ll show you a great place to locate high-quality educators for homeschool children and explain how to vet them, so you know you are getting your money’s worth.
How much would it cost to hire a homeschool teacher? You can hire a homeschool teacher for as little as eight dollars an hour. While some parents choose to pay more, there’s no need to damage your budget to find the best tutors for your kids. By using a freelance hiring service, you can help your students succeed without breaking the bank.
Where to Hire a Homeschool Teacher
You could look for a homeschool teacher in your area. It often costs more to hire these educators than it does to choose a virtual interaction, but you also might get lucky. In big cities, there are more retired teachers and professionals who do side work tutoring homeschooled kids. However, I recommend one place over all others to get qualified assistance with home learning.
Private teacher’s fees are highly variable. Depending on their proficiency and degree level, you can end up overextending your budget. Wealthy families often have superb tutors for a small fortune to teach their children everything from languages to instruments. However, you don’t need to be a Rockafeller to give your home learners the same advantages.
Upwork is a freelance website with a huge number of professionals. At first glance, it may seem like the site specializes in writers and web developers or similar professionals. However, once you click on the categories option, you’ll be stunned by how many people and professions are available, from Estonian translators to retired scientists and more. I hired a retired English-speaking Ph.D. in astrophysics from Eastern Europe to tutor my sons in high school. Through Upwork, I paid eight dollars an hour for his services. Though rates vary slightly, you won’t need to spend vast sums simply to get top-quality help with homeschool.
Some parents spend hours or days checking local job boards, libraries, and online mass-recruitment websites trying to find one teacher to help them. You can skip right past all the wasted time by using a single, high-quality freelance resource instead.
Check Before You Hire a Homeschool Teacher
Before you agree to pay anyone to teach homeschool, you need to make sure they are who they represent themselves as first. Looking into your teachers is a smart way to make certain that your kids are getting the best education possible. Plus, it’s just common sense.
While most people are honest and straightforward, there are occasional bad apples, but I’ll show you how to weed them out. Begin by talking to your teachers. Ask them questions about their teaching philosophy and where they were educated. Come up with questions about how they will report your home learner’s progress. Make sure you email back and forth at least two or three times and ask to speak to them via Skype or WhatsApp so you can hear their voice.
While all of this is important on its own, it serves a secondary purpose. You will have a better idea of whether your tutor can spell, speak clear English, and hold a conversation. This type of simple discussion will help you determine if the teacher in question is a good fit for your kids as well. However, don’t commit just yet.
The other two things you should always do are check their credentials and run a background check. Any university should be happy to provide you with an answer about which degrees and certificates the teacher holds. While this means spending some time on the phone, it is worth a little time to make certain they are qualified in the manner they claim.
Running a background check is doubly important if you hire in-person teachers to come to your home. Ask the teacher if there’s anything worrisome that you’ll find in their background check and listen to their responses attentively. If you feel positive that they gave an honest answer, you can proceed. However, it’s still worth paying an online service a few dollars to make sure you’re not hiring someone with a dangerous past to teach your kids.
Most of the time, you won’t turn up anything noteworthy, or your teacher may have a traffic ticket. Still, if you find anything alarming, you can either hire someone else or ask them about the questionable activity and make a judgment call. I strongly recommend having these discussions over Skype, Zoom, or a similar service where you can see their face as they speak.
Becoming a Homeschool Tutor Isn’t Difficult
Most educators or students seeking degrees in education consider private education at some point. Becoming a homeschool teacher is one way to achieve this, and it provides a wonderful experience. However, it is not difficult or highly regulated as a profession.
According to Wikihow, there are only a few steps to be a homeschool teacher. One of these steps is self-vetting your abilities, and several others are simply finding the jobs in your area. This leaves plenty of room for a savvy fake to slide into the profession. Thus you should always check the teacher’s background and credentials to avoid wasting money on someone who isn’t really an educator.
Why You Should Pay Homeschool Teachers
Some parents are true DIYers who want to do every possible thing for themselves, but most of us understand the value of paying an outside homeschool tutor. If you are on the fence, I will give you eight reasons to take the leap and hire that tutor for your kids. Whether you choose to hire a full-time aid who is in your home daily or even one who lives-in, or you have a once-a-week lesson online, homeschool teachers have so much to offer your children.
- Limit Exposure To Germs– Both in-home tutors and virtual tutors help students learn at home. Doing this prevents children from being exposed to all the germs and other problems attending a traditional school.
- Personal Attention- Homeschool parents understand that the level of personal attention they give home learners leads to higher success rates. Your student gets even more personal attention when they have a tutor to teach them at home.
- Outside Perspective- Both students and parents can benefit from merely having an additional perspective on learning. Having another adult, especially a professional educator, around will give you insight and ideas you would not have thought of on your own.
- Lower Stress- Homeschool parents have to do it all, and teaching can become very stressful. Taking some of the weight off of your shoulders is relaxing. Plus, it gives you time to yourself to do other things.
- Social Interaction- Adding a safe, approved adult to your student’s regular interactions gives them a chance to socialize with one more person. By having a positive experience with a tutor and gaining their perspective, your child is also experiencing a unique social activity.
- Motivation- A good educator will help bolster your home learner’s confidence and keep them moving forward with their studies. Motivation is key to academic and workplace success.
- Family Time- when you aren’t solely responsible for teaching, your family time together feels less like being in school. This can lead to a better relationship between you and your children.
- Special Skills- Most homeschool parents aren’t degreed educators. Those who are have an area of expertise, but no one is an expert in everything. For a few dollars an hour, you can offer your children experts on any subject they study to further their education and development.
Homeschool parents are dedicated to giving their students the best possible education and resources. Hiring an inexpensive homeschool teacher is one more tool to provide for your home learners to help them get ahead.
Final Thoughts
Choosing to get outside assistance in teaching through a homeschool teacher is a superb way to help your home learners catch up or get ahead. Not only does it take some weight off of your shoulders, but it gives the kids a new perspective. Moreover, it adds to their outside social interactions as well.
Making sure you vet the credentials of your chosen educator is essential. It’s well worth spending a little time to do the background checks, so your kids get the best possible help with their classes. Plus, if you ever hire someone to visit and teach inside your home, it’s basic safety.
Don’t stress over teaching difficult subjects when you could hire outside help instead. A good educator’s services are invaluable, but that doesn’t mean you have to overspend to get them.