Opinion

The National Tutoring Association has crafted a fine Code of Ethics for its members. While I am well aware that most tutors do not belong to a national organization such as the NTA, nonetheless the NTA's Code of Ethics presents a set of guidelines by which you and I as parents can evaluate the tutors we hire for our children. For sake of this discussion, I also include any teacher who primarily works on a 1 on 1 basis as a tutor. For example, piano, art, and dance instructors, as well as the math and English tutors you will expect to encounter.

Using the NTA's Code of Ethics I have offered comments on each of their tenets. Use these comments to help you assess and evaluate any tutor you hire.

Code of Ethics

The National Tutoring Association is dedicated to providing its members with opportunities to achieve and maintain high professional standards for tutors and administrators of tutoring programs and services.

I understand that my role as a tutor is to enable students to do their own work using the best learning approach possible.

RK: The extra time and attention which a tutor affords his students make it possible for them to understand the material presented. More importantly, a tutor can take time to explain the variations and possibilities inherent in the original problem so that his student is able to recognize them when they do occur. Equipping students to do their own work

The other day I heard about a father bemoaning the fact that his nineteen-year-old son was a mess. The gist of this father's complaint was that he had done so much for his child but nothing seemed to be appreciated. I totally understand the complexities and pitfalls of raising children in the 21st century. It is a scary, very different world from the one I was raised in back in the 50s and 60s, for sure. It is a much different world from where we raised our four children. And, yes, there were times - not many - when I was guilty of being a velcro or helicopter parent. I couldn't bear to see my children fail or make the mistakes I made. Unfortunately, that strategy never produced the results I was expecting.

With all this in mind, let's examine what happens when parents over-indulge and over-protect their children.

What do the terms "velcro" and "helicopter" parents mean?

The term "velcro parent" describes the kind of parent who sticks close to his child to protect him. The "helicopter parent" is constantly hovering around her child to protect him. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines a helicopter parent as "a parent who is overly involved in the life of his or her child". While there is no "velcro parent" entry, one can only assume that it will not be long before there is.

Velcro and helicopter parents have their children's best interests at heart. At least, that's how

My late father-in-law, Dr. James Garnett Lyne, used to refer to what he called 'mass mediocrity' whenever he discussed education. Like me, he was a product of a public school education. Neither of our parents could afford a private school education.

What did he mean by 'mass mediocrity'? He was referring to what he feared would be the result of a general lowering of standards in our schools. He argued that the less qualified teachers were, the less they were paid and the less demanding high school curricula were, the more we as a society would descend into 'mass mediocrity'. Dr. Lyne has been gone for 45 years. Yet his prescient words still haunt me. You see, back then, I had no clue what he was talking about. None. That scholarly father-in-law of mine was given to many well-reasoned pronouncements. I figured that this was just one more and filed it away in my memory bank.

This video from Toastmasters International offers five tips for effective public speaking.

Graduates lack basic business skills

In my own daily life and work, I am well aware of what high school graduates - both public and private school graduates - bring to the table. The lack of basic business communication skills is appalling. And I don't think that Twitter and texting is the reason. I remain convinced until somebody can show me otherwise that most high

If you have children in private school, then you are most likely looking at three months, perhaps even longer, which you must fill with activities of one kind or another during the long summer break. Your children are accustomed to structure during the other nine months of the year. It is a good idea to plan their vacation months. The structure will be there, just much more flexible and adaptable to the needs of the day. Let's look at some of your options for making summer a special time for both you and your children.

Young Children (ages 4-10)

Most schools offer summer sessions. Depending on its resources a school may offer all-day sessions or just a long morning session running from approximately 9 until 1. If the school has had a summer session for several years, it probably has worked out most of the kinks. But keep an eye out for the quality of each activity. Is the school merely providing glorified babysitting or are the activities well-planned, well-organized, and well-supervised by qualified personnel?

This video offers a glimpse at a summer camp and its programs.

The advantage of sending a young child to a summer session at her school is that she knows just about everybody anyway. Even more important for your wee one is that the daily routine is similar to what she is already comfortable with. My biggest concern with

Editorial

Yet another horrific shooting. More innocent lives snuffed out. Twenty children sitting in their safe, familiar classroom. Gone.

These shootings have become an all too familiar story. I now think twice about visiting public places. I still go. But I am wary. The same defensive mechanism which kicks in when I drive is now present in my thinking. But let me back up a bit and explain my aversion to violence. This video gives an overview of the issue.

As a classicist I am quite familiar with our love of violent spectacles. Chariot races, gladiator contests and mock naval wars are all, as far as I am concerned, precursors of 21st century video games and movies. That does not mean that I like them. Not one bit.

My first taste of real violence was during the terrorist activities which took place in the Province of Quebec back in the 60s when I was a teen. I knew nothing of violence prior to that, having been raised in a leafy green English neighborhood in Montreal called Westmount. My family had lived there for several generations. But the French Canadians were tired of feeling oppressed and shackled economically and socially by a minority population, i.e., les Anglais. They started blowing things up. I was out for a walk one day heading north on Roslyn Avenue. I heard what I to this day recall as a thump. Not