Q: How often does a student need tutoring?
A: Once a week is not enough. Do not even start the Barton System if you can only tutor once a week. It will not work because that is not frequent enough reinforcement.
Twice a week will work.
Three times a week is better than twice.
Q: How long does a lesson take?
A: A tutoring session should never last more than an hour.
For younger students, or those with significant focusing difficulty, a tutoring session may only last for 40 minutes.
Every student is unique. Some students can complete an entire lesson in a one-hour session. Others can only complete half the lesson in an hour.
As a tutor I will pace the lesson to match the student. A student must master the new skill taught in each lesson, and be able to apply to both reading and spelling, before moving on to the next lesson.
How long that takes depends upon the student. You cannot rush a student. If you move on before the student has mastered a new skill, the student will eventually hit a wall.
Q: Why one-on-one tutoring is best?
A: One-on-one is the ideal setting. That’s because no two students learn at exactly the same pace. When tutoring one-on-one, a tutor can present the material at exactly the right pace for each student.
Also, it is much less embarrassing to make a mistake when only the tutor sees it – not other students.
How old does a student have to be to work with The Barton System?
A: The Barton System has been used successfully on children as young as 5-and-a half.
Yet nothing in the Barton System will offend a teenager or an adult.
