We will start with the professionals; professional tutors will almost all have degrees in education in some manner. This is great because that means that they have successfully completed their academic requirements in order to help other students. This is often very appealing to parents because they feel better knowing their child is getting help from a professional.

Professional tutors will have a better structure in the way they help your child, they will assess you child's needs and then plan a course of action that will be beneficial to your child. Now a con for the professional is that they will act like a professional and some pros do not get personal with their students. Tutors are there to help your child and not be their friend but a child may feel more relaxed with someone who is closer to their age and someone who does not act like teacher so much.

This is where the student tutors come in. Students teaching other students can make the tutor more relaxed and in turn will make your child more relaxed. A student will actually learn more if they are relaxed and not stressing out at the fact that they need a tutor in the first place. A student tutor is also a good choice because they can relate more to what the student is going through. Also a student tutor is still in a classroom setting themselves and they have a better understanding on how to teach the subject because it was not that long ago that they learned it.

Student teachers as opposed to a professional may have an edge because it teaching styles have changed since the professional went to school then the student would be more aware of it then the professional. Both styles of tutoring have their place. It is really up to the parents as to which way they want to go.

But a good idea to consider in the process is to include your child in that decision, ask them which they feel they would do better in. Would they feel more comfortable with a student or someone more of a teacher? Your child will do better in an environment that they feel more comfortable. If cost is a factor then you know that students are much cheaper than professionals and their schedules are more flexible than a professional learning center.