Huntington Learning Center, Good? Bad?

10/17/05 | Do Be

[Sam's Army]

I've never heard of this learning center, but please keep in mind that someone is earning a comission on that fee that was quoted to you. They are using FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)statements to get you to go with them, an unforunate common practice in high-pressure, business to consumer sales.

[wvobiwan]

Best to do it yourself Do Be, like your screen name. You have no question about YOUR motives.

HLC may be effective, but it is still, after all, a business. Businesses value profit over all else, including your child's future.

[Sam's Army]

Is homeschooling an option? Sometimes just the environment change can do wonders for a child. Not every kid is cut out to do well in a state-sponsored, pro-union setting.

[Dark Skies]

Check this link for some reviews of Huntington Learning Centers (I Googled them plus the word "rating" and came up with a lot of info)...

http://www.familyeducation.com/whatworks/review/index/0,2559,1-20622-11993,00.html

[asp1]

Did you ask what the learning center's methods are? After all from what I've read about learning centers they are populated by certified teachers. What makes their certified teachers different from district school teachers? If there are no major differences aren't they just tutoring your child? One on one tutoring could be done for a lot less than $10,000.

Have you contacted your local school district for their advice? Ask them if they would recommend the learning center. Good luck to both you and your child.

[alisasny]

I had experience with Sylvan Learning Center which I believe is similar. I enrolled my 6th grade son with them for MATH ONLY. We paid near 6000 for 108 hours. It worked.

I also got to know one of the instructers as due to my son being enrolled there I had an apartment for rent and he became one of our tenents.

I can not offer advice on all around subjects but just what I needed which was math. My son has had a complete turnaround. They pinpointed exactly where he was lost in math somewhere back in 2nd grade and began there. He did not approach a new skill until the last one was mastered. To me it was a complete success. He just started 8th grade and is doing pre -algebra on his own. : ))))

I wish we could have done this at home. We were at our wits end. Any attempt to have him due math turned into arguements and severe crying fits. My husband and I were at the end of the rope so to speak.

We did do most of the work over the summer. He either went 4- 6 hours per week at 2 hour sessions.

They also do a reward program.


Again I am only speaking for the one subject which we did MATH. I have no idea how an all around program would work.

[Roses0508]

I don't know what your situation is, but this is my experience. I have a very, very bright son (now an adult). He failed often. It was very frustrating, because he knew what he had to know to pass tests, but never seemed to get it on paper, didn't turn in his homework, etc.

He thrived in a private school where teachers found a way to challenge him. Public schools are aimed at the middle of the road student. Since there is no mandate of law to see that a gifted, but unmotivated child has an education appropriate to his/her needs (unlike a handicapped child where such an education is mandated by law), you are on your own to find a solution.

He thrived in a school where the students each moved at their own pace through the coursework (now known in some areas as PACES). My son needed to move a lot faster than the average student in order to be engaged - he had virtually dropped out of school by the 2nd or 3rd week of the term, because he'd already read and absorbed the text books and then was simply bored silly for the rest of term.

The PACES program has also proven to be helpful for children with learning disabilities, attention disorders/issues, etc., because the child has more individualized attention and the teachers are not focused solely on moving 30 students through a course at a pre-prescribed pace.

[mcshot]

I commend you for what appears to be an excellent service performed.
As a comment to another post I have a daughter who left teaching(altogether) at a socialist, union shop where she got about as much support as the target of a firing squad.
mc

[Do Be]

The tactics that they are using to "make the sale" do not negate the possibility that they may be an answer for my child.

I did homeschool my child for a year and have spent many, many hours working with him. This isn't a case of a child being ignored by lazy, neglectful parents. He has a problem learning that I have not been able to help much with and the Huntington people say that it is something they can accomplish.

What I am hoping to get from this is responses from people who have shelled out their hard earned money to Huntington and can comment from personal experience whether or not it was or is worth it.

Thanks for your reply.

[Do Be]

It is from a failure of my efforts that I am now seeking other avenues.

Thanks

[Do Be]

Thank you for searching out this information. It is something that I had already found in myinternet searches to learn more about Huntington and what I like about it is that it is input from people who used Huntington and then wrote of their experiences.

I am looking for more such feedback.

Thanks

[Do Be]

Hopefully what they teach and how they teach it. Certain methods of teaching are more effective than others and maybe there are people who can teach my son in a way that he can learn.

I'm just trying to find out if Huntington is such a place, but yes, your question is one that I have been asking myself.

Thanks

[Dark Skies]

Best of luck. I think your honest concern places you on the right track. God only creates miracles. Each person, however special, is capable of achieving exactly what He wants.

Hope you don't mind my reference to the One I love.

[Do Be]

Thank you for sharing your experience with me. Huntington claims to be able to do for my child what Sylvan did for yours.

We are going to talk to Sylvan and other schools.

Thanks, again.

[Do Be]

Thank you for your response.

The same does not appear to be true for my son.

[asp1]

You're welcome. I am sure whatever you choose to do will be the best for your child. Best wishes to both of you.

[Do Be]

Your answer is very much to the point.

While I consider it my responsiblity as a father to do the best I can for my son, I have no doubt where the true power lies. I can only do the best I can.

Thanks

[alisasny]

BTW after the 108 hours were up I got the pressure sale to take him to a higher level. I listened to the suggestions and said I really have to wait and see how he is doing in math at school.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I think the post by alisasny (#7) is very much on point, and gives a clue as to how you might fix the problem yourself. Nearly all schools have a fixed curriculum, and they keep moving the whole class along it, even if a few kids are totally lost. Their efforts, and unfortunately the efforts of a lot of outside turoring organizations too, are designed to get the child to earn passing grades in the onward-marching curriculum. Trouble is, that rarely translates into mastery or confidence on the part of the child.

The fifth-grader who is getting Ds or Fs in math or reading, may need to be focusing on 2nd grade level math or reading in order to build a foundation for mastery, but schools and tutors usually only back up a year or so in the curriculum, or else back up further but then rush the trip forward, in order to get the child's grades at the current grade level up to Cs or Bs.

I don't know the specifics of your child's situation, but I'd recommend asking yourself first, whether it matters if your child gets Fs. A school grading system's assessment of your child, is not necessarily the assessment scale you should focus on. Try sitting down with your child, and figuring out at what level his mastery actually is. If he's in 4th grade and his mastery level is kindergarten or 1st grade, fine. Start from there. And if your child is making progress at mastery, ignore the 4th grade Ds and Fs. What matters is if your child is mastering the next step from where he's starting. If he's mastered 1st grade level material, and then masters 2nd grade level material, he may still get Ds and Fs in 4th grade, but that doesn't matter. And you should make that clear to both school officials and your child. Make clear that you are the ultimate authority on your child's education. If the school is assigning mandatory homework and "projects" that aren't effective for your child's academic progress, tell the school point blank that he won't be doing the assignments and that they are not to criticize or chastize him for not turning them him. Have him spend homework time on the things he really needs to be doing.