How much would you pay

[momofkhm]

for someone to teach labs only in middle and high school? Helping with problems but no real lecture time. You'd still be responsible for the teaching, grading and daily stuff.

 

I'm thinking in terms of helping others and making money while doing it. I outsource writing. It's not my thing. I can recognize good writing, but I can't teach it. It seems like many moms are afraid of science. I majored in chemistry so science doesn't scare me. Neither does math but that's not where I want to go. :tongue_smilie:

 

This year I hosted chemistry labs. All we did was labs. I didn't lecture on the unit/chapter. I did ask each week if anyone needed help with stuff in the chapter though. No one ever said yes. I did have 2 girls stay late separate times because the math got to much for them. I worked through problems with them just like I do with my own kids. They seemed to get it, I asked to make sure and I did hear reports back from the moms that they did "get" it and did well on the next test. I charged enough to pay for the lab equipment which worked out to be $50 each for 6 kids. No one seemed to bat an eye at that price. I had a schedule worked out which I've changed via email several times. Again, no one seemed to have issues with it. I usually gave 5-6 days notice for changes. (The reason I changed dates is I had 2 kids coming from 1/2 hour away. I felt really bad when lab took less than that. I was trying to make the drive more worth it.)

 

I've seen prices locally for chemistry with lab and lecture for $215 plus $60 materials fee one place and $465 in another. And the classes tend to fill up at those prices.

 

So price. What would be reasonable?

[Ann.without.an.e]

for the semester? for the year?

[Ann.without.an.e]

Do you know how much I hate Science experiments!?! I think Cary is a drive, but maybe not too far :tongue_smilie:

[regentrude]

I think a reasonable figure is what one would some other qualified instructor, for instance a language tutor, or for music lessons. I would pay the same hourly fee for labs. We pay $30 per language lesson. I would expect a somewhat lower price if those were groups.

So, if there were two hour long lab sessions, for 15 weeks a semester, I can easily see that costing $300 if taught by a qualified instructor. For that price, I would want an instructor with a degree in the field.

[Niffercoo]

I would love something like this if it were available near me! In fact, I've been actively looking for a biology lab for Austin without the class attached. I think I would be able to pay about $40-50 per month.

[StephanieZ]

10/hr per kid for a competent mom-teacher. (Maybe 15/2 hr lab)

 

15-20/hr per kid (or 20-30 for 2 hr lab) for someone with an advanced degree in the subject (MS or PhD) and a very professional approach (no rescheduling for kid stuff, etc.)

 

I think those would be fair rates, assuming no more than 6-8 kids per class (unless you had a second lab assistant helping you). Of course, you could charge less (or more), and just see what you get. More than 200/semester might scare off a lot of people, especially if there are substantially additional supply fees.

 

That said, I'm going to do exactly that (chem labs) with 2 of my kids + one friend next year. For free for the spare kid. I love doing that stuff for spares. It makes my kids take it more seriously, makes me prepare well and stay on schedule, and it's fun.

[Margo out of lurking]

I am surprised at some of these prices. Anything close to $500/year seems excessive for just labs. My dd is taking a biology class, mostly using BJU books. The teacher is a long time hs mom, has a nursing degree, and has taught this class for several years. The class of ~12? meets for one three-hour period a week, where they do a lab, have a lecture, and take an exam from the previous week's class. There is plenty of homework: reading, answering questions in the book, diagramming/labeling, studying. The class cost $480 for the year, which was at the very top of what I could/would pay for something that I'm not able to teach. (We just found that one year of Spanish at the community college would cost similar, so dd's not taking that next year.)

 

Dd's teacher is quitting after this year to go back to full time nursing. Other parents will be teaching the class, but I'm leery, since they don't have the same experience that this teacher does. I'd love to put dd in a chem class; we'll see.

 

Why not teach the whole science class and take the responsibility off the parents completely? I do think classes like this meet a need/want in the hsing community. :)

[Niffercoo]

 

Why not teach the whole science class and take the responsibility off the parents completely? I do think classes like this meet a need/want in the hsing community. :)

 

 

In our case, my son has a difficult time academically. A text like BJU or Apologia is going to be too challenging for him to keep up with during a once a week lecture-style class. It would be overwhelming and frustrating for him, not to mention embarrassing. I would like to be able to work with him at home, orally if necessary, to help him understand the text material. However, I would love for him to have a group experience of doing labs. It would be a great social experience for him, and a low pressure introduction to a classroom situation. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find anything like this in our area. They all offer the classwork with the labs. :(