Is tuition really necessary?
Here's an interesting forum letter in today's Straits Times (3 Dec).
Referring to this year's sterling results in the PSLE, the writer says that :
The credit for this year's performance should also go to the many private tutors and tuition centres (PTTCs). Many pupils could even have failed without the assistance of the PTTCs.
Now, this issue about private tuition is something that has occupied my mind for a while, not only because I am a teacher, but also because as a parent, I will eventually reach a time when I will wonder if my daughter needs a private tutor so that she can catch up with her school work (seeing as she's not exactly the academically brilliant sort).
I know quite a number of you have private tuition and I am really curious to know the following :
- Do you feel that you need the extra tuition just to keep up with school work?
- Will your results suffer significantly if you do not have tuition?
- Who decides on whether you need tuition - you or your parents?
- What do you do during your tuition class that is not covered in school?
As a teacher, I am not exactly in a comfortable position regarding this current obsession with private tuition. On the one hand are parents and students who feel the teachers do not have enough time in class to teach them well. This is, admittedly, a real problem given our bloated syllabus. Hence I feel we share part of the blame for this extra burden we inflict on you poor students. On the other hand are kiasu parents (and students?) who feel they need tuition just to be one up against the next person. These are the academic zealots who want A's at all costs. These I have little sympathy for except to say, "There goes your youth. Good luck."
But you -- you are the ones who have to drag heavy feet to your tutor's house or tuition centres at the end of a long and tiring day in school. What have you got to say? Is tuition really essential or a necessary evil?
posted by MdmSng @ 11:12 AM
10 Comments:
Hello Mdm Sng, I think for me, I need the extra tuition to catch up since i'm not the academically smart sort of person :P But without tuition, I would have totally give up on my accounting subjects two years back. As it's a pretty new subject to me that time, I was totally in another planet. Everything sounds so "alienish" to me. But my tuition teacher (who happen to be my cousin) patiently taught me the subject through lament term, which helps me to understand the fundamental of what is it about and thus allow me to progress from there.
I know I fail my math :X Well that's because I believe I didn't had much practise, where even though I understood the concept, I wasn't able to make use of it during O level :x
Tuition is the time for me to catch up with school's work. As sometimes, a lesson is progressing too fast, tuition gives you a one to one absolute attention to helps you understand more if not, the basic of it.
Even with tuition, I'm already struggling in water. Without tuition, I would probably have drowned.
I decided myself that I needed tuition :P
Overall, I think tuition is good only when it's being done correctly. If you just go to tuition (and just keep doing work none stop) I think that would be a waste of time. But if you go there and ask constructive questions to helps you improve or set up your fundamental. I think it's alright.
Sorry for this long comments :x This comments is strictly refering about me only.
- Do you feel that you need the extra tuition just to keep up with school work?
Ans: I don't think so. I can catch up with my work just fine. But in order to keep ahead, I think tuition does helps. Especially we don't have 50 years series. We need tuition notes to practise.
- Will your results suffer significantly if you do not have tuition?
Ans: That's depends. I think my Math will suffer a lot because I was never a Math whiz. I still remembered my first Math test in Secondary 1 (Topic on Whole Numbers). I got a F9. In addition, I failed badly for my PSLE prelim. Somehow I managed to scape through my PSLE... After my PSLE, my sister, who have been tutoring me, had sore throat for weeks.
- Who decides on whether you need tuition - you or your parents?
Ans: I never liked tuition at first. My sister sabotaged me. Then later I go for a group tuition and find the tuition class very funny so I decided to have tuition.
- What do you do during your tuition class that is not covered in school?
Ans: I listened. Then when Mrs Chang teach that topic, I listened too. Usually I don't understand anything what the tutor taught but only when Mrs Chang teach for the 2nd time then I get it. You see, I'm a very stupid person. Need to listen 2 times before I get it.
- Do you feel that you need the extra tuition just to keep up with school work?
Ans: I don't think so. I can catch up with my work just fine. But in order to keep ahead, I think tuition does helps. Especially we don't have 50 years series. We need tuition notes to practise.
- Will your results suffer significantly if you do not have tuition?
Ans: That's depends. I think my Math will suffer a lot because I was never a Math whiz. I still remembered my first Math test in Secondary 1 (Topic on Whole Numbers). I got a F9. In addition, I failed badly for my PSLE prelim. Somehow I managed to scape through my PSLE... After my PSLE, my sister, who have been tutoring me, had sore throat for weeks.
- Who decides on whether you need tuition - you or your parents?
Ans: I never liked tuition at first. My sister sabotaged me. Then later I go for a group tuition and find the tuition class very funny so I decided to have tuition.
- What do you do during your tuition class that is not covered in school?
Ans: I listened. Then when Mrs Chang teach that topic, I listened too. Usually I don't understand anything what the tutor taught but only when Mrs Chang teach for the 2nd time then I get it. You see, I'm a very stupid person. Need to listen 2 times before I get it.
Consider yourself smarter then me already :P With the fact that even after listening to it for god knows how many times, I'm still blur :P
I don't think I will need to have extra tuition just to keep up in class. First of all, why can others without tuition keep up and you cannot? It could be that you are not putting in much effort (just like me... oops! What did I say? Relax, relax, no need to nag). And secondly, I have a rather bad impression of tuition, mainly due to behavior of some students who have tuition. Some, because of private tuition that teach faster than the school teachers, nap in class instead of listening to the teacher. Isn't that defeating the purpose of having teachers in school? Some are just plain kiasu. For those who choose to have tuition when without tuition, they score average to good marks, they are having tuition for the sole purpose of scoring straight As. As if tuition can help anyone do that. Tuition is not magic, its just outside people teaching ahead of the syllabus and charging high fees so that they can earn. If its parents who are kiasu, then I guess it can't be helped.
So far, of all previous tuitions I had, I can't say they are of much use (thanks a lot, mum!). Besides, my previous tuitions are on languages, so its hard to say. Good thing my mother decided not to continue (due to high fees), I kinda sick of them.
However, not all tuitions are that bad. That is, if you can find a good one (they are quite rare). For subjects like (and especially) maths, slower (no offense) students may need help in understanding, and this is where tuition is good. Not for those brainy ones who can understand, but for some weird reasons (which I'm rather curious to know) decided to rely on tuition.
I guess I better buck up before a certain mother decides I have to go for tuition...
i need them cause im too lazy to practise myself. And my dad use it in a form of a punishment. Case closed. and face it, most parents WILL give their children tuition, its a trend even IF the child is smart like DK =.=
mental calculations is easy. All one has to do is just kidnap your calculator.
shdwhawk
Hahaha... I know its funny, but it's also true.
complicate things so that making money is easylah.
Yeah, I think tuition is good, for it's a supplementary way for educating. I have learned a lot of things, because my tuition teacher and my class teachers have different (but acceptable) views on a few certain subjects. I also get the opportunity to know other students from other schools.
Fact: I was reunited with a few of my tuition classmates when I got to boarding school. Like, wow!
So I really love tuition. I enjoy it because I like to study, I like learning, and I definitely like it when my marks get better. (I was a cry for help at Math before. Now I'm a high-flyer, because I finally understood the concept of Math. I enrolled in tuition when I was 11, and that was all the introduction I need. I already quit tuition because I attend boarding school, but the the tuition really helped me to know Math better. I owe a lot of gratitude to my tuition teachers...they helped me so much)
So I definitely see tuition as a great help. I finally found my inner genius. =)
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