A Tutor's Heartfelt Case FOR Tuition :o)

 

A Heartfelt Case FOR Tuition

First: What does tuition mean? Let us take a look.

Definition of “tuition” – teaching, especially when given to a small group or one person    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tuition

Synonyms of “tuition” (which is the act or process of imparting knowledge or skills to another)   Synonyms for tuition education,  instruction,  schooling,  teaching,  training,  tutelage,  tutoring Words Related to tuition didactics,  pedagogics,  pedagogy higher education,  higher learning coaching,  conditioning,  cultivation,  preparation,  readying development,  direction,  guidance,  nurturance,  nurturing edification,  enlightenment,  improvement   https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tuition

 

Based on the information presented above, tuition is EDUCATION, SCHOOLING, GUIDANCE, NURTURANCE, ENLIGHTENMENT, IMPROVEMENT…

Since a good education is key to success, then, why do some people feel so strongly against tuition and hope that tuition will be scrapped?

Tuition is valuable and important since tuition is about DEVELOPING and READYING. There is, truly, nothing wrong in preparing more and preparing better for one’s future by being even better educated via tuition.

I strongly believe that having the opportunity to be educated is a privilege and a joy. There are so many things to learn and to find out about. There are so many knowledgeable teachers/ tutors/ coaches/ mentors who have so much knowledge to share and skills to impart. Why not tap on these resources?

Second: Schoolteachers can only do so much.

In Singapore, schoolteachers usually deal with at least 20 to 30 students in one class. With a diverse mix of personalities and behaviours from a lot of youths in one class, a schoolteacher has much to bear.

Additionally, one period in class does not last that long. Usually, one period ranges from 30 minutes to 50 minutes. It is not exactly possible for schoolteachers to effectively reach out to and devote themselves to all students in one class given that the ratio is probably 1 teacher to 30 students (or more) in a span of one to two periods.

During tuition though, tutors can spend more time with individual students and pay much closer attention to them since tuition is usually one on one or in a small group (usually 2 to 10 students).

Providing students with much needed attention and guidance makes a significant difference in whether students truly understand their work or are somehow guessing and making do. To build strong foundations and to progress well, students must learn well and must focus on being as accurate as possible. They should not be muddling their way through.

Having been a schoolteacher previously, I applaud schoolteachers for their determination, grit and effort in trying their utmost to educate all their charges as well as they can but as mere mortals, they can only do so much.

This is where tuition comes in to “save the day”. Education in school and tuition are not enemies. (One thing is clear: Tutors are not out to steal the jobs of schoolteachers.) Rather, they complement each other. What cannot be covered in school, can be covered in tuition. What cannot be fully taught or grasped in school, can be repeated in tuition.

I believe that many teachers will attest that the majority of students do not have the best of memories and so, plenty of repetition and drilling is much needed. Schoolteachers face time constraints in school since lessons are usually one to two periods long. Handling administrative work and perhaps, disciplinary issues will shave off some precious lesson time. It is not uncommon to hear students share that they did not learn anything for one whole period because the teacher spent it all on berating students for their misdemeanours. 

On the flipside, as many tuition sessions are 1.5 hours to 2 hours long, students get to work on what they have missed out on or need more attention on because schoolteachers are not able to cover them. Tutors get to drill students and to recap what students sorely need to know and remember. Students get to work on lengthening their attention spans and learn how to concentrate for longer stretches of time too. Tutors, in general, do not spend their time chiding students for whole stretches at a time. 

Case in point: [This poor teacher is overwhelmed despite his/ her best and purest intentions. This is where tutors can come in to help teachers out. Honestly, teachers can only do so much despite their best and purest efforts. They are but mere mortals.]

#3504: I'm a teacher, an overloaded and burnt out one. I'm finding a place to air my thoughts, just bear with me. I love teaching and I love children, but, the real struggle comes when I'm tasked to do things that are beyond my core duties. People keeps telling us that we should do our core duties, but yet, we're always dumped with additional projects and workload that is beyond our abilities. How to, when we've to run projects, run events, teach and mark. We're overworked, we're tired. I've been working till late, every single day. Not a day of rest. You'd think weekends are rest? No, after I meet my boyfriend, I come back to work. I had to cut my dates with my friends short because I had to work. My friends even commented, don't need to ask "me", she can't come one. Yet, we don't get appreciated. We just get dumped with more work. And when we don't get enough and proper rest time, we feel frustrated. Not helping that we've also our own classes. We don't only have one class, we have a few. I've five different classes. This is not counting CCAs. Sometimes, I wonder, who am I working so hard for? All these non-core are redundant and irrelevant. Because, I've no time to plan good lessons, no time to mark. Yet, we're always being shot down for not planning good lessons. I couldn't sleep well, I always wake up at 5am. The stress is really not helping, the whole situation is not helping. To people out there, if you have teacher-friends, please, just drop a text and check in on them. Teacher's mental health is suffering, we always have to put up a front for our colleagues, our students and our parents. Not all teachers have the luxury of sleeping a full 8 hours, not all teachers have time to spend on their own, not all teachers have a full 30-minute lunch break. We're glad we even have time for lunch, even if it is 20 minutes. You don't understand the works of a teacher, it is okay, we don't need your understanding, really. What we need, is that little bit of encouragement and not putting us down for the effort. For a 30-minute lesson, do you know how much planning goes into it? You don't, right. Read on website: https://www.whispers.sg/c/sgwhispers/posts/3504

 

Third: Practice makes progression (and perhaps, perfect).

Schoolteachers usually give homework but whether the homework is corrected well and returned promptly (or at all) is another matter. Over the years, numerous primary school students have complained to me that their English teachers have not returned their English compositions to them after months have passed and at times, even after they have been promoted to the next grade. Some Primary 6 students have graduated from Primary 6 without getting their work back. Tutors, on the other hand, usually return work on the day itself or next week. Additionally, many tutors mark more diligently and provide more constructive feedback than what students receive from schoolteachers. Often, schoolteachers put ticks and crosses and provide sketchy comments. Tutors, in general, are able to provide more pieces of constructive advice since they have fewer papers to mark.

More significantly, tutors do more with students to help them to learn well/ learn better and to practice more. For instance, in the run up to the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), most students write about 1 to 2 compositions a term. This works out to approximately 6 compositions before the PSLE. During tuition lessons, I make my students write one composition a month. This works out to at least 8 compositions before the PSLE. Good practice makes progression. Good practice makes perfect.

My students often ask me how to improve and I tell them that firstly, they must ensure that their work is done earnestly and diligently, that is, Quality counts. Thereafter, if time permits, Quantity comes in. The math is simple. Writing 5 Quality compositions versus 10 Quality compositions, which is better?

Personally, I admire sportspeople. They understand that practising just that little bit more makes a significant positive difference. Do not get me wrong. I am not advocating over-doing things. Notice that the example given is a manageable 5 versus 10. I am not advocating 5 versus 50.

I want to point out too that most students do not do enough. Rather, they try to get by with the bare minimum. Then, they complain that they do not see good grades and good progression.

To see improvement, students have to work consistently. This is where tuition comes in. The rigour of attending classes weekly (as most classes are once per week), forces students to recap and practice. Such rigour and good effort are important for students to improve and to see good results eventually. There is no short-cut to achieving success. 

Fourth: Attending extra classes & Going the extra mile.

Tuition is, essentially, an extra class. Music classes are conducted in school. Why send a child for piano or violin classes? Physical lessons are conducted in school. Why send a child for swim classes or soccer training?

Well, the answer boils down to the value of Extra Classes. There really is no harm in attending extra classes if one can afford to do so in terms of time, money, effort and so on. To learn more and to learn better, one has to do more. School can only do so much. It is normal and even wise to “outsource” should one want to learn more and achieve more.

Further, there is no gain without pain. If one wants to do well, one does more. That is, one goes the extra mile. Why complain about not attaining the results and not being able to pass or do better when one does not want to attend extra classes (if one can afford it as aforementioned)?

Honestly, I do not understand at all why some people proudly declare that they are “tuition free” and wish to stay “tuition free” as though tuition is Covid-19. I think that their pride is misplaced. I think that such people are ignorant and are simply trying to find justification to back themselves that going “tuition free” is better than having extra classes. Are they blindly trying to go “au naturale”? Why adopt this approach when there are so many wonderful and interesting things that can be learnt from attending extra classes? Personally, I am big on attending various extra classes because there are so many interesting things to learn. View tuition not as a drudgery but as a means for Mind Expansion.

Case in point: My child thanked me for sending her for extra classes because she learnt more and they enhanced her understanding of the subjects and she practised more. She found the extra classes interesting (most of the time) and of course, beneficial. My friend’s child scored A1s for all the subjects that he had tuition. My friend commented that it was an investment that paid off well.

 

For instance, students who attend classes with me learn grammar rules better than in school. My instruction is clearer. I give them tips to help them to remember better. I drill them and recap often. To add on, I provide engaging stories and news to pique students interest in English. Yes, schoolteachers do these too! However, I have an advantage since I am dealing with one student at a time or a small group of students at a time. I do not have to handle a big class of diverse, distracted students.

Case in point: Why look for fitness trainers when one can just run around in the park or use the free fitness equipment available outdoors? This is because Specialised help makes a major difference. It is better to get Specialised help and guidance if one can afford it (as aforementioned). Having a Specialist work with one beats muddling around and hoping that what one does will, somehow, work.

 

Fifth: Conscious development is crucial.

Students do not just pick things up. If it were the case, most of us would be “Jack of All Trades” since we just pick things up!

Students do not just pick up English simply because they speak it and watch cartoons and the like in English. Students do not just pick up English Language Rules simply because they read English books. This is the same for other subjects. Students do not just pick things up. If so, we would all be excellent at Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Economics… simply because we pick things up!

Rather, very deliberate and conscious development is required to get students to learn well.

Since schoolteachers and parents can only do so much, tutors can again come in to “save the day”. Tutors, with their specialised knowledge, teach students and help students to understand their subjects better. Tutors can go in-depth and can spend more time with their students mulling over questions and having longer discussions with them. Clearly, most students benefit from such intentional development of their skills and talents. I highly doubt that anyone who is deemed to be very successful in their fields would be this successful if they did not deliberately develop their skills and talents.

Sixth: Tuition is enriching (for sure) and can be fun.

Often, tuition adds on to what students do and learn in school. Thus, tuition acts like an enrichment where students get to do more and learn more. What harm is there to read another meaningful story and to discuss it? What harm is there to try another few questions to get exposure to different question types and how to answer them? Students get exposure to more things and learn to be evaluative. Students have fun during tuition too! Actually, many students do not dislike tuition. It is just another class for them to attend, much like attending abacus class, art class and so on.

Seventh: Waste not precious time.

I hear some parents saying that they do not wish to burden their children with tuition because childhood is important and that it comes by just once. Well, every age and stage come by just once. My question is: Would you (the parent) want to negatively impact your child’s other stages in life by missing out on consciously developing his/ her skills and talents from a young age?

Through my many years (close to two decades) of teaching, I have noticed that students, who have had their (fun) childhoods, tend to suffer later on because they have not used that time to learn well and to build strong foundations. Trying to make up for lost years in learning and trying to catch up does not bode well for children.

Case in point: Going for extra classes from the age of seven versus going for extra classes at eleven when parents realise that the child is not doing well in school. Which is a better scenario? Time and tide wait for no one. The math is simple. Learning is similar to putting money in the bank and earning compound interest. The earlier one starts, the better it is because more information gets stored from a young age and “interest compounds” because children find that learning feels manageable rather than being a roadblock.

 

Additionally, childhood is not robbed simply because children/ students attend tuition. First, most students still have pockets of time for other activities. Second, students and parents will find time to engage in what is important to them. Having tuition does not rob children of their childhood. It is all about time management. Also, having tuition helps students in the short-term and most of all, in the long term. Students who attend tuition since young tend to do better in school and are more confident learners/ children. When students feel competent, they feel empowered. They feel that they are able and wish to continue to do well academically. This is a positive cycle. (Sadly, the opposite is true.)

Childhood is the perfect time to incorporate good learning and to teach children about the importance of working well to learn. If childhood is not “done well”, children suffer when they reach teen-hood and realise that they are pretty ignorant. Do not waste precious time. It is wise to ensure that children learn well from the start.

I am on the same page as parents who start nurturing their children from babyhood. I mean, why not? There is much to gain and little to lose. For those who worry about burn-out and such negative impacts on children, I’d say once again that I am not advocating over-doing things. I am advocating starting early and being consistent. I am advocating making use of time wisely to ensure that children learn consistently and rigorously. It is better to have a few extra classes once a week from a young age than to try to cram many extra classes later on when the child is older because the parents realise that the child is lagging behind. Playing catch up is arduous and I strongly advise against this. Playing catch up and cramming are what will cause burn-out and frustration. Progressing “slow and steady” from a young age will not. It is best to have consistent and regular teaching in the form of tuition rather than to squander precious time “doing some things that do not matter”. After all, when many parents talk about giving their children an enriching childhood, how many of them actually walk the talk and not get an electronic device like the iPad to babysit their children? How meaningful and enriching is a childhood in which children watch television and YouTube videos passively? I do not think that “Baby Shark” is the most educational of videos out there.

I am FOR tuition and even if I am not a tutor, I strongly believe in the need to send children for tuition. There is, after all, just so much that parents and schoolteachers can do. It takes a village to raise a child and my village certainly requires tutors who have so much to give in terms of imparting knowledge and teaching values to youths. My children and my tutees have definitely benefitted from attending tuition with me or with other good tutors.

Let me use an analogy: Tuition = Cake (because I like cake). There is room for cakes and tarts and confections of all kinds. If one does not favour cakes, there is little need to bash it and speak ill of it. One can simply be appreciative of it and go on to have tarts and other confections.  

© LIN MH, 2022 

Written by LIN MH. All rights in reserved.