To tutor or not to tutor!

[Catseye]

sorry about the grammar and spelling

it was my poor and disadvantaged up bringing that made me do it Gov!

[Mrs H]

In relation to the initial question. My dd did not have a tutor. I did some practice papers with her which was useful to give some exam tips. She did well, scoring enough to get a "strongly recommend" letter from NGHS, but her score is far from safe. In hindsight maybe a tutor could have helped her get a safer score so next time round I might do it differently!

[rabbie burns]

You do what's right for your personal situation. No rights or wrongs. Personally I would not pay large sums of money to someone often less qualified than me to do something I could do myself. That's me trying to be reasonable and not upset anyone. Good luck with whatever you choose.

[quasimodo]

This reminds me of the monty python sketch about the three Yorkshireman. The one where they try to outdo each other with tales of how grim their upbringings were. I do not know what image you have of me but I know it's a long way from free school meals to a masters from what is now laughingly called a russell group university. We all have a tale to tell so having got over that let's discuss education in 2014.

You must have a masters in astrology!!!!How did you guess I went to school in Yorkshire and regard Geoffrey Boycott as the greatest Englishman who ever lived. If you want to discuss education in 2014 maybe I should take you to some of the schools in my area and I can introduce you to the resident police officers.

[quasimodo]

https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/PCOX01/PCOX01.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A useful research link into the scope of the work of police officers in two English police force areas. This was produced in 2011 but helps inform the current debate.
I am sorry if I upset anyone who has anxieties about their child's future schooling. We shouldn't however shy away from dealing with the truthful realities.

[rabbie burns]

Of course there are schools where life for the children is more difficult than at for example a selective school. My problem with this debate is that your view is one dimensional. The truthful reality for most people is that their children go to an ok school. Many go to a good school. Some go to a very good school and yes some go to a failing school. There are some great comprehensives in South Birmingham. There are some not so good ones.

We all look for the best school possible but of course that is greatly influenced by social class and income but thats another thread altogether. I am now planning to leave this thread alone.

[quasimodo]

R B please don't leave, it was just getting interesting.Unfortunately for all of us we are coloured by our own experiences and those around us.
I think there is some confusion in our debate with terminology in areas there are grammar schools the so called Comprehensives are what I regard as Secondary Moderns.In such an area if I want what I regard as a good education for my child the choices I have to make are either selective or independent.I have no doubt in certain areas there will be very good comprehensives.My problem is I don't believe one size can fit all and in those circumstances someone loses out.

[bluejay]

Yes I agree R-B the thread has taken a different direction but we are all adults with very different opinions and experiences.
As long as we all respect and remember that before we press the submit button - everything will be just fine. I think comments always come across differently when written and can so easily get misconstrued. This has happened to me so many times when i text people.

Think about what we all have in common.... lovely caring parents who want the best for our DC!

[succeed]

https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/PCOX01/PCOX01.pdf
A useful research link into the scope of the work of police officers in two English police force areas. This was produced in 2011 but helps inform the current debate.
I am sorry if I upset anyone who has anxieties about their child's future schooling. We shouldn't however shy away from dealing with the truthful realities.

Can I just say that this ridiculous experiment has quite rightly been scrapped. The official line being that police no longer have the human resources available to 'police schools'. The 'truthful reality' is quite different. As anyone with a shred of common sense would realise, the only effect it had was of stigmatising a school and alarming prospective parents unnecessarily. It sent out the message that schools were full of dangerous criminals rather than the 'truthful reality' which is that a proportion of kids, usually non academic and yes often from deprived backgrounds, do not fit neatly or willingly into the construct of school and the national curriculum, which requires them to sit obediently at a desk for hours on end, knowing they are regarded as the 'thickos' by their brighter peers.

On the issue of tuition, my own personal views about grammar schools are coloured by my understanding of the original purpose of these establishments. That purpose being to facilitate an environment in which genuinely very bright children would come together to be stretched, 'bounce off each other' and thrive in a way not always possible in a comprehensive due to the 'scattering' of very bright children and other conflicting priorities of the school itself.
To that end, I really, really don't think tuition for a bright child is necessary from the age of 7. In fact, for a bright young child, I would go further and suggest the tedium of tuition is quite damaging and would squash their creativity and curiosity for learning as they start to obsess with formulaic techniques from such a young age to gain maximum marks.

Although I do respect peoples own experiences which lead them down this route, I honestly think over tuition is soul destroying and doesn't lead to a better result than a bright child who had mild tuition for less than a year before the test.

[bluejay]

Although I do respect peoples own experiences which lead them down this route, I honestly think over tuition is soul destroying and doesn't lead to a better result than a bright child who had mild tuition for less than a year before the test.

Yes, succeed i wholeheartedly second that.... a year is more than sufficient and anything more than that "in my opinion" is too much. As i said before children should be allowed to be children and you only have one childhood. Again, everyone has the right to do what is best for them and their child and we don't know anyone else's circumstances, experiences or reasoning for starting their children preparing for grammar school so early on.
I was referring to my own experience of mums i had spoken to 3 years back at my DC's school when their children were in Year 1/2.

Each to their own!