Thoughts on preparation, tutors etc.
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 12:13 pm
Was replaying to something on another thread and got carried away - so thought it would be better if I cut and paste into new thread.
My two pennies worth on this topic, given we have completed this first experience for us with our eldest. (Which we have to repeat again this Sept. for younger daughter )
In an ideal world, everybody would come to an agreement that none of their children would eschew all preparation. They would all just turn up, and innate ability would win out. Funnily enough, where I grew up in Kent (A place with probably a higher percentage of grammar school places than anywhere else - and hence less cut-throat competition for places) that was pretty much how it was 25-30 years ago
But in Birmingham, where grammar places are much more scarce (And hence competition much fiercer) it's human nature that some people would seek a small advantage.
Once even just a few people have done that, it inevitably becomes a classic, self perpetuating arms race.
So long as some people are doing preparation and practice, any child not doing some is going to struggle to show what they are capable of in comparison.
Certainly going to struggle without practicing working to the speed required for CEM 11+, and without having some experience/practice of all the NVR oddities the children will never come across before. (And will likely never see again)
That said... over and above a certain amount of preparation and practice, there are clearly diminishing returns. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it can become counter productive above a certain level, in terms of fatigue, pressure etc.
On the flip side I would also suggest people take a slightly sceptical view of what some other parents tell you they did (Or are doing) with their kids. If you took some of it at face value, it could make you a bit complacent about how much practice you need to do.
I know what a number of parents who have given us one version of what their sons/daughters were doing in terms of preparation/practice - but we have subsequently been given the reality from DS who gets the unfiltered version at school!
One parent claimed to us that their son 'just flatly refused to do any practice or study', and were 'having to just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best'.
Their son then let slip to ours that he was seeing 3 different tutors a week!
If you canvassed opinion, you'd probably get the impression not many kids see tutors, and some successful kids just do a couple of hours of DIY practice/prep.
However, the size of the tutor industry would suggest that reality is a bit different
But the big question.... do tutors give you something you couldn't do as a parent yourself?
Ultimately there's very little I've seen them offer that couldn't be done yourself with CGP/Bond books and a bit of research. (This forum for example)
But having said all that, we did have a tutor for 1 hour a week for a few months (In addition to DIY over the summer) - and I'll explain why.
One massive advantage that the tutor offered was the very fact that they were a stranger (And some kind of authority figure) telling them to do work. (And not their parents nagging them to do it)
We could theoretically done most everything the tutor did with the kids ourselves (And in the the weeks leading up to the exam, we even found ourselves repeating 10 minute tests the tutor had used a couple of months before)
But from my personal point of view, I would say it was almost worth the money to not have to have weekly arguments with the kids about sitting down and concentrating on some extra work for 1 hour a week.
Of course not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford this indulgence - but as I said, you could certainly do most everything a tutor does yourself with the right materials, right organisation, and motivated enough child.
One thing I wish I'd done in hindsight, is to forgo 1/3 of the tutor sessions in favour of a mock test at a test centre.
Despite our best efforts at keeping him calm, our son found the whole test morning (And the formal exam setting) quite stressful.
It's all worked out OK in the end for DS (Squeezed over the line for FW) - but I'm sure we'd have had a slightly less anxious few months had our son been through at least one realistic practice outside of the home before the actual test day.
My two pennies worth on this topic, given we have completed this first experience for us with our eldest. (Which we have to repeat again this Sept. for younger daughter )
In an ideal world, everybody would come to an agreement that none of their children would eschew all preparation. They would all just turn up, and innate ability would win out. Funnily enough, where I grew up in Kent (A place with probably a higher percentage of grammar school places than anywhere else - and hence less cut-throat competition for places) that was pretty much how it was 25-30 years ago
But in Birmingham, where grammar places are much more scarce (And hence competition much fiercer) it's human nature that some people would seek a small advantage.
Once even just a few people have done that, it inevitably becomes a classic, self perpetuating arms race.
So long as some people are doing preparation and practice, any child not doing some is going to struggle to show what they are capable of in comparison.
Certainly going to struggle without practicing working to the speed required for CEM 11+, and without having some experience/practice of all the NVR oddities the children will never come across before. (And will likely never see again)
That said... over and above a certain amount of preparation and practice, there are clearly diminishing returns. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it can become counter productive above a certain level, in terms of fatigue, pressure etc.
On the flip side I would also suggest people take a slightly sceptical view of what some other parents tell you they did (Or are doing) with their kids. If you took some of it at face value, it could make you a bit complacent about how much practice you need to do.
I know what a number of parents who have given us one version of what their sons/daughters were doing in terms of preparation/practice - but we have subsequently been given the reality from DS who gets the unfiltered version at school!
One parent claimed to us that their son 'just flatly refused to do any practice or study', and were 'having to just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best'.
Their son then let slip to ours that he was seeing 3 different tutors a week!
If you canvassed opinion, you'd probably get the impression not many kids see tutors, and some successful kids just do a couple of hours of DIY practice/prep.
However, the size of the tutor industry would suggest that reality is a bit different
But the big question.... do tutors give you something you couldn't do as a parent yourself?
Ultimately there's very little I've seen them offer that couldn't be done yourself with CGP/Bond books and a bit of research. (This forum for example)
But having said all that, we did have a tutor for 1 hour a week for a few months (In addition to DIY over the summer) - and I'll explain why.
One massive advantage that the tutor offered was the very fact that they were a stranger (And some kind of authority figure) telling them to do work. (And not their parents nagging them to do it)
We could theoretically done most everything the tutor did with the kids ourselves (And in the the weeks leading up to the exam, we even found ourselves repeating 10 minute tests the tutor had used a couple of months before)
But from my personal point of view, I would say it was almost worth the money to not have to have weekly arguments with the kids about sitting down and concentrating on some extra work for 1 hour a week.
Of course not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford this indulgence - but as I said, you could certainly do most everything a tutor does yourself with the right materials, right organisation, and motivated enough child.
One thing I wish I'd done in hindsight, is to forgo 1/3 of the tutor sessions in favour of a mock test at a test centre.
Despite our best efforts at keeping him calm, our son found the whole test morning (And the formal exam setting) quite stressful.
It's all worked out OK in the end for DS (Squeezed over the line for FW) - but I'm sure we'd have had a slightly less anxious few months had our son been through at least one realistic practice outside of the home before the actual test day.