Private tuition. When do you stop?

Discussion and advice on GCSEs

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eleven
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:53 am

Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by eleven »

Just would like opinion on when to stop private tuition.

A child was coached from the age of 8 or 9 to pass the 11+ and now in a top grammar school and performing reasonably well. Why then is there a need for private tuition for gcse.

Is this the new trend or competition is that fierce?
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by kenyancowgirl »

I have to say, this example makes me feel so sad. I think it sums up everything that has gone wrong with the gs system. If a child needed to be coached from age 8 to get into the gs and then, even with continued private tuition, is performing only reasonably well, does this not imply that maybe they were not necessarily gs material to start with? A levels are roughly 3 times harder than GCSEs and most degrees are harder still...I hope the parents are prepared for the long haul and the tutor is offering them a long term discount! :wink:
eleven
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:53 am

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by eleven »

Sorry kenyancowgirl, perhaps my post was not very clear.


What I meant is that a child was coached to pass the 11+ does not really matter when the coaching started, this child is doing well in the current super selective gs and meets all targets set by the school.


There are still parents who think this is not good enough and would supplement with private tuition for gcse.

I am not saying that the child needs private tuition. Maybe this is now part of the education system. Hence my question, at what point do you stop private tuition.
KB
Posts: 3030
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:28 pm

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by KB »

Think this rather depends on individual circumstances.
Clearly the GS should be providing in broad terms but can see that some children might need help in a specific subject for all sorts of reasons whether long term or short term to overcome a specific problem.
Issue of 'meeting targets' isn't always straight forward - if for some reason the targets do not reflect the child's potential.
Not sure its a bad lesson for children to realise that with hard work they can achieve in a subject they find tricky.
Cant believe many people would want us to take up the Asian system of 18 hour days for our children though!!
sbarnes
Posts: 583
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 7:30 pm

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by sbarnes »

in a class of 30 regardless of state school or indie school it is impossible for the teacher to focus on any 1 student. Supplementary assistance is crucial unless student is exceptionally brilliant and grasps concepts at the first attempt. This assistance may be from the parent or external tutelage. Thats my own opinion at least. Come results day, I don't want to be saying to myself, if only I had ...
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by Guest55 »

sbarnes - I disagree. I know exactly how well each of my students are doing.

A good teacher will see every student in every lesson and mark their books weekly. I'm always around at lunchtime and after school for additional help as are most of my colleagues.
DC17C
Posts: 1197
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:34 pm

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by DC17C »

sbarnes wrote:in a class of 30 regardless of state school or indie school it is impossible for the teacher to focus on any 1 student. Supplementary assistance is crucial unless student is exceptionally brilliant and grasps concepts at the first attempt. This assistance may be from the parent or external tutelage. Thats my own opinion at least. Come results day, I don't want to be saying to myself, if only I had ...
......but surely the children that get grammar school places should be the ones able enough to grasp concepts easily? :lol:
Last edited by DC17C on Thu Jan 02, 2014 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by Amber »

sbarnes wrote:in a class of 30 regardless of state school or indie school it is impossible for the teacher to focus on any 1 student. Supplementary assistance is crucial unless student is exceptionally brilliant and grasps concepts at the first attempt. This assistance may be from the parent or external tutelage. Thats my own opinion at least. Come results day, I don't want to be saying to myself, if only I had ...
Totally disagree with this. I have never provided 'supplementary assistance' to any of my by no means 'exceptionally brilliant' offspring, and they all seem to do very well without it. And I'm not alone- most of my friends parent like this and there are childen I know personally dotted around various red brick universities studying highly regarded subjects to prove it. I firmly believe it is the responsibility of the child to revise for its own exams and if anyone is saying 'if only I had...' on results day then it should be your child and not you!

Goodness, where would it end? The job interview? The masters degree? Show them a good example of a work ethic, ensure then know where to go for assistance if they need it (free!) and then let them get on with it. Independence is something to be encouraged, and running after them with a safety net and an army of tutors is not only unnecessary, it is damaging to their need to grow up and move on.
DC17C
Posts: 1197
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:34 pm

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by DC17C »

I totally agree - Amber..... where is that "like" button.


I was chatting the other day to DD who wanted to discuss a friend at school who is older. She was telling DD how unhappy she was as her parents had chosen her GCSE subjects for her. She wanted to do Art at GCSE so she could go on to do it at A level. It was a subject she felt she was good at and loved and was miserable because of she was not allowed to make the choice herself- I thought that was a bit of an odd thing to do it did not sound like she was being unreasonable.
Last edited by DC17C on Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
JSN

Re: Private tuition. When do you stop?

Post by JSN »

Amber wrote:Goodness, where would it end? The job interview? The masters degree?
or Oxbridge where they get one to one tutoring for 3 yrs :lol:
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