Tutor Dilemma

Discussion of the 11 Plus

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MumInTrafford
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:25 am
Location: Sale, Cheshire

Tutor Dilemma

Post by MumInTrafford »

My daughter is just finishing Yr4 and talk at the school gates is now all about 11+ and tutors for the next school year.
Please can anyone explain what tutors do. Do most just have a one hour lesson at weekend with practice papers during the week?
I would like to think that in 15 months I can tutor her myself but I'm worrying that I'm being naive.
I get the impression other parents look down their noses at me when I dare to say I'm thinking of doing it myself.
What do you all think of a strict timetable eg. practicing a different maths topic each week with NVR during the week.
Any advice would be great.
Thanks in advance.
Barbara
Bex
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Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:49 pm
Location: Wales

Post by Bex »

Apart from the financial implications, whether you hire a private tutor will depend on your time commitments. Don't worry what other people say in the school playground. I successfully home tutored my eldest son and am in the process of tutoring his brother now for the 11 plus exams. There is some great material out there for parents including daily practice papers, sometimes little and often is better than an hour long lesson once or twice a week.
Good Luck
MumInTrafford
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:25 am
Location: Sale, Cheshire

Post by MumInTrafford »

Thanks Bex,
I'm thinking if I try and tutor her myself I'll have a better understanding of her capabilities and know what little games and tests to play to encourage her in areas she's not as good in aswell as the more 'serious' studying.
Obviously I want her to get into GS, but not if I feel she would really struggle with her work. I don't think she will struggle as she's quite near the top of her class, but I don't want to be a pushy mum pressurising her.
I'm hoping a gradual learning structure will be good instead of cram-revising later on.
I've found some good websites with learning tips and games, but do you have any you found particularly good?
Barbara
TraffordMum
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Location: Trafford

Post by TraffordMum »

Hello MumInTrafford. Our names are very similar. Are we related? ;)

You don't NEED a tutor, but some parents do not understand this, some are not confident of being able to provide the right support and some just like to be one up on everyone else and book their tutor back in Year 1.

I think it is perfectly feasible to do it yourself, as long as you are aware that you will have to cover Yr 6 maths as well as Yr 5 maths, since Yr 6 work does crop up in the exams. I think you also need to be honest about how well your child will take instruction from you, how up to date you are with modern maths teaching (since they do a lot of things in a totally different way to how our generation was taught and burst into tears at the drop of a hat if you suggest they might tackle long multiplication your way), and how disciplined you can be about making sure the work is done regularly.

Since my eldest and I are from different planets when it comes to learning styles we took the decision to have her tutored for maths by a tutor, which worked well. I then covered VR and NVR and that went well too. We are doing the same with No 2.

Timetabling is tricky since it depends on your schedule and any other children you may have. We try to do either an hour's VR or an hour's NVR every weekend and then there's 2 hours maths during the week. We started maths at the beginning of Yr 5 and VR/NVR in January of Yr 5.
Belinda
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Post by Belinda »

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Glos_Mum
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Post by Glos_Mum »

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twellsmum
Posts: 349
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:16 pm
Location: Tunbridge Wells, Kent

11+ exams

Post by twellsmum »

Hi, I am new here but my view is that if a child needs tutoring from the start of Y5 to pass the 11+ then they are not going to hack it once they actually get to the grammar. I went through our local grammar school myself (where I would like DD1 to go) and there were girls there who had passed and shouldn't have done and they struggled terribly and probably ended up with worse O level results than if they had gone to a comp/sec modern.

My DD1 sits the 11+ in September. We now have a tutor for her for maths not because she is not good at it but because Kent suddenly moved the 11+ from January 09 to September 08 and barely any of the state schools will be able to finish the maths syllabus so she is having extra maths to fill in teh gaps. Otherwise I am just doing hte odd Bond paper with her on verbal and non verbal reasoning.

HTH!
Tracy
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Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:28 am
Location: Bexley

Post by Tracy »

twellsmum, what you are saying is, to a degree, true. There are kids in those grammar schools who shouldn't be there. They have been tutored virtually from birth! Most of us on this forum would agree wih you. BUT, those same children, as they have been tutored to pass this one exam, may be taking the place of your child, who may be more gifted academically, but on the day doesn't pass the test.

Lots of us here have been through it before and experience tells us that it is not a level playing field out there. Some have had the painful experience of going through the appeals afterwards. Not all children at the top of their classes pass the 11+, heavily tutored kids normally do!
yoyo123
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Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

It all depends on how confident you feel and how you and your child get on with working wth each other. I am a teacher and 11+ tutor, but know that when my children were younger they never listened to me as i was "just mum" and whereas I had infinite patience at work I had no patience at all when it came to my own children.
MumInTrafford
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:25 am
Location: Sale, Cheshire

Post by MumInTrafford »

Thanks for all the replies.
Twellsmum - I worry about pressurising my DD and then seeing her struggle in GS. Do we want them top set of the comprehensive or bottom of the GS.
Do most of you have tutoring on a one-to-one basis?
Anyone got any thoughts of tutoring in groups or 8-10?
To make me feel worse, I took home one of her friends today who told me where her tutor lives (in really excited tone), and told me of someone else who's having this tutor.
I know I shouldn't bother what others say, but the mums give you that "you can't really love your daughter if you're not getting a private tutor" look.
Glos_mum - I agree totally with the tutor snobbery out there. But I hate the way it's making me feel inadequate.
Tracy - why do you think heavily tutored kids pass? Is it because the tutors have explained things better than the parents or is it all about the exam situation practice ie. why are tutors treated as Gods!
Barbara
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