Tutoring, and expectations. (1 Viewer)

[Carrotsticks]

Many parents (unfortunately) have the mentality that if they throw more money into the pot for their children's tuition, then they expect to have more marks in the end.

Sometimes, the tuition provides little/no benefit, and the parent blames the tuition college/private tutor.

Discuss.

 

[ZombieApocalypse]

I completely agree. There was this really expensive tutor I used to go to that charged $100 a lesson. They encouraged not going to school just to attend tutoring classes during the day (during the hsc btw). Encouraged forsaking all subjects except math, and they forced people into dropping 4u because the tutor perceived it as a waste of time.

Gave ridiculous amounts of homework which was expected to be completed (literally 50 pages every week), and if it wasn't completed, they actually issued detention. No matter how much money parents invest in a tutor or child, if the tutor (or child) has a bad attitude or mentality, the kid will probably not succeed. I do think tutors have an important role not only as an individual that teaches content, but as someone who motivates and keeps the kid on track.

I failed all my subjects in year 11, and did quite averagely in maths. When I dropped just before the HSC started, it gave me the time to concentrate on my school work, rather than what the tutor's work. All my ranks went up, and although I bombed 3u maths, I think i would've bombed my hsc if i stayed.

 

[nightweaver066]

I feel as if my parents also fit in to this. I recall hearing one of my parents say a few weeks ago that they expect great marks, "99+", from the amount of money they've invested in my education (I've been forced to go tuition since a young age). I wouldn't say tuition didn't help at all, but it was my change in mentality from year 11 onwards that drove me through studies was when I really improved.

They believe that tuition is essential to do well in the HSC. This became apparent when I decided to quit English tuition (from a highly respectable college) mid year 12 as I knew I could spend that time better by honing my English essay writing skills by myself having consistently been achieving mediocre (~50%) marks. After this, they would always badger me about English tutoring, saying I'll fail if I don't go and that tuition will raise my marks.

In the end, I achieved a band 6 in English (yay).

 

[enoilgam]

As I have said many times on BoS, the greatest determinant of a student's marks is the student themselves. Tutoring can help, but the usefulness and effectiveness of tuition is largely dependent upon the student.

 

[nifkeh]

agree, but if the student hates the teaching there and is forced to go there despite their public objections to them then in most cases a 'good' mark is hard to achieve as a result

or if the student sits there, absorbs the info and forgets it by the next week or fails to consolidate it then it is effectively a waste of money because the knowledge hasn't been put to use. it is only valid when the parent complains that the tutoring centre or tutor is 'bad' when the student honestly states that it is too slow or that what they were tested in school didn't correspond to what they paid to learn at the tutor.

but it also depends on the type of parent, if they are the ones who do not care to check whether their children complete the hw or not then they are more likely to blame the tutoring centre for not improving their marks as they haven't investigated the 'truth' behind it. unless the tutor tells them within the dispute that they never marked or received their homework from the student then the parent will know that maybe it isn't the tutoring centre's fault the whole time and it actually their child's responsibility.

it is assumed logical that if you pay for more services to help your child that it will help them get back on track but if the child fails to cooperate then the tutoring will not do much for the child.

I went to english tutor, but I found it a waste of time because they were doing another AoS and overall I didn't find it helpful so I haven't went back since. I went to maths tutoring for term 2 this year, I'd say it helped but since I never really did the homework I would say that the knowledge I had learnt was not retained in my head since I failed to practice it and so I can't blame the tutoring centre for not helping get ahead because they can only do so much to help you.

tutoring isn't necessary for success but it can be very helpful for some parts that your school tends to avoid teaching in depth or if you have trouble learning a concept efficiently then I would say it would be of benefit. As for tutoring for being ahead of the school, I say it really helped to familiarise your knowledge and so you would know what the teacher is talking about in class rather than without background information. I would say tutoring is both positive for both the parents and the student only if you are dedicated to learning and not simply going because you were forced, or with a private tutor simply going with unprepared questions or empty handed because you did not do your homework to see which questions you are really having trouble with

 

[Kiraken]

Having worked in a tutoring college, I have seen some students who would rock up and literally do nothing for the whole class, regardless of how much the teacher tried to motivate them. When asked why they even bothered showing up, it was because their parents forced them to come, so they come but have no motivation to even try working, wasting their time and the time of the tutors and other students in class

 

[Trebla]

As I have said many times on BoS, the greatest determinant of a student's marks is the student themselves. Tutoring can help, but the usefulness and effectiveness of tuition is largely dependent upon the student.

This.

Tutoring is meant to be a supplement to school, not a replacement for school.

There are two different 'forces' at work here that primarily determine the success of tuition; the quality of the student and the tutor (in terms of attitude and commitment). Tutoring is effective if the student has a desire to learn and put in the extra yards AND the tutor is commited to providing the best resources for the student to utilise. It is more or less a team effort.

Tutoring is especially helpful if the school teacher doesn't know jack.

 

[Kurosaki]

Why would they waste their parents money like that, have they no shame money doesn't grow on trees

 

[starshine02]

Yeah. Parents these days tend to think that expensive or a lot of tutoring will definitely guarantee their child a higher mark in the end. Tutoring can definitely help a student achieve higher marks but I think it also really depends on the student's work ethic as well. I think making the assumption that a more expensive tutor can give the student higher marks is like assuming that a more expensive hair product can make your hair shinier - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I think the marks a student receives is more based on themselves being motivated and studying hard etc rather than how much their tutor charges.

I've often heard many of my family friend's parents saying things like "We'll be really disappointed in you if you don't get 99% in your exams because of all the money that we have invested into your tutoring". I think sometimes, tutoring actually puts additional pressure on the student to do well because they know that their parents will expect better of them due to all the money that they've invested into their tutoring.

Sometimes the students themselves seem to think that tutoring automatically means higher marks too. I remember once I was talking to this girl after a maths exam about the usual post-exam stuff like how it went etc and we got to the point where we were predicting our own marks and then she suddenly said something along the lines of "Well I'm predicting that I'm probably going to do better than you because you don't go tutoring and I go 6 hours of maths tutoring a week". Turns out I got way better than her in the exam (lol). But I just don't think that kind of mentality is good because I don't really see how having an expensive tutor or going tutoring for an insane period of time can definitely give you higher marks.

 

[2xL]

Many parents (unfortunately) have the mentality that if they throw more money into the pot for their children's tuition, then they expect to have more marks in the end.

Sometimes, the tuition provides little/no benefit, and the parent blames the tuition college/private tutor.

Discuss.

The student has got to simply realise that good results in the HSC require work and effort on the behalf of the student, and this should empower them to work. Forcing tuition down the student's throat will be pointless and it's a sad reality that parents don't understand this.

 

[zeebobDD]

Honestly i felt that tutoring in years 9 & 10 and below had no effect on me at all, it was quite pointless and many of the students who tutored with me would barely attempt the work given, then their parents would complain about their son/daughter failing.. it was more like a socialising place for most rather than extra education..or maybe the kids who i tutored with were just idiots.. who knows :/

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Many parents (unfortunately) have the mentality that if they throw more money into the pot for their children's tuition, then they expect to have more marks in the end.

Sometimes, the tuition provides little/no benefit, and the parent blames the tuition college/private tutor.

Discuss.

Pretty crazy that parents expect the tutor to be a miracle thing...chances are they more need to look to the attitudes they have instilled in their child. PROTIP: Being overbearing and perstering your kids all the time about schoolwork kinda makes them spoonfed learners who lack the intrinsic motivation themselves.

I think a kid needs to want tutoring themselves for it to be effective, or be really struggling. Without the attitude in the student themselves, what's a tutor to do? They're not babysitters and neither should school teachers have to be in snr school.

 

[funstudy]

It really depends on the student- how much they are willing to apply. It also depends on the quality of the tuition place- reasonable prices, good quality teachers, good homework program etc.

 

[SpiralFlex]

Stealing my thread idea Carrot. I'm kidding, would have been too lazy to make one.

The HSC has glorified tutoring too much in my opinion. Also it's also because these tutoring companies are somehow promising marks and success which is quite outrageous. Also, what tutoring centres also do to claim this is to show results by students which further adds to the false perception acquired by the parents.

Really it is way beyond the tutor's power to pursue these expectations fully, they can't control what the student does at home.

The tutoring debate is like this.

The parents mentality: "Give a student a fish and feed them lifetime", instead of "Give a student a fish, feed them for a day. Teach a student how to fish, feed them for a lifetime"

 

[jnney]

Many parents (unfortunately) have the mentality that if they throw more money into the pot for their children's tuition, then they expect to have more marks in the end. **1

Sometimes, the tuition provides little/no benefit, and the parent blames the tuition college/private tutor. **2

**1 This frustrates me the most. Imagine if you had to get from point A to B with 7 fridges. School provides you with a truck,and tutoring provides you with fuel. You are the only person who can sit in the drivers seat. It's on you.

**2 It's true that some private tutoring colleges/ tutors are just crap, or their method of teaching isn't compatible with how a student learns most effectively. If that's the case, it's the student's responsibility to bring that up to their parents, and discuss whether it's better for them to quit tutoring all together or trial another tuition. However, some parents will refuse to open up to their child's perspective, because so and so's daughter went to this place and is now in medicine, or because this place has an established reputation where 90% of its students get 90+ ATAR.

Another way to look at this is (if private), the tutor having the responsibility to adjust teaching methods to suit their student. If this is still not working out, see sentence two in **2.

But if the student is really struggling, and parents have the mind set of sentence 3 in **2, I think the weight of responsibility lies on the parents and maybe the tutor (I'm not sure about this one, it can be argued both ways.)

 

[jnney]

Sometimes the students themselves seem to think that tutoring automatically means higher marks too. I remember once I was talking to this girl after a maths exam about the usual post-exam stuff like how it went etc and we got to the point where we were predicting our own marks and then she suddenly said something along the lines of "Well I'm predicting that I'm probably going to do better than you because you don't go tutoring and I go 6 hours of maths tutoring a week". Turns out I got way better than her in the exam (lol). But I just don't think that kind of mentality is good because I don't really see how having an expensive tutor or going tutoring for an insane period of time can definitely give you higher marks.

This is really sad too, especially if a student puts the weight of responsibility on his/her tutor / tutoring college and their family is financially struggling.

 

[Drongoski]

This.

Tutoring is meant to be a supplement to school, not a replacement for school.

There are two different 'forces' at work here that primarily determine the success of tuition; the quality of the student and the tutor (in terms of attitude and commitment). Tutoring is effective if the student has a desire to learn and put in the extra yards AND the tutor is commited to providing the best resources for the student to utilise. It is more or less a team effort.

Tutoring is especially helpful if the school teacher doesn't know jack.

Agree 100% with above and many other posts.

If money alone can buy results, then the children of the wealthy, if they even so cared i.e., would have an overwhelming advantage. Fortunately, there is no Royal Road in mathematics.

As I have often said, I cannot turn a sow's ears into a silk purse. It has been my lot, in over 10 years of private tutoring, to have many struggling students; I wish I could get them a Band 6 or an E4.

 

[tony1984]

As I have said many times on BoS, the greatest determinant of a student's marks is the student themselves. Tutoring can help, but the usefulness and effectiveness of tuition is largely dependent upon the student.

Pretty much sums up everything.

 

[someth1ng]

Pretty crazy that parents expect the tutor to be a miracle thing...chances are they more need to look to the attitudes they have instilled in their child. PROTIP: Being overbearing and perstering your kids all the time about schoolwork kinda makes them spoonfed learners who lack the intrinsic motivation themselves.

I think a kid needs to want tutoring themselves for it to be effective, or be really struggling. Without the attitude in the student themselves, what's a tutor to do? They're not babysitters and neither should school teachers have to be in snr school.

I disagree with this phrase, it doesn't make them spoonfed learners - my parents were like this and all it does is piss the shit outta me but that's probably because what they tell me to do is already what I'm doing.

 

[nerdasdasd]

Students must be able motivate themselves and to push themselves. The reliance on parents or tutors to push kids is ineffective.....