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Tutoring required for band 6? (1 Viewer)

fizzbylightning

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I am a bit on the anti-tutoring side because I feel that people exploit the system and I know I will get negativity in saying this but it makes me feel a bit ill thinking about all those extreme high achievers who got their high marks as a result of forking out the $$$ on tutoring. Idk there is probably a thread somewhere on this matter but what do you guys think?
 

braintic

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I am a bit on the anti-tutoring side because I feel that people exploit the system and I know I will get negativity in saying this but it makes me feel a bit ill thinking about all those extreme high achievers who got their high marks as a result of forking out the $$$ on tutoring. Idk there is probably a thread somewhere on this matter but what do you guys think?
I'd go as far to say that tutoring should be outlawed. All students should start from a level playing field, and people who are prepared to fork out lots of money should not get an advantage.

(I say this after having done tutoring myself for a long time.)

At the very least the industry should be regulated, with all tutors being required to have an Australian teaching degree, and a minimum number of years teaching in high schools. And tutors should not be permitted to start teaching course material before high schools are allowed to - why shouldn't the same rules apply to them?
 

ChillTime

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I'd go as far to say that tutoring should be outlawed. All students should start from a level playing field, and people who are prepared to fork out lots of money should not get an advantage.

(I say this after having done tutoring myself for a long time.)

At the very least the industry should be regulated, with all tutors being required to have an Australian teaching degree, and a minimum number of years teaching in high schools. And tutors should not be permitted to start teaching course material before high schools are allowed to - why shouldn't the same rules apply to them?
I've helped some intelligent students realise their potential by tutoring them. It's not a level playing field and there are many things outside of the student's control: e.g. there was a girl in a Catholic school who did not have a chemistry teacher for her entire HSC and was just learning off the textbook; she had to crash a biology class to ask that teacher a few question.

Plus tutoring only works if a student puts in the effort, it's not a remedy for laziness.

I can understand how some people dislike tuition techniques that focus on rote learning, that's not what education should be about.

To say tutoring should be outlawed because it gives some students an edge, is to say sports coaching should be outlawed because it gives some athletes an edge.
 

RealiseNothing

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I am a bit on the anti-tutoring side because I feel that people exploit the system and I know I will get negativity in saying this but it makes me feel a bit ill thinking about all those extreme high achievers who got their high marks as a result of forking out the $$$ on tutoring. Idk there is probably a thread somewhere on this matter but what do you guys think?
Honestly, most of the extreme high achievers in maths don't go to tutoring.
 

ChillTime

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Honestly, most of the extreme high achievers in maths don't go to tutoring.
That's generally true, with the exception of my friend who got a perfect 100 UAI with copious amounts of tuition and study. He studied so hard, he spent a brief period in hospital.
 

Drongoski

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Really? How does a teaching degree make you a better tutor?
 
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Drongoski

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How does an engineering degree make you a better engineer?
In that case why are thousands of students every year seeking tutoring from the mostly "unqualified" providers? Shouldn't the teaching by qualified teachers in schools suffice? Why?
 
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ChillTime

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How does an engineering degree make you a better engineer?
Most degrees provide a good foundation of theory, but they also have a lot of "fat". You only become good at your profession through on the job experience and self-improvement.

If we're going to compare teaching degrees to engineering degrees. You can be a good teacher if you're a good communicator and you know your subject material, even without studying pedagogy. You're more likely to need the foundation subjects like mathematics and mechanics to understand what's going on in a technical engineering role.

Btw, Salman Khan doesn't have an teaching degree, but he's wildly successful at his work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Khan_(educator)
 
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braintic

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Most degrees provide a good foundation of theory, but they also have a lot of "fat". You only become good at your profession through on the job experience and self-improvement.

If we're going to compare teaching degrees to engineering degrees. You can be a good teacher if you're a good communicator and you know your subject material, even without studying pedagogy. You're more likely to need the foundation subjects like mathematics and mechanics to understand what's going on in a technical engineering role.
The point is that engineers would not permit anyone without an engineering degree to take on a purely engineering role, regardless of how much experience he might have. For starters, they have not gone through the rigorous checks required by the Institute of Engineers.

Teachers should be protected in the same way. Allowing people to teach without a degree cheapens the profession. Allowing 15 year olds to tutor makes the profession comparable to working in McDonalds. Why should someone be able to earn money in a field in which they are not qualified?

Its true I'm sure that there are many good unqualified tutors out there - but who checks their ability, their suitability and their knowledge? Why don't they have to undergo the same child protection checks as do teachers? At the very least, tutors should be required to place their names on a register, and can be struck off the register for misconduct and unprofessionalism. (And the details of the register should be sent to the tax office).
 

braintic

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In that case why are thousands of students every year seeking tutoring from the mostly "unqualified" providers? Shouldn't the teaching by qualified teachers in schools suffice? Why?
Because unqualified tutors provide their service at ridiculously low prices. That is the only reason.

In any case, it is interesting that people are only choosing to pick on my 'at the very least' scenario.

If anyone cares to read my original post, I believe that ALL tutoring should be banned, regardless of the qualifications of the tutor.
 
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ChillTime

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Its true I'm sure that there are many good unqualified tutors out there - but who checks their ability, their suitability and their knowledge? Why don't they have to undergo the same child protection checks as do teachers? At the very least, tutors should be required to place their names on a register, and can be struck off the register for misconduct and unprofessionalism. (And the details of the register should be sent to the tax office).
I've had to do a working with children check for my last 3 tutoring jobs, it's compulsory for all tutors. If it weren't for the fact that I stumbled into tutoring work and enjoyed it, I would never have been inspired to study an M Teach and pursue a teaching career.

I get what you're saying about official qualifications and it is necessary for doctors (although still rife with bureaucratic inefficiency); but at the moment a teaching degree from a university does not adequately screen the good teachers from the bad, nor does it adequately train teachers in behaviour mangement. There should be a lot more mock class room scenarios in tutorials and way less bullshit theoretical assignments (as described by my friends who studied teaching in the top 2 universities in Sydney). Same applies to engineering.
 

ChillTime

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Because unqualified tutors provide their service at ridiculously low prices. That is the only reason.

In any case, it is interesting that people are only choosing to pick on my 'at the very least' scenario.

If anyone cares to read my original post, I believe that ALL tutoring should be banned, regardless of the qualifications of the tutor.
You seem to have much more faith in bureaucracy than I do.

Can I ask about your background, are you a high school teacher? If you are one, then I'm sure you're aware of the huge discrepancy in the quality of education in our classrooms.

Now if education was 100% standardised, i.e. robotic teachers programmed identically, then there may be some validity to your argument for 'banning tuition for the sake of a level educational playing field'.
 
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braintic

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I've had to do a working with children check for my last 3 tutoring jobs, it's compulsory for all tutors.
Seriously, how many private tutors do you think have had a working with children check? Who enforces that when there is no governing body? Tutoring centres might demand it, but most of the tutors out there aren't affiliated with a tutoring centre. And how many declare their income for tax purposes?

I agree that there is a wide variety of ability in the teaching profession. But that applies to almost any profession. The only way to weed out the underperformers is to increase the supply of teachers. So perhaps more people should take a leaf out of your book and pursue a teaching degree instead of treating tutoring as just a revenue raiser.

And I still maintain that tutors should not be permitted to start teaching material before schools themselves are permitted to start teaching it. No-one seems to have addressed this issue.
 
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braintic

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Its interesting that the debate stopped once I mentioned declaring income.
 

ChillTime

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Its interesting that the debate stopped once I mentioned declaring income.
It's not that, this is turning out to be an Atheist vs Creationist debate. It goes on for a long time. No one yields. Both sides waste copious amounts of time. Anyway, if you want to ban tutoring, I suggest you lobby parliament, although they probably have more important things to do.
 

braintic

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It's not that, this is turning out to be an Atheist vs Creationist debate. It goes on for a long time. No one yields. Both sides waste copious amounts of time. Anyway, if you want to ban tutoring, I suggest you lobby parliament, although they probably have more important things to do.
Still, I wonder how many tutors who use this site could honestly say that they declare all their income.
I wonder how it would go down if I wrote to the tax office and suggested that they audit the people advertising here.
 

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