STUDY PARTNER: Does your Child Really Need a Tutor?

When can you say that a child needs a tutor? Is the added expense even worth it? To help you decide whether to have your children tutored or not, let’s weigh the pros and cons.

            Parents are still the best tutors. Unfortunately, not all parents have the time to assist their kids with their homework or are equipped to deal with language questions; solve mathematical problems, or explain scientific phenomena. According to Rosanna Llenado, owner and managing director of Ahead Tutorial and Review Center, this is where tutorial centers enter the picture. Tutors help children understand key points that they missed during class and give advance lessons to students who want to get ahead.

            It usually takes a child who studies alone several hours before finishing his or her work because of distractions like television, computer, food, and the most tempting of all, sleep. So if there’s a tutor who can monitor the child while he or she studies, the child would think twice before opening the fridge or lazing around the house. Also, tutors know the latest techniques in solving problems as well as new teaching methods that can help make learning easier.ier.

NOT ONLY FOR THOSE LAGGIN BEHIND

Most people think that tutorial classes are only for students who are lagging behind. Llenado corrects this misconception, saying that “many people think that only those who are having a hard time catching up with their lessons are the ones who take special classes. This is a wrong notion because students who are eager to study more and learn in advance make up the most of Ahead’s clients.”

            Llenado’s clients who excel in class used to study way past their bedtime, but with tutorial classes, they don’t need to spend long hours reviewing their lessons anymore. An hour or two a day of tutoring is sufficient. Tutors also help them prepare for competitions in and out of school. “Sometimes we make sure that they are advanced so when they recite in school, they are flawless,” relates Llenado.

ONE-ON-ONE EDUCATION

            Another problem that Llenado observed in classrooms is the ratio of students to teachers. Today, 50 or more students comprise one class. And even if the students are grouped based on their intellectual ability, it doesn’t mean that everyone in that class learns the same way, at the same speed. There will always be students complaining that teachers are either too slow or too fast in explaining the lessons.

            “This happens often. Fast learners find the teaching method slow, while slow learners find it fast. To avoid complaints, some teachers try to be neither too fast nor too slow. Still, only the average learners will benefit. This is one of the reasons why some students get bored. With tutors, students can have one-on-one sessions where the pace depends on the child’s capability to absorb the lessons,” notes Llenado.

NOT ALWAYS GOOD

            For all its advantages, tutoring can have a downside.

            According to Marie Louisa Que Sian, superintendent of the Chinese International School Manila, students tend to become so dependent on their tutors that they lose interest in school. They don’t focus as much as they have to because they know that they can just review the topics with their tutor. It encourages laziness and a devil-may-care attitude.

            Not all tutors, however, have the patience to tolerate this. If the kid has no intention of learning the lesson or completing homework, these are some cases when tutors do the assignments themselves to save them from explaining the topic over and over again. In the end, the child doesn’t learn anything and the parents don’t get their money’s worth.

            “Children do not need tutorials if they can do their own work. Besides, the school should not give assignments and lessons which are not appropriate for the students,” says Que Sian.

            Another disadvantage is that some kids find it too toxic to study again for a couple of hours after spending the whole day at school. Classes usually end at 4 p.m. If they attend tutorial classes for an hour or two, they would more or less be finished by dinner. It is only after eating that they have approximately two hours of quality time with their families. But what if they want to play outside with their friends after school? They wouldn’t be able to do that with the schedule that they keep.

            Lastly, children are just children. Too much studying can bring about stress that they cannot cope with yet.

            So before you decide on enrolling your kids in tutorial classes, assess the situation first. Analyze what you child really needs, and be sure to ask for his or her opinion.