There are many arguments concerning whether children should receive external tutoring in addition to classroom teaching at school. Some parents think their children need a tutor or coach to help them perform well in exams or competitions. However, others are extremely against it, thinking it would negatively impact children’s ability to learn by themselves.
Some well-known secondary schools in the UK specifically discourage the engagement of external tutors when prospective parents prepare their kids to attend the 11+ or 13+ admission tests. Such tests are, by no means, easy, and in fact, can be demanding for some kids at that age.
The objective behind these admission tests is for the school to assess the inherent capability of the kids without external influence. The most apparent benefit for these schools setting difficult admission tests is to help them quickly sieve through the applicants and identify those with the most likely potential for future academic success.
In reality, the learning capabilities of children do vary and classroom learning may not be sufficient to prepare them for these tests. Therefore, additional tutoring support for those children who need help may be considered necessary.
The same applies to students who are taking GCSE and A-level exams. School teachers have to teach many students, therefore making it difficult to address problems raised by individual students promptly. When that happens, these students may resort to peers for help, who may also likely face similar learning problems. Under such situations, support from parents or external tutors is required to ensure that learning is not disrupted.
When engaging external tutoring help, the effectiveness of tutors is critically important, which can be reflected by the following:-
1. The extent of “positive” interaction between the tutor and the student.
2. The teaching approach and associated materials such as notes and examples.
3. The quality of homework is set after the lessons.
4. The subsequent performance in exams of the student.
Pros and cons of engaging an education consultant
Nowadays, some parents may like to seek help from education consultants to help devise an education plan for their children and implement the execution of it through to university acceptance. Such plans could start from as early as primary school admission to university application. Many education consultants are offering such services in the market and they normally market themselves by quoting how many successful students are being accepted in Oxbridge, UK Russell Group universities and US Ivy League universities, with an objective to increasing their creditability. However, success in university acceptance depends primarily on the hard work and conscientious dedication of the children themselves in studying.
Parents should also note the pros and cons of engaging an education consultant, before finally committing to do so.
Pros
1. Receive help in a planned and more structured manner.
2. Education consultants can offer more resources, internally and externally, to help boost your kids’ profile and academic performance.
3. Provide advice, monitor progress, and make proactive changes to the plan along the way.
Cons
1. Can be costly depending on the quality of education consultants engaged.
2. Service impact very much depends on the capability and resourcefulness of the tutor.
3. Services offered may be standardized and may not be customized to individual student needs.
4. Too many kids fight for the same resources available from the education consultants.
Having regard to the above, we would advise parents to closely monitor the performance of the education consultants once engaged and the quality of their outputs. Be decisive to change the tutor or stop the service of the education consultancy when nothing concrete in progress is evident after a reasonable period of time.
Finally, we set out below the suggested steps for parents when deciding on which education consultant to engage:-
1. Read the reviews of various education consultants from different independent sources to get a general feel of the creditability of these consultants.
2. Contact the selected consultants and discuss what services they can offer to help your kid get into the targeted secondary school or university.
3. Review carefully the resumes of prospective tutors offered.
4. Rank prospective education consultants according to your pre-set measures and select the one who scores the highest.
Written by : CHARM-Retirement.com
Feb-2024
