What to Consider Before Hiring a Private Tutor or Tuition Agency

A 2015 Straits Times survey found that 70% of parents send their children for private tuition. Choosing a tuition centre or home tutor isn't inherently right or wrong. Many online articles share parents' experiences on both sides. However, tuition classes are investments, and parents should carefully consider if the time, money, and energy spent are necessary, suitable, and beneficial for their children's education.

Before you even consider whether to engage a home tutor or a tuition centre, you should:

Be clear about your purpose and expectations

Tuition may not be necessary if your children can cope with homework and co-curricular activities while achieving realistically satisfying grades. The money could be spent on enrichment instead, like learning new skills that interest them, such as robotics or swimming, or on quality family activities such as having family meals, participating in sports, or even watching a theatre performance together.

Consider the underlying issue

A consistent drop in grades may be due to issues, such as bullying, low self-esteem or poor time management. This is particularly true if the drop happens across all subjects. As such, a discussion with the school teachers may be able to help you find the underlying problem.

Discover your children’s learning style

Learning is a personal journey since everyone has their individual learning style. It is understandable if a student is not ‘in tune’ with a teacher’s teaching style. If your children are weak in one or two subjects, a tutor may be able to give them the necessary personal attention and help they need.

Private tuition demands time, money and energy from parents, students and tutors. Deciding when to give your children is important as overdoing it may kill your children’s love for learning. It may also demonise tuition from which they could have actually benefited.

In the next article, let’s explore the benefits of private tuition that you can’t get from school!

#tuition #singapore

Resource:

7 in 10 parents send their children for tuition: ST poll, By Sandra Davie, The Straits Times, Published 4 July 2015, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/7-in-10-parents-send-their-children-for-tuition-st-poll