In less than a month, the new academic year will be upon us. Everything about it will be fresh and new. New books, new teachers, in some cases, a re-vamped new syllabus, new uniforms probably and a host of new concepts, terms and information that students will be bombarded with, right from the word go.
In the midst of all this novelty however, there lurks something, that I personally refer to, as the bane of the modern education system; and that is, the big bad wolf called ‘TUITIONS’. It’s always on the prowl at the beginning of the academic year, ready to devour every student that it lays its eyes on. With every passing year, the number of its victims has steadily increased; and the species of students who study independently, will soon be extinct, if some corrective measures aren’t taken immediately.🤦♀️
I’m sure, a lot of you may disagree with my point of view completely, especially my fellow teachers. After all, tuitions are supposed to be a way, of helping students who can’t manage studying themselves, or those who can’t cope with a particular subject.
I’m sure, a lot of you may disagree with my point of view completely, especially my fellow teachers. After all, tuitions are supposed to be a way, of helping students who can’t manage studying themselves, or those who can’t cope with a particular subject.
In reality however, those are not the kind of students being offered assistance, through this method. That’s precisely the bone of contention, that I have with this whole issue.
Tuitions, if required, were only meant to be an aid, to those who were really in need of it. Today, it has become a ‘crutch’, that even those who are not intellectually challenged, are making use of.
In effect therefore, a student attends 'Two Schools' everyday, which leaves him or her with next to 'No Study Time' and worse, 'No Play Time'. To add insult to injury, all of this is done, in the name of the increasing ‘Competitiveness’ in the world today.
My question to parents especially is, ‘Do you not realize, how you are robbing your precious kids of their 'Childhood', in the name of Competition? Can’t you see how this whole 'Tuition Culture', is completely eating into your child’s development and your pockets as well?’🤔
As a Teacher in a School, I also feel very hurt to think, that the parents of the students I teach, 'actually require to send their child for tuitions'. I can understand, if a child finds it hard to cope with the studies, and then goes for tuitions. But when good students, who secure a First Class and more in school, also have to resort to a tuition teacher, to explain everything to him or her all over again (after we School Teachers, have done a pretty good job of doing the exact same thing, in school already); that’s like 'a slap in the face of a dedicated and hardworking School Teacher'.😔
I would like to say this to all parents reading this, “You know your child and his ability, better than anyone else. Don’t cripple him, by providing him with so much assistance, that he forgets how to walk on his own.”
My question to parents especially is, ‘Do you not realize, how you are robbing your precious kids of their 'Childhood', in the name of Competition? Can’t you see how this whole 'Tuition Culture', is completely eating into your child’s development and your pockets as well?’🤔
As a Teacher in a School, I also feel very hurt to think, that the parents of the students I teach, 'actually require to send their child for tuitions'. I can understand, if a child finds it hard to cope with the studies, and then goes for tuitions. But when good students, who secure a First Class and more in school, also have to resort to a tuition teacher, to explain everything to him or her all over again (after we School Teachers, have done a pretty good job of doing the exact same thing, in school already); that’s like 'a slap in the face of a dedicated and hardworking School Teacher'.😔
I would like to say this to all parents reading this, “You know your child and his ability, better than anyone else. Don’t cripple him, by providing him with so much assistance, that he forgets how to walk on his own.”
6 comments:
This is the best article I have read from a teacher! I wish more teachers, parents thought like you ... life would be so much easier for children!
di
This one, I plan to put in the bulletin......I want lots of parents to read it and stop sending their children for tuitions unnecessarily......This has been a topic that I've been speaking about so many times to the parents and boys in my school. Ever since I've joined school, I've discovered that people are obcessed with tuitions and classes and I don't see the point sometimes.
Yes, please do put it in the parish bulletin. What about publishing it in The Examiner? You can email it to me and I will send it across .... let me know.
Cheerios!
di
Wow! Do you think they will print something like that? I mean it's quite a debateable issue and there will be lots of people who don't agree with my point of view.On the other hand, I do want lots of people to read it and 'The Examiner' does have a wider readership than the parish bulletin......I'll send it across to you. Let's see what happens.
Lynette, I completely agree with this viewpoint. Children should NOT be sent for tuitions. It encourages teachers to be lax in the classrooms and students to take the school lightly - as a necessary evil. Coaching classes have become today's centres for learning and this is a sad fact.
As a lecturer at the BA level, I came across many students with 80-90% in their boards who had been to coaching classes and had beaten the system. Most of these students were poor analyzers and lived in the hope that we as university lecturers would continue in the tradition of structured answers. This is not to say that they were not creative, just that they had laziness inculcated in them over their years of schooling.
However, at the same time it would be very optimistic of us to believe that all teachers think like you do. For many teachers tuitions are a way of making money. For the student, tuitions are a way of beating the system. And in today's mark-driven world, how much you get in school and college have a direct impact on your ability to get a good job.
Maybe the solution lies not in simply banning coaching/tuition classes, but an all-round revamp of the system that forces our children to stay in school and forces our teachers to teach while at the same time giving adequate rewards to both - a better salary for the teachers and a more realistic grading system for our students.
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