Posted by
Ed
11 yrs ago
Between hovering parents and tiger mums, more and more people are paying for homework help outside the classroom. But is it worth the high price tag?
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20131016-the-global-tutoring-economy
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the main premise of the article is that there is a limit to the effectiveness of tutoring up to the point where sleep deprivation occurs
hence if this premise is found to be invalid, the argument goes out the window
there is evidence that this is the case because most students sleep during class, so there is no sleep deprivation, hence no problem :)
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OMG! Thx Ed for posting this! I was almost bending towards social pressure, my kids don't do anything expect play dates( which is already political and competitive enough for me!).
Everyday, as a mother, I have doubts if I am doing enough for my children. Should I have a mandarin tutor, should my 4 year old be able to be reading , should I send her to piano, etc.
At the end of the day, I'm too lazy to do all this as that means mommy is the chauffeur and she has to monitor. I don't have any other energy after telling them to share, elbows off the table, tell them off when they don't say thank you and please, etc.
But at one point, I won't say no to Kumon! After all, you need that quick calculation instinct to figure out your changes at 7/11!
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I would suggest that a parent identify the weak area's of a childs school subjects. then select one or two at the most to pursue outside until the child is performing at an acceptable level in school, and can do so without additional tutoring or teaching. As a rule, I would consider:
1 team sport/activity (ex: soccer)
1 individual sport/activity (ex: tae kwon do or some physical individual activity)
1 music (piano or other..I suggested piano (could be flute or other) as it teaches how to read music...across upper and lower scales..a good skill for understanding music...more than say...tuba lessons which cover only the bottom portion of notes and sounds)
1 academic (math/english)... if two are needed (math and english for example)..then consider dropping the team sport....at least until you can safely drop one of the academic.
But of course this is Hong Kong...and if you expect your child will become educated and live and work in Hong Kong forever..by all means.....fill their day until they become zombies....(as most do)....but if you expect they will go overseas someday...you can focus on the academic and languages needed to perform overseas....where there is likely less competition for the same school seats....AND they are likely to get a higher level of life education..
Hong Kong education is ok.....but its a lot of work for what you get..
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Designmgr, thx so much for the ideas!
I often wonder, where did the good old days where children were able to be children, play, fight with friends, learn through play went... you collected 2 rocks, XX collected 8 rocks, how many rocks in total? or what not...
I hear so many mothers complain that their child cannot bear boredom and is too tired. Of course they will be tired when you stuff them with 2 after school activites per day after a full blown day at school, giving them an activity filled weekends. Of course they won't know what they should do when they have that 30 minutes of nothing planned.
Though, everyone is telling that I am so behind and I should stop being lazy, thus, I feel that I might be wrong and that it is really necessary in modern world.......
I feel that academics, it really depends on how you keep the child interested in "learning" and can't push it in.... But, if you don't tackle the basic social skills, you loose the window....But, seems that modern education have become so commercial, all about results that parents do have the pressure of outdoing each other.
Where did the trust in the school education go?????
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Ed
11 yrs ago
We sponsor a couple of kids here in Bali ... one thing that we find is a massive help is we have no TV... have not had one for 4+ years now... and computers only get used if learning is involved (both learned typing recently using the BBC typing tutor program)...
When there is no TV and no gaming options... what we have found is kids develop a love for reading... both kids read voraciously... they also - without prodding - spend a lot of time at outdoor activities including shooting hoops, taking care of their small vegetable garden and biking...
That said we do employ a tutor for an hour each day to help them with their work...
This is a formula that so far has been working well for us so far...
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Ed, is there any way I can donate books to these kids? We don't have a TV at home as well ( they get to watch original language programs on you tube for max 20 minutes per day). and I do agree, it cultivates the love for books and story making.
We have so many books that they outgrew and I am now switching to taking them to a library so I really want these beloved books to have an after life!
Thanks!
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Ed
11 yrs ago
Sure - the kids are 10 and 12 - if the books are for kids around that level I am sure they'd be very happy to have them.... I could have someone from our office arrange to pick them up and I'd bring Bali on my next trip - thxs
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........ owwww, I cant help. A collection of Charlie and lola or Peter Rabbit or Juli Donaldson won't help would it... ( Although, i find the tale and illustration most imaginative) We don't have any whimpy kid's diary in stock...
Maybe you could set up a donation/physical donation fund for this!!! ( sorry if I am not aware of AE's charity legs...) I am so sure there is going to be a lot of parents out there who wants to help your cause!!!
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some people only go to tutors for homework help but that's not enough. Kids these days are so unaware of things that are happening around them. and they rote learn, thats what most homework tutors do with them and not really expanding their vision.
i'd say go to a tutorial centre and not go to private tutors because some centres provide a holistic platform that will definitely allow your kids to become more all rounded.
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