P1 Tution -- Necessary?

[TAT]

My opinion: Give tuition only if your child is failing badly at this stage. They are just in P1. They will catch up. My daughter has tuition only in Mandarin as we are a solely-English-speaking family.

[janet88]

it takes a village to raise a child…totally agree with that.


i am hopeless coaching kids in their school work. due to financial constraints, we can’t afford to get tutor for all subjects except english. fortunately hubby can teach math and science. now son helps his sister with history and geography esp those inferential, structured and essay type of questions. for me, i plan her revision.

[Coke Chan]

Same - tuition is costly, and also, i feel it adds pressure to the kid, although it is good to learn in a peer environment. For now, we just try to encourage and improve her appetite for learning, and learning on her own and with parents, without (hoping to) require tuition…

[iceywind88]

Coke Chan:

Same - tuition is costly, and also, i feel it adds pressure to the kid, although it is good to learn in a peer environment. For now, we just try to encourage and improve her appetite for learning, and learning on her own and with parents, without (hoping to) require tuition..

I find it quite tough when me and hubby are not professionals. somehow, there's so many ways to do it wrongly and our child is not moving in the right direction. We're afraid that a failed primary education would bring failure to subsequent levels (sec, tertiary etc)... looks like we better be hunting a good tuition centre

[Dazzle]

I think it all depends on the kid. If he/she fail the subject then maybe you consider tuition if yoi cannot teach the subject yourself. More important is to cultivate learning and reading habit from young. Teach the child to do homework and study/read at fix time, say after dinner. Play time can be after that. Don’t let the kid rely too much on tuitor. Need to learn how to learn.

[rosemaryherb]

I think it depends on the child. some children can just study on their own. very funny. my brother’s children are like that, and my brother and his wife doesn’t even cultivate learning at home. totally don’t understand this.

[yeeginng]

Hello! I think it depends on how you define tuition. If tuition to you means assessment book after assessment book or rote learning, I would say no. But if the tuition model is meant to cultivate a sense of curiosity and an eagerness to learn, then yes, definitely necessary to start in P1

[ElvChen]

It really depends on how much help your child needs, if you realise that your child is not able to catch up in school and is always feeling sad or lost, better get some help. My tutor for my kid is quite good, very patient and nuturing. My daughter is now very confident and can even teach others. But the tutor just moved to sengkang, I’m struggling if i should continue, but my daughter likes her so much i think i might just carry on. I heard she is starting a small group tuition at her new place. PM me if anyone is staying in sengkang and needs a good tutor.

[meinteel]

As an educator, I’ve been asked this question many times. Tuition has never been a necessity - it is a luxury service provided to your child if the parents can afford it.


If your child is starting Primary 1 soon, don’t rush them to tuition centres first. Let them have some time to adjust to the school system. Help your child by ensuring they sleep early (like around 9pm) so that they have sufficient sleep (8-9 hours) before school the next day. Ensure that they completed all their homework (do not help them, let them struggle with it) and revise regularly (i.e. look through the textbooks, workbooks, notes handled by the teachers every 1-2 weeks). Make it a habit for your child to pack his/her schoolbag BEFORE going to bed. Encourage your child to read storybooks and short passages written in English AND your mother tongue. Encourage your child to speak in full sentences, to pronounce each word clearly even if it meant slowing down the entire conversation. If they performed poorly for a test, reflect with them and revise the learnt materials. If they continue to perform poorly, contract the school teachers to find out the situation.

Get professional help (tuition centre, home tutor) if the teachers agree that your child is struggling academically OR the problem persists despite the teachers’ reassurance.

If you don’t have sufficient time to ensure he completes his homework and learns his spelling, you can consider student care services within the school or near the school. Most community-based student care services (near the school) typically offer tuition services as well.

I usually recommend parents to check with the centre
1) How much screen time is given to the children?
- The fewer the hours, the better

2) Does the centre have facilities for a shower?
- This is important! Your child will be out for 12 hours daily. They would often be running around, playing, sweating etc.

3) Does the centre have supervised study time daily?
- At least 60-90 minutes daily, allowing them to finish their homework & learn their spelling.

4) Does the centre provide homework?
Student care centres should not be assigning homework! Tuition centres should be assigning few or no work to the child!

[mathtuition88]

I have been contacted quite a few times for kindergarten maths tuition (age 4-6), not to mention P1. In certain cases, the parent asked me to teach the kindergarten child Primary 3 mathematics, as he has taken IQ tests and has been classified as gifted.


I did not accept as I teach secondary level and above only.

I think it all depends on how the child is learning during kindergarten. If he/she is learning well, probably there is no need for tuition.

However, it is quite well-known that many "kiasuparents" teach (or hire tutors to teach) in advance to the extent that the child has probably covered the entire P1 syllabus (or beyond) even before stepping into the school. This is probably easier than it sounds, since the P1 syllabus is quite basic.