Does our kid really need tutor?

[zac's mum]

SHTAM:

My gal got a classmate whose mum is super kiasu. Her classmate already has good grades, average marks for each subject is all above 80 marks. But his mum told me she will be getting tutors for him for next year to prepare for P3. Is such behaviour too kiasu or actually everyone is doing tat? Im getting a bit concerned if I shd get a tutor for my gal because she is getting below 70 marks only n hv no tutor yet.

It depends on: what's the parent's expectation/do the school subject teachers comment need or not/whether the school exams are pitched at more difficult level than the rest of Singapore (certain schools are). Actually if u think don't need then just relax.

Some parents are more kiasu becos everybody hearsay that there will be a big jump in difficulty from P2 to P3. Plus introduction of 1 extra subject (Science).

My kid only in P1 so I think tuition not necessary.

[Lynn1967]

I tink otherwise.

My elder one started to hv tuition only after her grades dropped. Though got improve, still not fantastic at upper pri. For my younger one, I chose to start tuition at P1 even though his grade is not lousy to begin with. His P1 grades now (all subject 80 plus to 90) is much better den my elder one @ P1 (70+).

My friend told me to start tuition early if I hv the financial means. Becos if we can maintain our kid’s grades at v high for as long as possible, they will not deteriorate a lot when they r at P5 level.

[sky minecrafter]

SHTAM:

...Is such behaviour too kiasu or actually everyone is doing tat? Im getting a bit concerned if I shd get a tutor for my gal because she is getting below 70 marks only n hv no tutor yet.

Hi, agree with fellow forummers who've posted...Here are some sorta guidelines randomly picked from Google: http://clementipri.moe.edu.sg/about-us/school-information/descriptors-for-achievement-bands-and-grades-p1-p4. Instead of saying that my P2 child needs tuition, I'd say that if my P2 child scores lower than 70% for a subject, this means that she's probably not so good in it & I'd need to give her more assistance. More home support? Communicate with the teachers? ... ...

[janet88]

Lynn1967:

My friend told me to start tuition early if I hv the financial means. Becos if we can maintain our kid’s grades at v high for as long as possible, they will not deteriorate a lot when they r at P5 level.

son started math tuition only in june when he was in p5...failing terribly for math although he did well for p4.
it took about 4 months before he started showing progress and he passed marginally for SA2. we decided to start daughter for math tuition when she was in p2...so she was indeed better prepared than her sibling.

[sharonkhoo]

I would start with the child - does he have good study habits? Does he ask questions when he’s unsure? Does he pay attention in class? Does he read books? Does he spend too much time on screens? Improving those areas will probably improve his results without the need for tutoring, and also stand him in good stead as schoolwork becomes more demanding. If the child is already working well and steadily, but is still not grasping the material, then tutoring may help.

[jedamum]

Slmkhoo,

How many children has the above qualities you stated? Children will be children. If they have it their way, who wants to study when they can play? Mentorship component is very important in tutoring to yield maximum effectiveness as some times kids can’t get that same inspiration from their parents.

[Lynn1967]

janet88:

Lynn1967:

My friend told me to start tuition early if I hv the financial means. Becos if we can maintain our kid’s grades at v high for as long as possible, they will not deteriorate a lot when they r at P5 level.

son started math tuition only in june when he was in p5...failing terribly for math although he did well for p4.
it took about 4 months before he started showing progress and he passed marginally for SA2. we decided to start daughter for math tuition when she was in p2...so she was indeed better prepared than her sibling.

tis is exactly how I feel! My gal score for P4 is quite well too, 76 marks but she oso failed her P5 SA1. 2nd semester she did pass but considered ok only. Still quite far from A. My friend whose son started tuition all the way from P2 got 60plus marks for Maths during P5 SA1! Scored A in PSLE. Really got diff one.

So now I learnt from her liao. My son got a Maths tutor who solely teach Maths. So far for P1 I'm very satisfied with the marks. Hope to maintain

[janet88]

jedamum:

Slmkhoo,

How many children has the above qualities you stated? Children will be children. If they have it their way, who wants to study when they can play? Mentorship component is very important in tutoring to yield maximum effectiveness as some times kids can't get that same inspiration from their parents.

so true. if kids have those qualities, then we won't have so much stress as parents.

[sharonkhoo]

janet88:

jedamum:

Slmkhoo,

How many children has the above qualities you stated? Children will be children. If they have it their way, who wants to study when they can play? Mentorship component is very important in tutoring to yield maximum effectiveness as some times kids can't get that same inspiration from their parents.

so true. if kids have those qualities, then we won't have so much stress as parents.

My point is that we should aim to cultivate those traits first before jumping to tuition. Hardly any kid is \"born\" that way; it has be taught and supervised until it becomes a habit. Without that as a base, tuition is like putting a plaster on a wound without cleaning it first. Of course, perhaps parents feel that the tutor should be responsible for inculcating those qualities in the child, but is that realistic in 2 hrs a week? Students may show good results in the early years, but eventually the poor study habits etc. will catch up with him.

I'm not saying that no child should have tuition, but I think we should focus on the basics first. Even with those basics in place, the child may still not do well academically, and that's when he really needs tuition.