Asia spending billions on tutors: study
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Lilac66:
Good point Lilac66!!ksi:
[quote=\"Lilac66\"]Ultimately we have to agree that some of the suggestions given about regulations of tuition come from the desire to make our education system more \"palatable\" for all and nobody will be disadvantaged just because they cannot afford good tutors.
Pls understand our intentions are good. :boogie:
There is no doubt the intention is good and everyone is encouraged to say their piece in a civil way regardless if the views are the same or not.
The only caveat here is(and it is not directed at you Lilac66, a general comment only) not to direct the discussion at one another simply because the views differ. There is value in amiable diversity.
So keep discussing and enjoy the diverse views.
Sure! :celebrate:[/quote] :celebrate:
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Korean Parents Spend Too Much on Their Children
The average annual income of Korean senior citizens is only 67 percent of the average household income overall, putting the country at the bottom of OECD member nations, whose average is 82.4 percent. The poverty rate among elderly Koreans is 45 percent, the highest in the OECD, where the average is 13.5 percent. Nearly half of all senior citizens in Korea are living in poverty.
The biggest cause of poverty among the elderly is the fact that only 32 percent of them receive a public pension. Korea launched the national pension system in 1988, so people now over 80 had no chance to apply, and many younger people did not bother to make monthly payments. And those who did only get meager benefits since they only paid for a short period.
The average national pension payout for senior citizens is a mere W280,000 (US$1=W1,136) a month, which is not enough to get by on.
Koreans tend to fall on hard times in later life because they spent most of their earnings on educating their children and then paying for their wedding. Parents pay for children's private crammer lessons as they prepare for university entrance exams, and when they enter university, they finance their tuition and language-exchange programs overseas, and provide other necessary supports until they graduate and find a job.
Then come the wedding expenses. The average cost of a wedding almost tripled from W76.39 million in 1999 to W209 million this year. Parents with a son sell their homes to raise money to buy an apartment where he can live with his bride, and parents with a daughter take out loans using their homes as collateral to pay for wedding gifts. Korean parents are perhaps the only ones in the world who feel obliged to take care of their children to that extent, and Korean kids are also probably the only ones in the world who think their parents are duty-bound to pay for their wedding and buy them a home.
Children who have been raised that way will end up becoming parents themselves. Perhaps many young Koreans are thinking twice about having kids because they are afraid of falling into the same trap. The time has come to change this ludicrous custom where parents sell their future to support their children, while kids think it is only natural for parents to make these sacrifices.
[email protected] / Jul. 05, 2012 14:09 KST
Wonder with all the tuitions how come they aren't taught filial piety and self-reliance. For us, we are still discussing primary school education, long road ahead for our financial commitments and definitely, more moral education for the kids. -
autumnbronze:
but.. not all teachers are like you. If all the teachers are like you, I guess, this thread may not have existed.
At a popular sch, I was teaching graduating classes. I had 10 pupils in a particular class who requested for 1 to 1 oral practice, on top of the daily practice they were getting weeks before the exam :faint: That is only one of the four graduating classes I was teaching.
What did I do? Of course I acceded to their request lah. That is also on top of all other 'extra-curricular' (not pertaining to teaching) activities I HAD to be involved in
Its no wonder I suffered from multiple miscarriages then, and blissfully managed to carry to term after I left the service.
Ooooooops :oops: :oops: Am I :offtopic:
We're just suggesting how to improve the current system, to make it better. -
limlim:
autumnbronze:
At a popular sch, I was teaching graduating classes. I had 10 pupils in a particular class who requested for 1 to 1 oral practice, on top of the daily practice they were getting weeks before the exam :faint: That is only one of the four graduating classes I was teaching.
What did I do? Of course I acceded to their request lah. That is also on top of all other 'extra-curricular' (not pertaining to teaching) activities I HAD to be involved in
Its no wonder I suffered from multiple miscarriages then, and blissfully managed to carry to term after I left the service.
Ooooooops :oops: :oops: Am I :offtopic:
but.. not all teachers are like you. If all the teachers are like you, I guess, this thread may not have existed.
We're just suggesting how to improve the current system, to make it better.
Sure.
I can appreciate that.
If that is truly the intention.
But then again not ALL teachers don't don't teach. Not ALL of MOE's directives are flawed. Not ALL teachers who moonlight neglect their kids or teaching responsibilities in school. This last statement is the most baffling of all. Why would they want to overturn their main rice bowl?? That is just a huge risk to take wrt to their career. The civil service doesn't take too kindly to employees who adopt such laissez faire approach.
I will qualify though, that there are bad apples in EVERY profession. Not just restricted to the teaching fraternity.
Sadly, the above mentioned assumptions are consistently being pandered generally. -
autumnbronze:
:goodpost: :goodpost:.
Sadly, the above mentioned assumptions are consistently being pandered generally.
All the myth circulating, posing as truth. -
cherryc:
This is probably an outcome no one will foresee how wrong such academic pursuit can go. Someone shared this story with me along the same line:
Wonder with all the tuitions how come they aren't taught filial piety and self-reliance. For us, we are still discussing primary school education, long road ahead for our financial commitments and definitely, more moral education for the kids.
Mother's stabbing arouses parenting concern
A young man who nearly stabbed his mother to death over an alleged row for money has aroused widespread concern over adequate moral education from China's loving yet high-demanding parents.
The mother, 52-year-old Gu, is still in hospital. [Guangzhou Daily]
The 25-year-old man, surnamed Wang, is accused of stabbing his mother nine times on arrival at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport after five years study in Japan on April 1.
The mother, 52-year-old Gu, narrowly survived and is still in hospital.
Wang told police his mother had started nagging him when she met him at the airport. \"She said she'd rather die than give her son any more money,\" a police officer based at the airport said, quoting Wang.
Wang said his mind went blank, and he took out a knife from his luggage and started to stab her.
Wang was detained at the scene and could not be reached for an interview.
His mother, Gu, refused to recall how it happened in her ward at the People's Hospital in Pudong New District Wednesday. Her roommate said she cried continuously and had been unable to sleep.
Gu's brother-in-law described her as a very caring mother. \"She had to borrow lots of money from friends and relatives for her son to study in Japan.\"
Gu earns about 80,000 yuan (12,248 U.S. dollars) a year selling clothes, but her son's tuition and living expenses in Japan were at least three times higher.
Police began a judicial appraisal on Monday of Wang's mental state, as relatives said he had shown unusual behaviors and complained of hallucinations before his return to Shanghai.
The result of the appraisal had not been released as of Wednesday.
While the motive behind Wang's stabbing remains an enigma, relatives almost unanimously complained of his selfishness and his mother's over willingness to give.
They said Wang rarely worked and relied only on his parents' money.
An economics major at Nihon University, Wang spent 300,000 to 400,000 yuan a year, including 80,000 yuan in tuition and 144,000 yuan in lodging, Gu told Dongfang Daily, a Shanghai-based newspaper.
The tragedy has shocked the Chinese and caused widespread concern over adequate parenting of children.
Nearly two weeks after the stabbing, the accident was still being vigorously discussed on major Chinese parenting websites Wednesday.
Some blamed the tragedy on a lack of moral education at home and at school, saying parents and teachers all pay far more attention to academic performances and often neglect children's moral standards and mental health.
Many Chinese urban parents are loving but highly demanding at the same time, says Ke Yunlu, a noted author on psychology and education. \"They treat their children as babies, care for all their needs and protect them from the least harm, hoping they will live up to their expectations and excel intellectually.\"
The pampering and high expectations are expected to only increase as China's first generation of \"only children\" at home become parents themselves.
In most Chinese cities, competition is white hot for preschoolers to enter top schools and kindergartens and the struggle continues throughout college.
As many parents pledge, they are willing to do anything as long as their children grow up to be \"successful.\" This often leads parents to pay 10 times the family income as sweeteners to place children at desired schools or jobs, which does not necessarily make their children happy.
Some children even break under their parents' heavy expectations, as Liu Hanlin sees it.
Liu, a 2009 graduate from Nagoya University in Japan, had to return home for counseling when he was a boarder at a Tokyo high school, carrying all his parents' ambitions.\" I felt uncomfortable and isolated at school, but my father, who was working at a chemical firm in Tokyo, was always too busy to care.\"
Liu said Wang might be facing similar problems.
A growing number of teenagers have chosen to study abroad in recent years, but experts warn that some of them may not be mature enough to cope with the pressure.
\"They may score high in tests, but may not be independent enough to get along in a new environment, as they are used to the excessive protection from their parents and lack basic social skills,\" said Yang Xiong, a researcher on juvenile studies at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
When these youngsters fail to achieve their goals, the crashing of their dreams on the rocks of cold reality may become the root for severe psychological illness or conflicts with people, said Xie Bin, a Shanghai-based specialist on mental health.
Source: http://www.china.org.cn/china/2011-04/13/content_22352684.htm -
3Boys:
Agreed. Agreed.
:goodpost: :goodpost:autumnbronze:
.
Sadly, the above mentioned assumptions are consistently being pandered generally.
All the myth circulating, posing as truth. -
ksi:
Yes I agree ksi. It would be good to get to the numbers. And indeed, business people have to also be opportunists.
Back to this article, the finding for Singapore is in $$$, they should give an indication of % of students like other countries. Also, enrichment and tuition should be differentiated. To be candid, such articles only prompt the tuition centres to work harder because they realise out of $680M, they are getting only a small fraction, so unless they go by the % of children on TUITION, the problem is still not well-defined.KSP:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/asia-spending-billions-tutors-study-223633801.html
Asian parents are spending billions of dollars on private tutors for their children, and the practice is growing despite doubts over its effectiveness, according to a study published Wednesday.
\"Shadow education\" is an expanding business not only in wealthy countries but also in some of the region's poorer nations as parents try to give their children the best start in life, the Asian Development Bank said.
Nearly nine out of 10 South Korean elementary pupils have private tutoring, while the figure for primary school children in India's West Bengal state is six out of 10.
\"Proportions are lower in other countries, but throughout the region the shadow is spreading and intensifying,\" the study said, calling for a review of education systems to make such extra teaching less attractive.
Extra academic work is aimed at helping slow learners and supporting high achievers, and is seen by many Asian parents as a constructive way for adolescents to spend their spare time.
However, it can also reduce time for sports and other activities important for well-rounded development, as well as cause social tensions since richer families are able to pay for better-quality tutoring, the study said.
It estimated that the costs of private tutoring in South Korea were equivalent to 80 percent of government spending on public education.
Japan spent $12 billion on extra teaching in 2010, while the figure for Singapore was US$680 million in 2008.
In Hong Kong, where 85 percent of senior secondary students receive tutoring, companies advertise the services of \"star\" tutors, on television, newspapers and the back of buses, the study said.
\"Expenses are lower in other countries, but they are headed in the same direction,\" it added.
But despite its popularity, particularly in East Asia, tutoring has had mixed results, said the study, conducted with the University of Hong Kong's Comparative Education Research Centre.
\"Much depends not only on the motivations and abilities of the students but also on the motivations and abilities of the tutors,\" it said.
\"In many countries, individuals can become tutors without training, and the effectiveness of some forms of tutoring is doubtful.\"
The study called for state supervision and regulation of the industry, as well as a review of Asia's educational systems.
\"They should ask why it (tutoring) exists in the first place, and what can be done in the mainstream to make supplementary tutoring less desirable and necessary.\" -
ksi:
I can see your point and agree with your recommendation. In doing so, it improves the quality of education service providers and perhaps reduce some of them who cannot qualify so this raises our STANDARD of education. Will it reduce the demand for tuition? It may cause the qualified ones to expand their operations and make them richer. Just a thought - for discussion.oxyleo:
Hi ksi,
Yes \"regulation\" is a very broad word, so perhaps we can narrow it down to something softer, lighter, and along the principle of self-regulation, so to speak. I'm thinking more along the lines of an association, with members made up by the tuition centres and individual tutors. The association gets some funding, if deemed appropriate, by MOE, which then co-assists the association's lead members in sharing and encouraging best practices, offers certification etc
Take a look at the role/mission/ code of practice adopted by these two associations for banks and retailers respectively, in Singapore:
http://www.abs.org.sg/aboutus_management.php
http://www.retail.org.sg/
What we have then is a promotion of best practices across members- the tuition agencies and tutors, and a soft approach towards encouraging a code of practices. Some good practices, like not Misrepresenting/ falsifying claims, with slightly more definition, can be applied to Tuition centres.
In fact, the tuition industry may also mirror what is carried out in the broader business world. Businesses get recognized for doing their part in the area of Corporate Social responsibility , and are awarded by business associations. The aim of this is to remind organizations to not just focus on profit and numbers, but also to contribute to the greater good. In education, a good educator embraces ęęę ē±», which means the willingness to teach anyone who is willing to learn. This tuition association could certainly recognize and give awards/ accolades to tutors/ tuition centres who teach not just high achieving/ gep kids, but also the needy for free/ at subsidized rates, and teach all categories of children, vs those that only want to teach the creme ala creme. (Ahem)
Let's remember that the users of the tuition centres are mere children, some starting as young as 2-3 years of age and upwards. If there is any other place that requires service providers to be exemplary in good practices, the tuition industry ought to be one of them.
Swim/ sports coaches themselves join the Singapore Sports Council for certification, I believe. Not sure if it's mandatory though. I recall years back when a swim coach was tried in court for something along the lines of molestation/indecency, some parents, who had children learning under this coach, queried as to why he was allowed to continue teaching when he was already under investigation. It was then discovered that he was not certified unde SSC, which would otherwise have flagged him out (assuming no admin hiccups).
Glad to have your consensus on this ksi. Yes, finding a cure to the current \"madness\" is a tough road ahead. I see the encouragement of best practices across the industry more as a method to the madness. Haha!
You've also raised a valid point that the qualified ones will probably emerge even stronger, but that hopefully also goes in tandem with fellow members checking each other for best practices and behaviour in line with the ethos of education. An obligation to uphold ethics in the eyes of other industry players. -
3Boys:
what myth?
:goodpost: :goodpost:autumnbronze:
.
Sadly, the above mentioned assumptions are consistently being pandered generally.
All the myth circulating, posing as truth.
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