Asia spending billions on tutors: study

[limlim]

FQW:

C'mon, limlim.


So you suggestion of [the criteria of] licensing tutors is based solely on their academic qualification? That's a lazy way to licensing issit? I for one, doesnt have any teaching 'certification', but I dare say I'm well qualified to coach any lower pri sch pupils with similar ability as my child, having worked closely with him for the last few years.

Your suggested criteria of licensing 'qualified' tutors would have in one swoop, disqualified many experienced and good tutors - when the responsibility of gauging the suitability of tutor-pupil combination is solely a parent's prerogative to make. The chemistry of teaching is one of soft skill as well, not just binary - have/don't have cert so straight forward.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, what do we hope to achieve in all this [licensing]?

Licensing means tutor must be registered. Actually, my personal feel is maybe just pay $5 and apply, just like applying hawker license. Don't you feel more assured buying of licensed hawker center instead no license ones?

Maybe MOE could evaluate your suitability. This is open to how to assess and you may have good suggestions on how this is to be done. It may not be academic qualifications alone.

As a tutor yourself, who is working full-time(?), wouldn't you like to be recognized as qualified tutor? (again, you can suggest how to best gauge being \"qualified\")

With licensing, we get data. and with data, the best course of action can be taken.

[verykiasu2010]

oxyleo:

buds:

One bad teacher experience doesn't justify all teachers are the same. So while ranting, sweeping statements can mislead parents who are first timers to primary education as they are not able to discern between actual facts and personal experiences.

A noobie just posted this... and it's only her 4th posting here! :yikes:
[quote=\"joliemum\"]I belong to the 10% who don't send my kids to tuition. But I may be soon joining the 90%, coz I've been hearing friends with kids not being able to cope without tuition.. sigh.. any good tuition centres to recommend for P1 and P3 next year?

While bad teacher experiences aren't myths for sure, neither issit the truth everywhere... or all the time. Frightening new parents (who keep reading negative retorts on all things negative pertaining to primary school education) entering formal education with their children, only pushes the phenomenon further.[quote]

[/quote]This noobie did say that she has been hearing from friends. What makes us so sure it is this forum that is frightening new parents? We can't be assuming that the people who write here only have \"friends\" here, or gather information here, or even safely assume everything here to be true. You don't, I haven't, so why do we think others will? Do we think we are smarter than them? I think not.[/quote]all these hearing from friends, always hearing from friends ...... ....... shadow boxing ?

[limlim]

autumnbronze:

Limlim,


What you deem as an accusation, is by and large an observation.

Please do not use the nature of your job as an excuse. You are online, I am sure you are aware that there are certain etiquette (understood) that should be observed.

If you can't, then don't post.

My 2 cents.

May you teach me what etiquette that I should observe but did not?

Am I not civil in the exchange, and debate on the merit/demerits of the argument, instead of directing at pple(like some of the postings?)? I admit I may have directed some posting at some pple, but that is only in retaliation, if I did.

[cherryc]

VKS 2010 : MOE bashers and teacher bashers are unwilling to quote which school, don’t even talk about which teacher. constant repeating the same accusations but unwilling to even name the school, has zero credibility. if one is so unhappy then why afraid to name the school ?


people quoting examples of teachers who care inevitably quote the school name as well.


Can you share with us your good experiences ?? AS a counsillor, I wonder what is your motives to keep asking people to quote the names etc all the time, is it allowed in this forum , is it ethical ? This thread is on tuition phenomenon, not on specific teachers/schools. Can you kindly write to the Straits Times forum to justify your stand in reply to today’s forum letter by Ms Wily Wan, probably you can ask the writer to give you examples and quote the school/teachers names too ? Thank you very much.

[oxyleo]

buds:

Busymom:

And if I may raise my white flag first: I did say that there are areas that MOE can improve… just don’t keep blaming MOE for every single woe in our society. It makes people like me who is sitting on the fence feel a need to add some balance to some of the arguments.

:goodpost:

Yes, none of us on the other side of the fence ever indicated that MOE was or had a perfect system in place. You got that right. However the optimism seemed to have brushed off somewhat like we have never experienced pain or encountered bad teachers and so on... It happens. No need to go so far as to compare between schools, within same school oredi got. But it's how we deal with it and resolve it that matters in the end. There are many contributing factors as to why a student does badly or does not show actual potential. There will be some parents who are quick to resort to tuition as immediate solution but there are others who continuously and relentlessly work with the school and the teachers with their available resources and value-add programmes to better things. I'm one such parent who believe in parent-school partnership. Over years of continued good partnership with the school(s)... i'm better enlightened of what goes on within.

You are indeed a gem, and a good parent. And you are, I truly believe, trying to balance things, out of good intention. Managing misinformation.
To this again, I see we have common ground. I too,embrace partnership in school for my child. I too, marvel at the patience, energy and charisma some teachers have with children. I too wonder to myself, when other parents tell me their bad experiences with teachers. I wonder (1) if it's true, and (2) if it could happen to my child too 1 day. But it stays in that zone. And I do not, ever, try to teach another parent what to think of his/her own assessment of his/her own experience. I listen, share my own experience,which would be contrary, since i have yet to experience bad things. And hope that parent walks away rethinking the situation again. How he reacts to his situation is his right. If your child gets bullied in school, would you like another parent to teach you how to handle it? To say you are insensitive, that it's not true because his child in your child's class never got bullied by that boy before? I'm sure not.

Despite what I read, what I hear, what previous experiences even I may have had, I treat each experience with each new teacher separately. Everyone starts on a clean slate. No shades. Each relationship is new. Not all teachers are good, not all teachers are bad. Not all parents are good, not all parents are bad.

[autumnbronze]

limlim:

autumnbronze:

Ok, I cannot see the relation of your example but this is my very direct response wrt to eating in MRTs.

Eating should be banned in MRTs at all costs. Even if passengers do not intend to litter, there will inevitably be crumbs on the floor, creating a mess and breeding pests ....

It is not an inhumane policy.

My 2 cents.

Thank you for bringing this up.

My reply is, moonlighting, will inevitably lead to potential <conflict of interests> situations and compromise best interests of the school students, even if they do not purposely intend to.

If the person who eats is responsible and careful, there will be NO crumbs at all. But we cannot assume everyone to be responsible to the same degree, isn't it?

That is your perception.

No matter how careful and responsible the person is on the MRT train, there are factors beyond his control that might cause food or crumbs to drop on the floor of the train. The sudden movements, pushing or squeezing due to over-crowdedness etc ....

Like I said before, I cannot see your point in this example.

[limlim]

verykiasu2010:

all these hearing from friends, always hearing from friends ...... ....... shadow boxing ?

Why are you so worked up over a single posting by a newbie with maybe questionable remarks?

I don't even get what she is trying to say actually.. Is she saying tuition is a problem or we should embrace tuition as a way of the education system and accept as it is?

[iRabbit]

limlim,


Sorry if i wasnt clear, I’m not a tutor. I’m an engineer same as you. What I said was if I wanted to, I believe I can be a good tutor [to children same ability as my son] due to my walking of the education journey with him these few yrs.

Now I don’t have any teaching certificates.

There lies the challenge of any attempts at tutor-certification. It’s complex, gonna be resource-intensive and fuzzy at best. But at the end of all this, who’s the better judge of the suitability of a tutor to one’s child, us parents or MOE?

Ok, if you can convince me that the resources spend regulating reaps much higher ROI, I can agree with you that regulation is desirable.

[limlim]

autumnbronze:

That is your perception.

No matter how careful and responsible the person is on the MRT train, there are factors beyond his control that might cause food or crumbs to drop on the floor of the train. The sudden movements, pushing or squeezing due to over-crowdedness etc ....

Like I said before, I cannot see your point in this example.

So I ask you, drink plain water, bottle with straw, will spill? if spill, will it not evaporate and leave no trace?

MRT message is, no eating or drinking is allowed in stations and trains. It did not exclude drinking from bottles with straw or plain water.

if you want to talk about collateral damage.. innocent parties who are restricted because of some inconsiderate pple.. maybe we are on the same frequency..

I feel the injustice when I am not allowed to drink or eat carefully in the station that is stationary w/o any crowd and no one standing beside me. But you say (or suggest?), it is perfectly acceptable to restrict my freedom to eat and drink.

Are we on the same frequency?

[limlim]

FQW:

There lies the challenge of any attempts at tutor-certification. It's complex, gonna be resource-intensive and fuzzy at best. But at the end of all this, who's the better judge of the suitability of a tutor to one's child, us parents or MOE?

Ok, if you can convince me that the resources spend regulating reaps much higher ROI, I can agree with you that regulation is desirable.

Agree. parent are the best judge. As I mentioned, parents can engage tutor w/o license, just like buying food from hawkers w/o license.

If they are confident and there is good word-of-mouth, of coz they can engage the tutor regardless of license or certification. If the tutor is confidence that she can attract biz, they can choose not to apply for license.

That, is where parent education come in, that, if they want some assurance of minimized risk, they can look for licensed tutors.

As for ROI. First, we need to establish if the tuition phenomenon is a cause for concern.

If it is a cause for concern, than, we need Data.

The degree of \"cause for concern\" will determine if the ROI is worth it.