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Original poster

Is it the norm to have tutors for primary school children these days?

299 replies

Sugarbeach · 02/09/2012 11:22

I didn't think it was the norm, but it seems that it is the norm in some part of the country (or the world even). DD is progressing well and is happy at her school, she is about to start Yr 3 where the work is expected to be more formal and there will be a ramping up of the homework I imagine. I was going to just leave the school and teacher to do their job, and not intervene too much unnecessarily. I'm paranoid and thinking whether the majority of children get lots of tutoring at home, so that it seems to be a good school or whether it IS a good school.

So..
is tutoring the norm in your opinion?
Is it mainly done for struggling subjects, or to hot house, or for 11+, or to make up or the lack of teaching at school?

I'm interested to know, it's so different to my days, I feel like I've been living under a rock....

OP posts:
rabbitstew · 05/09/2012 12:23

I'm not sure the mentality that we need the help of an expert for everything is entirely healthy. Still, it creates employment, I guess, if we think we are incapable of doing or learning anything much without an extra push from somewhere.

imnotmymum · 05/09/2012 12:28

wow year 3!! Sounds like easy money to me
Where does it stop..primary, secondary, uni they need to learn autonomy!! It is no wonder I get undergraduates that struggle in their first terms.

LackingNameChangeInspiration · 05/09/2012 12:31

I think I found uni learning easier because of the study skills tutoring I had actually! I wasn't running to the lecturers every five mins asking them to more or less tell them what references to use etc like fellow students who had never had anyone help them learn how to learn!

imnotmymum · 05/09/2012 12:35

well we should all have someone teaching us how to learn if that is what they are doing. Learning how to learn is different from say extra maths so we can be in the top class. And should that someone not be the teachers and parents??

Bonsoir · 05/09/2012 12:37

I don't think one can attach any kind of moral value to teaching by parents or school teachers over other sources of learning, including tutors. Children need to learn an awful lot, and conscientiousness parents do their utmost to give their children every possible opportunity to make headway.

OwlLady · 05/09/2012 12:39

It was very common when i lived in Kent

Bonsoir · 05/09/2012 12:40

Education in Kent is a healthy, competitive market place if ever there was one. I'm not sure I could name another place on earth where so many schools (state and private) and tutors cater so competitively for children's educational needs.

LackingNameChangeInspiration · 05/09/2012 12:41

well I got As in maths and did maths as a 1st year uni module and I don't think I'm qualified to TEACH maths at top class level, With maths its not so much the final answer as the working out and I may do that an "old" way IYKWIM

these are the kinds of things a tutor re-enforces - how to SHOW your working out in the best way to get the most marks, its a shame to know how to do it but not know how to properly show you know how to do it so you don't get the credit!

when you're strong in a subject you're not necessarily the teacher's main priority, they have a lot of other children to teach, but on a personal level you might want to improve a wee bit more

wordfactory · 05/09/2012 12:45

rabbit no one said you have to have a tutor for everyhting. And who said having a tutor and autonomous learning were mutually exclusive?

Most of us are capable of doing both you know. The vast majority of people are capable of making a decision about where they want to work it out for themselves, where they want to talk to fellow non-experts and hwere they want to bring in the big guns.

I do it all the time.

rabbitstew · 05/09/2012 12:48

Maybe some people need help learning how to learn and other people don't... The majority of what I have been "taught" about how to learn, how to do independent research, how to set out my work, how to revise, how to time exams, etc, in the past felt to me like a stupid waste of my time, with someone spouting out what merely seemed to be simple logic and common sense that could easily be divined without any help. One of my dss is like that, the other one isn't.

wordfactory · 05/09/2012 12:49

I alos think some things lend themselves to one-one and some to a collegiate experience. And some to solitary working out.

Applying the same system to all subjects in life, from golf to Latin, from astro physics to horse jumping...is all rather simplistic.

rabbitstew · 05/09/2012 12:51

Sorry, I don't think my children need big guns under the age of 11... Grin

LackingNameChangeInspiration · 05/09/2012 12:51

tutoring also suits some learning styles! If I am studying I take myself off to a cafe or a park or a library - for a fixed period of time, with no distractions and a time limit and a set amount of things to achieve. It has to be away from home
So going out to a tutor's house for an hour suited me much better than being sat at home with an indefinite amount of time to procrastinate

and I enjoyed it!

wordfactory · 05/09/2012 12:55

Ah well rabbit under the age of 11, my DC decided they did need to learn...

a couple of instruments, how to sing, how to dive, how to ride a horse, how to speak another language profficiently...and many may othet things which required the use of an expert IMVHO.

Bonsoir · 05/09/2012 12:56

Setting fixed times for studying/learning away from distractions is always a good way of achieving your goals. I used to hear DD read at a fixed time each day when I knew there was very little else to do - she didn't object at all because there was no other pull on her. Very effective.

imnotmymum · 05/09/2012 12:56

riding, sailing etc is diferent to academic subjects word those comparisons are silly and are hobbies and interests not getting a child in the able set.

rabbitstew · 05/09/2012 12:57

So do mine, but I guess your idea of a big gun and mine are different...

LackingNameChangeInspiration · 05/09/2012 13:03

I wouldn't fancy my kids learning to scuba dive independantly either! I'ld want a pro

same for sailing, even if they were mucking about on boats learning as they went I'ld still send them to a professional sea suvival and VHS radio tutor if they were getting into it

imnotmymum · 05/09/2012 13:09

Of course they need a professional for above hobbies Lacking [rolling eyes]

LackingNameChangeInspiration · 05/09/2012 13:15

why the roll eyes?
a lot of the discussion on here is about whether independant learning and professional tutoring are mutually exclusive! and I don't think they are, whether it's maths or sailing! there's always room for improvement and for professional input!

"I'm not sure the mentality that we need the help of an expert for everything is entirely healthy. Still, it creates employment, I guess, if we think we are incapable of doing or learning anything much without an extra push from somewhere."

imnotmymum · 05/09/2012 13:21

Because we were talking about tutoring a year 3 child in school subjects that can be assisted or learned in a (good) school or (good) home environment in the OP then we talking about scuba diving !!!

imnotmymum · 05/09/2012 13:22

If my child was taught scuba diving within school I would not get extra tutoring btw like they have swimming, learn their instruments within school etc they do not need any extra tutoring in these areas just support from us

BrittaPerry · 05/09/2012 13:24

I see myself as semi home educating them. I do think it quite odd to need a professional to tutor - to me, school teachers need to know teaching methods etc because of having to deal with 30 kids who they don't know very well. I would never be able to do that job and I admire them.

But I am perfectly able to teach my own kids.

LackingNameChangeInspiration · 05/09/2012 13:26

even if they really excelled at it and loved but the pool time in the school sessions were limited?

Its like that with school subjects, particularly the strong ones, there's only so much time timetabled for each subject

Then there's time and other siblings etc

higgle · 05/09/2012 13:28

I had tutors for my two sons to ensure they got into grammar school. The alternative would have been to move to an area with better comps and that would have been far more expensive. I suspect they would both have got in anyway, it was just insurance.