Tutoring 3 & 4-year-olds for private school assessments

[expatkat]

How do you feel about this?

I left Manhattan in part to avoid this madness, only to discover that in London getting your kid into a decent school, state or otherwise, is an equal or worse nightmare.

As Janinlondon pointed out on a fascinating thread on school interviews, people REALLY DO have their kids coached for their school assessments. All the time.

Now, I honestly don't care what people do or what choices they make andto illustrate thisI'll explain I was once called on mumsnet, rather damningly I thought, a member of the "live and let live brigade." But I really have a problem with tutoring small children. I feel viscerally, deeply horrified by it. I wish I could see it more objectively or forgivingly, but my own upbringingwhich emphasized academic achievement & name-brand education at the expense EVERYTHING ELSE in lifeshowed me the pitfalls of following that path.

I would be very open to other views, though. What do y'all think?

I have no idea why my phone changed your name like that, Sakura, sorry!

I am a professional tutor - I coach kids for grammar school entrance - my waiting list goes to 2017 even though I am expensive because I am very good at what I do.

I would never coach a 3 year old though - that is madness!

I am taking the education of my own children very seriously though.

Madness! Especially as these days private schools are feeling the recession as much as anyone else and lots will take a reasonably engaged child rather than leave a place open. There's one prep school round here that do these so-called assessments....I don't know of one person who failed to get a place for their child there....

We have moved away now but when we were in the NW, my DCs attended a school which assessed at 4+.

Tbh, I don't think it was that rigourous but with 110 applicant for 60 places, I guess they took those that showed the most potential during the assesment. Whether it was accurate of not is another matter. My eldest 2 are very academic but the younger one not so much. I think she would have got a place however due to having 2 siblings in the school but as we moved, I'll never know.

We didn't tutor though we did foster a constant questioning mentality in the kids. So they were forever asking what something was and why things happened. This probably helped but I'm quite sure there would have been lots of equally able children who would just clam up at 4.

Just not sure how you would tutor tbh. Wouldn't you risk a child saying, "Mummy said I should say..."?

rigorous

And remember, they have to do something. Our school has 20 places in reception. This year there are 14 sibs in the class, so there were 6 places open, and over 200 applicants. Either you run on first come first served, resulting in the scenes everyone laughs at in London, of fathers's first task after the birth being to mail the school applications, generally before calling grandparents, which totally stuffs people moving into the area later, or you somehow chose by looking at them. So glad I don't have to work out which 6 to take out of those stats.

kj