16th May 2011 9:00
By Blue Tutors
An interesting report in the Los Angeles Times recently has again asked the question about the best way to bring up one’s children. Should kids have private tutoring? Should they be pushed to achieve academic excellence at an early age, at the expense of many of the fun things that we expect children to do? Things that make children, children.
Taking two families in the San Marino district of California, they have starkly different ideas about the best way to bring up their children, although it’s not clear which method is better for the students concerned: the intensive, tuition led, approach to school studies, or the relaxed, sport and leisure based upbringing.
The first family, the Lees, say that the world is a tough place, and to prepare students properly, they must experience that toughness from an early age. Their youngest son, Derek, has already achieved a perfect score of 800 on his maths SAT test, but still has a gruelling schedule to keep, including private tutors for many AP subjects. His time spent playing sport, or playing computer games is limited to only a few minutes after school, and he knows that any deviation from his mother’s tight schudle will mean those few fun minutes are taken away from him.
Another family, the Larriva-Latts, strongly believe that the best route to happiness for their children is to create a passion to do whatever they want. Learning is student-led, and the students are encouraged to develop an interest in their subjects by reading newspapers, and visiting art galleries and museums. Tutoring isn’t out of the question for the Larriva-Latts, but it’s certainly not part of their daily routine. When either daughter is struggling, and anxious about schoolwork, their father encourages them to play sport.
With so many factors affecting someone’s happiness and general well-being, it’s impossible to say which family’s approach is better for the students involved, and whether private tuition is the boost they need, or an unnecessary distraction from playing.