30th January 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
It would not be amiss to say that the number of pupils receiving private tuition over and above their school teaching, is increasing every year. Not only are children having swimming lessons, attending ballet classes and football academies, and being versed in the art of watercolour painting, but they are constantly under pressure to improve their academic achievements.
Since I have begun my foray into the world of tutoring, it is with bemused regret that I hear of parents wondering if it is too late for their three year old son to start tutoring for Oxbridge, or requesting a tutor who can teach their daughter how to interview for entry to Primary School. Has the world gone mad? Surely the best way for a child to find their feet in this crazy world is to allow them the time to play, discover and learn about it and themselves in a relaxed and safe environment.
When I used to complain about the pressure of trying to achieve straight A’s at GCSE and A level, my mother would always answer with, ‘Well, back in my day…’, and that would be the end of that conversation. In hindsight, perhaps she was right to examine the change in educational culture over the past few decades. Not that it appears to have been any easier in her ‘day’, but education was less of a circus with hoops that have to be jumped through and tight-ropes that have to be walked across.
Here enters the trusty tutor, armed with past papers, mind maps and flash cards aimed at helping the student to achieve exactly what they desire – top grades and offers from universities. But perhaps what the tutor is really giving is not just extra help to solve those tough equations or mark those timed essays, but time to listen, help and explain, time that today’s teachers simply don’t have the budget for. Unfortunately, time is money.