17th October 2018 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A headmaster at a junior school has recently warned parents not to get a tutor for their children. Reported on the Times’ website, Journalist Lorraine Candy writes about her surprise when the normally mild-mannered headmaster passionately implored parents not to get a tutor at their year 3 welcome assembly. He said “Please, please don’t hire a private tutor. I can’t tell you the problems tutors caused us last year.”
The head used a couple of arguments to support his request. First of all, he said that he invests a lot in rating his teachers for their quality, and he doesn’t believe that tutors are subjected to the same assessment. Also, he said that some students have expressed confusion after being taught learning methods outside of school which are different from the school methods, learning methods which don’t match curriculum guidelines.
Adam Muckle, head of the Tutors Association agreed that sometimes hiring a tutor is not the best thing for a student, but said that it can have benefits. He thinks that tutors should be used to address a specific problem a student is having at school, or to help prepare for a test like the 11+. He added that sometimes the best way to employ a tutor is to teach a child something they do not learn at school, and that this can foster an interest in a subject for later in their life.
Candy said that she noticed parents pausing from note taking when the headmaster made his request, clearly surprised about being warned away from something they see as very positive. Her opinion is that the headmaster is right, and writes “opting out on the exam arms race early on is one of the most loving decisions you can make as a parent”.