27th March 2019 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A third of parents who hire a private tutor for their child admit that they may lie about it to avoid being seen as ‘pushy’. Reported on the Daily Mail’s website, parents say they try to keep tuition a secret, or even lie about it, because they are worried about how they are viewed, and also that they don’t want to give the impression that their children aren’t intelligent enough to do well at school without a tutor.
A parent in Cambridge, Dawn Green, said that no other mothers were talking about tutoring when she hired a maths GCSE tutor for her son who has dyslexia. She said that she senses a competitiveness among parents not to admit that their child needs help, and cited the recent exam changes as a reason she opted for a tutor; parents are worried about the increased difficultly due to the changes.
The chairman of the Campaign For Real Education described private tuition as a ‘forced emergency service’. Chris McGovern said that he understands why parents lie about hiring a tutor; it’s admitting a problem and they don’t want the resulting attached stigma, but also that we can’t blame parents for doing this, they are simply trying to do the best for their children.
A spokesperson from the Association Of School And College Leaders said that the results of our exam system have never mattered more, which is creating increased pressure. He added that parents should still speak to their child’s school before seeking a tutor, because there is often extra help available.