A Necessity
An interesting topic that has touched each one of us, one way or the other. Tuition classes I’d say are an extra option open to parents……a necessity for children whose parents are “first generation parents” into a particular medium sometimes and wanting to provide a better future for their children, at other times. Not everyone of us are lucky to have been educated. In a society where women are still oppressed, few girls are lucky to go to school and fewer still to learn the global language…’English’. But when it’s their child’s turn they want to provide them with the best…..Tuitions then are the best options for those parents who can not teach their own children. But they have every right to give their child the best education possible. Tuitions are a blessing for them.
A Support
For some parents tuition classes become a ’support’ and the only option that may help their children to understand lessons taught in class, which they couldn’t understand. We all agree that all children are different and unique in their own way…..and not necessarily of the same intelligence or IQ or grasping power or understanding. Some children need more attention which is sometimes not possible for the class teacher to attend to amongst 50 children in a class with a time bound syllabus completion. Children are at a complete loss and parents are left baffled! In that case…tuitions are the best option…..where a tuition teacher gives the extra attention the child needed. This does not excuse the class teacher…but that’s another topic completely.
Ladders
For some parents, tuition classes are ‘ladders’ that help them and their wards to climb to the top and stay there! They want to make sure that their children do not lose their rank/position in class. This unhealthy competition to push the child to perform is another reason why tuition classes flourish. If the child is good in studies he/she will do well…there is no need to push them.
Status Quo
Tuition classes are ’status quo’ for some parents….” my child attends English, maths and computers and science from different tuition teachers” is a very common statement these days!! It shows they have the money to provide so many teachers for their child….also how much they care and are concerned!!!! Whether the child really learns anything or not is not their concern….the very fact that they are providing their child with so many tuition teachers is important. They do not realize that they are robbing their child’s play time and natural growth.
Escape Route
Again, for some parents tuition classes are an ‘escape route’…that saves them from not having to bother about their child’s studies. “Oh, her tuition teacher knows”, is another common statement I’ve come across. I’m appalled at these parents who do not have time for their children.
Tuition/coaching classes in higher classes I think is a must though, as it is time for the child to be more attentive and competitive too…..after all he has to choose a career based on his performance. Moreover, kids are grown up by then and can decide for themselves.
So it is fair to say that tuitions come as a blessing for some children while pain for others. It robs the child of precious play time which is a MUST…..because most children go to tuition classes after school hours. A parent who is educated enough to teach his/her own child should not send them for tuitions and parents who require to send their children for tuition classes must take care to provide the child with entertainment time too. A child needs to play as much as he/she needs to study. Let us provide them a happy and balanced childhood.
- Barnali Sen
July 22nd, 2010 at 5:23 am
Tuition classes are an absolute necessity and always was.If one imagines parents think it is a necessity out of vanity it is wrong.The syllabus keep on changing and parents with whatever qualification cannot coach their child.And class room teaching is not what it was couple of decades ago for obvious reasons,one being people accepting this noble profession for want of a job and not because they want to become teachers.And in government schools in India there simply are no teachers.What option a parent has?It is easy to theorize,when it comes to ones’ own child the considerations are entirely different.
July 22nd, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Interesting Discussion. The education system today has become a lucrative business. Schools charge exorbitant fees and teachers are underpaid. For most teachers the option of teaching is a last resort and have no passion in them to be inspiring teachers. Schools are ranked based on their pass percentages and this pushes school authorities to pressurize the children to perform, thereby turning the classrooms into torture chambers of memorizing and regurgitating without really understanding and appreciating.For children to perform and get high scores tuitions have become the only answer. Tutors too have made this a lucrative business by running 3-4 batches of tuitions per day either in the early hours of the morning or late evening hours. This leaves children with no time to play, connect with nature or develop any other social skills. The education system has made students to be components in a factory assembly line, where defective components are discarded sooner or later. To make children perform parents, teachers and even administrative staff employ corporal punishments at times. Such a system will turn out to be detrimental to the health and well being of the future society. It is time parents, teachers, institutions, policy and decision makers wake up to this and bring about positive changes on par with global standards of education in the country.