When asked what they felt about the phenomenon of private tuition in Singapore, most Singaporeans would respond in a negative manner “Oh, the tuition culture has to go”.
However, while it’s true that some parents are over-doing it, it is not entirely fair to generalize all private tuition as bad. Just because eating too much red meat is bad doesn’t mean we should avoid it entirely. The same goes for anything– moderation is key.
Private tuition has its benefits and merits. In this article, let’s explore 6 benefits of private tuition that you can’t get from school!
1. Get Personalized Help
The number one reason why parents engage tutors from a private tuition agency is because they want a tutor that can give personalized help to their child – often in the weakest subjects.
Since a teacher has many students that they are required to teach at one time, it is difficult for them to have the time necessary to devote to one struggling student.
This results in a downward spiral – The student that is struggling is unable to follow the pace of the class, and falls further and further behind.
Participating in private tuition provides personalized help that weak students desperately need, giving them the opportunity to catch up to their peers.
2. Learn at own pace
If every child is different, then why teach them the same way? Unfortunately, with 25-40 students per class, teachers are often forced to adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach in their teaching methodologies.
With private tuition, the private tutor can develop an understanding of the student’s learning preferences over time, and adapt his or her teaching methods to suit the student.
For instance, the student may be more of a hands-on learner. Instead of babbling on for hours, the private tutor can design fun activities to engage the student and grab his or her attention. Another example would be online tuition (aka digital learning). It brings convenience and flexibility that is otherwise not possible with traditional school-based learning.
Not only will the student learn more but lessons will be much more enjoyable and it can really spark the student’s passion for learning.
3. Convenient
Let’s face it – private tuition is convenient. You can have it anytime, anywhere – but mostly at the comforts of your own home.
If your child hates mornings, his or her brain may be shut off during those dreaded morning lessons they are forced to attend. They can come home after school, take a good nap and then shower and come out refreshed for an evening tuition session where they can learn best.
As opposed to going for tuition centre classes, the convenience of private tuition also saves you money and precious time travelling to and fro.
4. Choice
Your child may have complained that he or she cannot follow the school teacher’s pace of teaching or cannot understand the teacher’s explanations. Or perhaps, your child simply just doesn’t like the school teacher and doesn’t enjoy learning from them.
Well, you can’t choose your school teacher, but you can choose your private tutor.
At SmileTutor Tuition Agency, if you don’t like your private tutor, simply request for a change. You only need to pay for lessons that are conducted and there are no penalties.
5. Learn outside the syllabus
Schools have to follow syllabus but private tutors can teach anything under the sun. With the right tuition agency, you can find all kinds of tutors; university lecturers, PhDs, working professionals etc.
The benefits of engaging such private tutors is that because they are not just teachers, they can provide unique perspectives and experiences that links plain textbook theory to outside-the-classroom applications.
One example would be engaging a university professor with experience in scientific research to tutor your child in Science. With their insights and experience, you can be sure that the boring science theories can be brought to life.
If you want your child to be academically bright, it’s important to expand their horizons by learning more than just the syllabus and finding meaning to what they learn.
6. Learn extra-curricular subjects
While the subjects taught in school can be quite limited, you can literally learn anything under the sun via private tuition.
At SmileTutor, we offer private tuition for more than 200 different subjects under 17 categories: Primary, Secondary, JC, IB, IGCSE, Languages, Olympiads, IELTS, SATs, Coding, Sports, Music, University, Special Needs and more.
Academics are not limited to English, Math, Science, and Chinese. Whether it’s a new language, musical instruments or sports, you can find private tutors to teach your child depending on what he or she is interested in learning and what talents they have.
It’s a good idea to pick up at least one additional subject of interest. It’ll go a long way in your child’s future.
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