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I'm writing an article for my newspaper on the the pros and cons of private tutoring. not tutoring kids with learning disablitilites, but just focusing on the more "well-off" studentswho can offord to have a teacher from the high school come to their homes for private tutoring. What's your take on this? many of the teachers give supplementary test prep problems/ mult choice/ long answer/ essay questions/special notes that the teacher prepares specially/etc. most charge from $50-100.00 an hour.
do you think its appropriate? would it be more appropriate if it wasnt actual teachers from the school doing it? do you think its unfair for the kids who cant afford it? do you think it's ok? plleeaasseee id really be interested in your opinon. thanks so much.

By Becks777 (Becks777) on Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 10:17 pm: Edit

yes it would be more appropriate if techers outside the school do it.......otherwise it does seem a bit unfair

By Ml41588 (Ml41588) on Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 07:46 pm: Edit

bump

By Ml41588 (Ml41588) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 11:22 am: Edit

bump bump bump

By Francesca (Francesca) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 01:44 pm: Edit

I’m not quite sure what kind of tutoring you’re talking about but I guess it’s probably SAT tutoring stuff like that? I don’t know if this is therefore relevant but in my experience have had a tutor for calc/science in my sophomore year of HS. At that time I attended a large, badly organized High school with bad behaviour, overcrowded classes and terrible teaching. One day our teacher ‘disappeared’ and then we had substitute after substitute week after week and the instability of the teaching meant I was learning nothing and that seriously worried my parents and me. It got to the point where I was actually crying over the whole thing so my parents (despite not being well off) got me a tutor. For them, it was the lesser of the two evils. At the end of sophomore year I transferred out of that HS for good.

I’ve got to tell you that the tutor did not cost as much as $50 still he was expensive, but in the end I think my parents and I agree that it paid off, I now have a real passion for calc and bio and I am doing reasonably well in them.

The take on the whole thing really depends. For me I think it was appropriate and necessary and I don’t regret a thing. I know other people in my situation who also got tutors and they similarly view it as a positive experience. However, for me, I would like to see schools across America become so good that there is NO NEED for tutors. As I said I am not well off, and that year my family sacrificed a lot just for that tutor. And for kids who certainly can’t afford it, I think it’s tough and totally unfair- what do they do?

That’s just my take on subject/grade tutoring within my own experiences. I feel it does depend a lot on the circumstances, for example, I must admit I feel slightly differently toward SAT tutoring and “getting the edge” when it comes to college app time… so I think circumstances come into it a lot.

By Parentofteen (Parentofteen) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 02:07 pm: Edit

My nieces and a nephew from two different families shared a math tutor while in high school. He was actually a single engineer who enjoyed helping them once or twice per week in exchange for a home-cooked meal and a small fee. (probably $20 - I don't recall) They were all smart kids who had poor teachers and needed extra help that their parents did not feel qualified to give them. I do not see a problem with hiring tutors at all. I'm glad my own kids have not needed one, but if they did, I would not hesitate to search for one. As for poorer kids, it is a shame that they often lack the resources to find or hire a tutor.

Our local high school has worked diligently to address the need for tutoring over the last few years. All the teachers are required to stay in their classrooms on designated days after school to be available to any student who needs help.

By Ml41588 (Ml41588) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 02:12 pm: Edit

circumstances definately play a big part in if its ethically/morally accpetable. i really think in your situation it was totally ok. i go to a pretty good high school, and the teachers arent bad for the most part, its just that the kids who can afford a tudor(s) in a subject (math, sci, soc, etc) usually do get one and bc they have one, usually disrupt the whole class by talking and fooling around bc they know that in the end *theyll* be fine.

By Sac (Sac) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 02:55 pm: Edit

I don't think it's appropriate for teachers from the school to do it. Every school I know of keeps a list of tutors for students who need to seek outside help. If the school's teachers are on that list, it would seem to put pressure on families to hire them. It also appears to me to be a conflict of interest in that it allows the teacher to develop a very different relationship with a student met with one on one in the home than the teacher develops with students in a classroom. Shouldn't the teachers be offering free help during lunchbreaks and other periods as part of their job?

One of the reasons for math tutoring is that math is one of those subjects that different students learn in different ways. Sometimes all it takes is an explanation that is not the same one given in class or in the textbook. Having a tutor you also have in the classroom would seem to defeat this purpose.

My son has done math tutoring. He charges $20 an hour. One summer when he was in middle school, we and another family asked a math teacher if he would consider coming to the house and doing more advanced math with two students. This was more in the nature of math "games" and concepts that had nothing to do with what was taught in the classroom. This teacher didn't want to take any money for it, because he really enjoyed going beyond textbook math with kids, but I believe we insisted on $40 an hour, split by the two families. This is different from tutoring and, since these particular boys were both in a special situation -- already working one on one with the teacher at school -- I don't believe it led to favoritism. Still, I could see that perhaps other students at this small private middle school might have resented how this particular teacher was mentoring these two. At a large high school, I don't think it would have happened.

As for tutoring in general, it is unfair that some students can afford it and others can't. It's also unfair that some students have parents who went far enough in math or science to help them and others don't. I'd suggest that along with your article about the controversial practice of teachers who do tutoring on the side, you include as a public service as thorough a list of resources as you can find for kids who need free help. Literacy programs at the library? Homework clubs? Writing center at the school? Students who tutor others as part of National Honors Society or to fufill a requirement in advanced math classes? Etc.

By Ml41588 (Ml41588) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 03:19 pm: Edit

sac..you made some really good points, i will definately include what you mentioned in my article. thanks for answering.

By Ml41588 (Ml41588) on Friday, September 19, 2003 - 08:30 pm: Edit

what do u think?