Once unheard of by anyone, parents have started attending tuition classes in place of their kids in order to assist their kids and understand what they are going through in schools. Concept Math Education Centre is just one of the few education institutes that have been offering crash courses for the various subjects that are currently being tested in primary schools. But should parents go to such tuition centres to help their children in their studies? Or is this just a gimmick that the billion-dollar tuition industry has been propagating as they try to expand their empire?
The idea of parents going for tuition in order to help their children started based on good intentions, mainly because parents have always been keen on playing a part in their children’s education. However, not many parents are educated in the basic materials taught today, or perhaps they’ve been rusty with the subject. Not to mention, materials that the kids are studying today have been increasingly difficult as the push towards creativity and problem solving has directed the education system towards one that is extremely challenging. Parents too, when asked if such workshops are useful seem to have only positive comments about the new initiative. They find that by understanding what their kids are going through, they are able to better empathise with the struggles as well as provide aid when their kids require them.
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Naysayers, on the other hand, are standing by the ideology that parents becoming more educated in the field and helping their children will not only lead to mixed results but may lead to a larger negative impact. For one kids will start becoming more reliant on their parents for help and this may lead to a greater problem of spoon feeding. On top of that, this works as a double-edged sword as kids may no longer see the need to approach their teachers in class when they are faced with difficulties.
However, experts agree that the extra assurance and guidance that comes when parents understand the content that the kids are doing could provide ample encouragement, support and understanding for the children. Now, this may not have been the case for the previous generations of kids because parents are either sending them to extra-curricular classes as that was the only way they knew that could possibly benefit the child.
Finally, the million-dollar question as to whether parents should attend tuition classes. This ultimately depends on how parents choose to use their knowledge that they gain from these tuition lessons. Instead of spoon feeding their kids with the solution, parents should instead focus more on empathising with them and aiding them to arrive at the right answer. A lot of times, simple guidance and prodding the kids towards the method of thinking is more important than giving them the solution. Adding to that, parents should learn to be more understanding and patient when teaching kids after knowing the pains that the child goes through. This initiative of having tuition classes for parents could really blossom to be a good thing if used in the right way and should be encouraged when needed.