Years ago private lessons were only for weak students and when they were given, they were done for free or for a very low charge. Today, however, private lessons are given even to the best students, especially during the period of final exams. At such times, we often see advertisements placed in newspapers by those who are willing to do private tutoring.
Have we reached the point where a student needs teachers besides those at school? And if so, why aren’t students benefiting from their teachers and the lessons in school? Why are private lessons being given to elementary as well as secondary students? Can a school teacher also be a tutor to students in his or her class? Are subjects such as math, English and science so difficult that they require extra lessons and under what circumstances does a student really need private lessons?
In addressing this issue, Sayidaty, a sister publication of Arab News, met a group of teachers, a headmistress, some mothers and a student as well as a psychologist. We asked the mothers why they wanted their children to have private lessons and at what stage the private lessons became necessary.
Sanaa Bayumi said: “Some families think that private lessons are a basic need for children in order to raise their educational standard. And what we see is that many mothers push their children to private lessons since the mothers are unsure of their own ability to help their children. I think that a mother should try to explain things to her child first in order to assess whether there really is a need for private lessons. The low educational standards of many mothers make it hard for them to keep up with their children’s progress, especially in math and English. In such cases, private lessons are an alternative. There are families which employ private teachers at exam times, thinking that this will ensure that the child will pass his or her exams. I disagree with this and think there should be a focus on the child’s lessons from the beginning of the year.”
Rowdah Kamal agrees with Sanaa Bayumi. “A successful mother should have her eye on her children’s lessons from the start and she should be watching to see that they get good marks in all subjects. I was adamant about my children’s schooling from the beginning and I helped them myself when they were in elementary schools. However, when they got into higher classes, I needed to provide them with private teachers so that the teachers could help them and because I knew I could not. I made sure that I kept up with what the tutor was doing with my children and I dealt with those subjects that I felt comfortable with. Parents should be careful about what the tutor is doing since what a child needs is to have the lesson explained.”
Wafaa Al-Qadi, a headmistress, said: “I’d like to clarify that, as a school administrator, we will not agree to any of our teachers giving private lessons to any student. If there is something a student doesn’t understand, then he or she should ask the teacher for help and explanations. By the way, there is always plenty of time given to revision in the syllabus. This should make private teachers unnecessary. Private lessons are given to students because of parents who see that their children are weak in some subjects; also some parents do not keep up with their children’s educational progress and so they think the best thing is to hire a private teacher. Most children are intelligent enough but they do need someone to supervise them on a daily basis but this doesn’t necessarily mean employing a tutor. All that a mother needs to do is organize her time so that she is fully aware of her children’s schooling and can help them with their homework.”
Sameera Al-Ghamdi, a psychologist, said: “One problem with mothers teaching their children is that they tend to be impatient and short-tempered. In addition, many families start searching for a tutor before they find out why their child’s performance is weak and what the real problem is. If a child’s school performance has gone down over the years, there is a reason.”
Sara Abdul Minem said: “When teachers in private schools write in a student’s notebook that he or she is weak and needs help, the implication is that a private teacher could help. The concern of the family and the school is to improve the child’s performance so that the school is proud of the results; the teacher, on the other hand, is only augmenting his or her income. Another negative aspect to private lessons is that the student assumes that one should focus on possible exam questions and so he or she ignores the rest of the syllabus which is an important part of education.”
Tahani Al-Jamal said: “All those who work in the field of education know that it’s crucial for a teacher to do his or her duty. And what’s important for any family is that parents and the school communicate for the benefit of the child so that solutions can be found for any problem a student may encounter. I think another factor which makes parents look for tutors is that in some schools the classes are large and the teacher is unable to focus on each student. This leads to students misbehaving. At the end of the day, if the teacher is doing his or her job and a student asks questions about what he or she does not understand, then there will be no need for private tutors or lessons.”