To Hire or Not to Hire a Private Tutor?

The topic of whether to hire a private tutor comes up over and over again. Articles about private tutoring appear in the news on a regular basis. I often find such articles to be both interesting and educational.

Most of these articles tend to discuss about the reasons why parents enroll their children in private tuition classes. Many delve deep into the subject to discuss about the pros and cons of attending extra lessons. So much have been said about private tuition that sometimes, I can’t help but think that it can be confusing for parents to come to a decision. I also think that with too much information, discussions can go round in circles and not lead to fruitful decisions.

Some parents claim that their children are already doing well in school. So they do not need to attend tuition. Other parents disagree. Some parents feel that all those extra lessons will lead to stress. Again, there will be some who disagree. So who is right?

Hopefully, I can help to simplify the decision making process. In my opinion, parents need not overthink the issue of hiring a private tutor. Everything has its pros and cons. We risk doing nothing if we measure and weigh every pro and every con right down to its milliounce.

Many private educators play an important role in the development of students. For instance, bright kids who get bored easily with the school curriculum can attend private lessons to challenge themselves. Students who are struggling with core subjects may wish to spend more time on the subject by attending tuition after school. These are all sound decisions that benefit the students.

When it comes to attending private lessons, I believe it comes down to just two critical questions.

First, is the teacher a good one? Parents will need to perform the necessary due diligence to answer this question. Based on personal experience, good teachers are hard to come by. They are usually encouraging and supportive, and they genuinely care about the progress of the students.

Second, do time and financial resources allow the child to attend private lessons? Private tuition should not place an unnecessary financial burden on the family. But for those with the resources, it makes sense to let a child stretch his or her wings with additional lessons.

If the answer is ‘yes’ to both questions above, then I highly recommend that parents let their children attend private lessons.