Faced with school’s demanding syllabus, ill-equipped to coach, parents turn to tuition

Some say they have been told by school teachers that their children need tuition, while others feel they cannot help their children with their homework because the subject matter is too tough and beyond their own knowledge. Parents and readers chime in with their reasons in response to the commentary, “Why parents turn to tuition for their kids” (Oct 22).

The real concern that I, as a working parent, have is not the number of exams creating stress, but rather the difficulty of the syllabus that is causing parents and children the stress. Cutting down exams is like taking the easy way out to solve an issue on hand, without really understanding the root cause of the problem. Tuition is not cheap and eats into the time which the kids could have spent doing other things they enjoy, so why would I want to spend money if the kids can cope with the syllabus or if I am able to cope with coaching them on my own?... Incidentally, my child’s feedback was that he mastered the concepts in tuition classes and not from school. I'm still figuring out why is there this learning gap if he has already spent more than half of his day in school. MEI LING

I think it is ridiculous to expect parents to be effective teachers at home. Firstly, they have no clue about the curriculum, and secondly, parents are not trained in pedagogy to be effective in supporting the learning of their children. Many have difficulties with the language and/or the way the language is used to present the information and the knowledge behind it. The material taught in schools today is no longer ABC or 123, and this is the value of such tuition centres. I think it is mindless to dismantle the tuition system just because some of us see this as a representation of elitism… How could something be elitist when anyone who wants to get to it can afford it? XIAOHAO MOK

First, not all parents want their children to have extra lessons after school. I certainly did not and have not, until my children started failing the continual and semestral assessments for their second language. Second, anyone who claims that parents could tutor their own children either does not have children or is not working full-time or is a saint. BENJAMIN CHEW

I am my child’s home-based “tutor”. Truly and sadly, the syllabus nowadays is beyond what these little brains can comprehend. Those who do well, and I mean do well without any external help, good for you. But I believe most need extra help from someone or somewhere, be it parents or enrichment class or tuition. Many times when I run through the primary school work, I myself feel so stressed. My generation does not have “number bonds”, “phonics”, complex math models, etc. Composition is composition, not the fanciful name now called “creative writing”. Sounds just like those “inflated” designations of some jobs. Those who say, just bite the bullet and go with it, perhaps you have not had a school-going child. And yes, we are biting the bullet here, but we are also raising our concerns. SHI YEE ONG

As a tutor, I can only say that the current syllabus is much more difficult than the earlier ones. Some students aren't able to handle the questions without guidance. School teachers are too overwhelmed, they are overworked. If the Ministry of Education wants to help, a review on the syllabus (and marking styles) will be a better idea than removing examinations. TIFFANY GOH EE CHUANG

Just what children need — to be studying all weekend long. You wonder why they grow to be neurotic. And for what? To work a desk job to pay for housing and a $200,000 Mercedes Benz? JENN WIDEBERG

Even a private pre-school that my boy attends has a word bank which is very difficult. Doesn’t sound like it is for Kindergarten 2 students. Parents have their work load and also have to make sure children learn well in the subject. ONG LI QIN

Tuition supplements the knowledge learnt in school and helps to strengthen the child's ability to do better so that they do not struggle in their academic journey… it is not all bad. Talking about stress level, it is really nothing compared to the students’ unexpected and unpredictable challenges in the future. Now we should slowly get them immersed into time management and acquire different knowledge and learning skills to adapt and change for the better. MISSY LINDA

I must say the modelling method for mathematics is very powerful, because I had tried it in the process of helping my kid. It makes understanding the questions and solving them so much easier. But teaching subjects to kids isn’t the best thing parents can do. Getting them to pay attention during lessons is. Only then, the methods can be imparted to them to make them useful. Similarly for science, even though I have studied pure science, I can’t help my kid. Science has advanced and many discoveries have been made and new knowledge is being discovered every day. That’s why I do not believe that parents should be in tutoring, but I also do not believe in tuition because it will add more stress to my kid… I work on my children’s attitude, and it is the only concern I always ask the teachers during parent-teacher meetings. MARK LEONG

Model problem-solving has been the gold standard for solving math word problem for many years. Parents just need to update themselves by looking through their child’s worksheet to understand their weakness. And it is also important for parents to attend the school’s parent-teacher meetings to get a better understanding of the school syllabus. A child’s education is not limited to the school. Parents must play a part, not just to teach them, but to encourage and show appreciation of their good effort. GEORGE TAY

Although I do agree with the views mentioned above, I’ll give an alternative perspective to this issue. Part of my childhood is spent in childcare and tuition centre, and I greatly appreciate the efforts that these centres made to ensure that I do well in school… To families with both spouses working, and to single-parent families, tuition centres and childcare centres play a tremendous role not just in the child’s educational development but also to assist these parents in their daily lives. Not all parents are fortunate to be well-educated, while others do not have the time to teach their children due to rigid working hours. Like in my case, both my parents are not educated, and my educational needs are aided by external parties. In my opinion, I think that Singapore’s education system is a big factor as to why extra curriculum classes are booming here. The rising standard of living and the need to work to earn a living complicate matters further for the parents. Furthermore, to cope with the increasingly difficult syllabus, it’s no surprise that parents turn to tuition centres for help. KAYLIE LAM

*Comments were first posted on TODAY's Facebook page and TODAY Readers Facebook group. They are edited for language and clarity.