Young Children's Tutoring/Coaching Whilst Maintaining Schooling & Regular Extra Curricular Activities

Unified on 12/07/2017 - 23:34
Last edited 13/07/2017 - 11:19 by 1 other user

Hi Ozbargainers,

I have searched through the forum and found only 1 thread but that seemed to be a troll / person who posted was rude. After lot of asking around as usual ended up to my favourite forum for assistance/help. Below is my issues/confusions and seeking help:

  1. In Sydney, There are lots of tutoring and coaching classes around so it's a confusing world to decide.
  2. So far we have found Northshore, Pre-Uni, CS Education, James An; spoke to them and nobody could advise/indicate why they are better than others I mean what makes them unique or stand out in the crowd
  3. As a parent, we kind of under peer-pressure and thinking of sending our children to Tutoring for 1 class/few hours in a week probably on a weekend
  4. Our son is very sportive both within and outside school; we want to maintain that. Also taking swimming classes and hoping to maintain that.
  5. A lot of his classmates go to tutoring and the parents strongly advises to do that else getting into OC or Selective High would be a slim chance. We want our so to be all rounder however recent overall competition and being in a wrong school is kinda hard to shine down the track. Its would be nice for him to be selected in OC and then down the track in Selective but we feel that should not be must.
  6. Asked a lot of parents and so far nobody can tell me why they sent and which coaching is better/best for building strong foundation so he doesn't find study is challenging down the track and drop out at an unexpected time of his age. It's a bit frustrating for us as we haven't found anybody who could tell specific reason why they sent their kids to this/that coaching centre for so and so specific reason.
  7. He has been progressing well what we can see just by taking some online random tests or through excel series etc. Scoring between 75-85% range mostly. Apparently he needs to stay above 90% to get into OC

Appreciate if you guys can share your experiences and any suggestions may have which will help us to determine. Please don't take this as a troll and sorry to post this boring topic. Thanks,

Education & Work

Comments

  • Halsmich on 13/07/2017 - 00:28

    Can I ask what year level your son is right now?
    Out of the tutors you listed I've only been to North Shore and James An, so I can't offer any insight into the others. I started in grade 3 at North Shore myself, then went to James An in year 7 and 8 for their selective entry program, and then went back to North Shore for the rest. For the earlier years I definitely found NS to be quite good, teachers were capable, there were weekly booklets where you and your classmates would go through the class work together with the teacher, and then likewise finish the homework at the back at home. The booklets are pretty useful since they're a good summary of the term's work in 10 booklets, and NS generally sticks with your school curriculum, albeit a bit ahead. Another plus is the test at the end of each term, which is a good indicator of your son's performance. This layout pretty much stays the same for each year level. As for James An, I can't comment too much on their normal classes, since the selective entry class was basically mock exams every lesson. Not sure if any of my infos may be relevant, since I'm not exactly sure how 'OC' works (Victorian here), but I definitely would also recommend your son going to a tutor. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.

    • Unified on 25/08/2017 - 14:45

      Hi Halsmich,
      Thanks very much for your quick reply and apologies for getting back to you late. My son is in Yr3 and he is not very focused however if he can be managed to be focused, he does good and sometime excels. From my very quick search, we didn't find James An appealing however there must be something students/parents go for. I have heard mixed messages about NS but have ended up going to CS Education considering overall logistics reason and so far finding that good.

  • Findo on 13/07/2017 - 02:10
    +1

    Selective or top private schools, those are the only worthwhile options. You can sort of see if your child has the potential to succeed academically, if he/she does, by all means go for it, but if he/she doesn't, perhaps it's wise investing in other talents?

    • Unified on 25/08/2017 - 14:49

      Thanks niggard, my son has the potentials all we needed disciplined academic lessons. He is a very sporty and active boy an plays Soccer in school and local clubs, also does swimming and great Xboxer. As a parent, my wish he shines overall and find education is one of the key principals of overall success in life. Hoping but not dying for it that he can balance this in his life.

  • lupiter on 13/07/2017 - 08:39
    +5

    Please don't start your kid too early, kids need time to be kids. I saw too many teens (at my selective school) whose entire self-esteem was tied to their grades. :( But everyone I knew who had paid help did Kumon or had a private tutor, so YMMV.

    • Unified on 25/08/2017 - 14:50

      Thanks for the comment, its the peer pressure which forced us to lookout what's out there.

  • Findo on 13/07/2017 - 12:19

    In all honesty though, your child might not want to be pushed to extreme heights of academic achievement. I went to a top selective school in Sydney and if I could turn back time, I would've elected to go to Shore or Knox (my other options). The crazy shit I saw at that school to succeed academically and the rates of burn out I would not wish on any kid.
    I assume you want your child in a tutoring place to further their academic potential in order to gain a spot in an OC class and/or selective school, but it's not everything. People can and do thrive in non-selective schools.

    • Unified on 25/08/2017 - 15:01

      Well said niggard and thanks very much

  • TheBilly on 13/07/2017 - 13:39
    +3

    I got a couple of years tutoring in early primary school at one of your above listed tutoring centres. I never made it to a selective school. Fast forward to year 12 I chose not to get tutoring this time and waste my parents money and instead put in the hard yards myself, I also had strict but motivating parents who were happy and supportive with that risk. I received a 97 + as a result. Fast Forward many more years and I'm just a frugal wage slave like every one else on here (I am decently paid and doing reasonably well in life but am just average). Try and see the wisdom in what I have written as I can't spell it out - but developing character / positive reinforcement / giving attention / controlled autonomy - is what I believe will attain a good result as opposed to structured tutoring. I have seen so many people I grew up with in a similar situation just burn out, and the ones that didn't burn out are just average frugal wage slaves like myself, nobody went away to change the world.

    • ihbh on 13/07/2017 - 14:52

      ^ This longer term perspective is worth noting.

      If you get a chance, watch Channel 4's Hong Kong's Tiger Tutors. Even the star tutor acknowledges that tutoring is a waste for the kids that need tutoring.

      I went to a public primary and secondary school in a low socioeconomic area but was naturally inquisitive. I got the equivalent of 100% in my HSC. My parents suggested I trial a bit of tutoring (1 on 2) in year 11, but it was useless and a waste of their money so didn't continue - I prefer to learn myself. The university course I took had very bright students. I'm not sure how many had tutoring - many came from private and selective schools, but probably got there on their own merit. Kids with average or above average ability that might have gotten in the course through tutoring would not have passed.

      Fast forward to work, and I've done well without having to work long hours and have been able to experience things people aren't aware of until very late in life. But I'm a life long learner and have been able to to continually learn and grow.

      What about my kids? We focus on physical activity, self-exploration and interacting with a big community of people. Hopefully we'll foster a life long love of learning and growth, personal leadership and a confident ability to interact with others, not mechanical rote learning which is useless.

    • Unified on 25/08/2017 - 15:10
      +1

      @TheBily,
      Thanks for the insights from your success and I am sure you also enjoy being your own drive to whatever level you have reached. Money, lavishness is not everything, ultimate happiness is the key. We are in a society where wrong peer pressure drives most which is a contact battle me as a parent but still would like to focus with a proper education whether its educational, sports, activities or overall discipline in life. We are trying with our son the balance and at the same time to see whether he can build up a high self-esteem so he doesn't feel later parents could have tried bit extra.

      • TheBilly on 25/08/2017 - 15:17
        +1

        Self Esteem is so important. I think Self Esteem solves a lot of life's issues and assist in getting through difficulties.

        • Unified on 25/08/2017 - 15:48
          +1

          It is indeed and thanks for acknowledging that. I have been through very tough time in life on several occasions however Self-esteem and dignity helped me to overcome them to a great extent. I have also seen some people who were successful in their life but lack of dignity and esteem and they didn't know what they were missing, I really feel for them.

  • Buny on 19/07/2017 - 23:18

    Hi

    People often say that tutoring classes are a scam. They are to some extent but one thing they will do is pressure your child into doing work/studying. If your child is very good at studying by himself and keeping focus it would be a better use of his time to stay home and study. There are several textbooks you can buy designed for the OC test and Selective test which have basically all the content and the type of question your child will encounter in the exams. Most of the tutoring centres all base their question around the questions found in the textbooks and some even outright copy them.

    If your child isn't the most focused student a tutoring centre can be very useful. James an booklets are quite detailed but their teachers aren't consistent across centres. I would recommend places that are standalone and have a good reputation.

    Mr. Yee is an Asian tutor who teaches classes in Campsie. He is renowned within the Asian community. He does have an entrance exam but he has been on the newspapers for having almost a 100% rate of students making selective. Another renowned centre would STC in Hurstville. Their teachers have been teaching their for quite some time and some of the teachers work in OC schools. They are renowned for their trial tests which offers students an exam condition where they do all the parts of the test. They then estimate your students mark. The trials tests run every week and your child average across these tests will be quite accurate. Give or take 10 from the actual test.

    Most younger children aren't as focused or do not have the focus to self study. I recommend you have him try out some coaching schools. Most offer a free lesson to see if your child likes it. If you son is in fact quite focused I do believe tutoring will be a waste of time and effort.

    • Unified on 25/08/2017 - 15:52

      @Buny,
      Thanks for your thoughful comments, appreciate it.

      • Unified on 17/02/2019 - 09:40

        Hi Buny,
        Not sure you are still active on the thread. Just wondering whether you have Mr.Yee's contact no in Campsie. Thanks

  • Unified on 25/08/2017 - 16:12

    Thanks everyone for your comments and very thoughtful insights from individuals perspective, really appreciate it.

    We took our son to several places and he appeared for the tests and came out well, I wouldn't say the best as it was probably his first to anything like this. I discussed in detail and what I found most of them are +/- same. What I found the bigger the place the more commercial the attitude is which can go at times against who is not born talented. For example when I went to Pre-Uni Strathfield it was like suffocating for me so could imagine how my son was for that 90mins test, and when he came out the first thing he said the environment is tough, he had a good score though. Anyway that's just my personal experience. Checked other big named famed places and all were more or less same.

    Overall considering logistics and timing wise, we ended up enrolling him to CS Education they seemed to be balanced. So far its been 6 weeks and my son is enjoying ok wouldn't say he is extremely excited as he is well rounded young boy so besides education he is got other priorities. One thing we have experienced that he is getting bit more disciplined than in the past and coincidentally he did very good in Naplan, the result just came out.

    My suggestion would be do your own homework if you think of enrolling your children as you know them best. To my findings most parents think the tutoring/coaching centre will make their children's academic outcome upside down which in my perspective completely wrong. Parents time with their children is the best, these coaching classes are just to keep us aligned to schedules which eventually gives positive results if we stick to it. I think most of stick to it because we pay a good amount of money and time. Happy learning :-)

    • rosy on 10/07/2020 - 20:31

      Just after the same deciding on which one is best Pre-uni or CS education. If your child could make in selective and did you continue with Cs education. My daughter is also going to CS education and I am happy with their resources. She will be sitting for selective next year. Only thing is my all friends kids are going to Pre-Uni and I know many who made in selective with Pre-uni. Not sure Do I stick with CS or move to Pre-uni as I have never experienced Pre-Uni. Want to make best for my child.

      • Unified on 13/07/2020 - 15:04

        I know its hard to pick which one. I have nothing against any coaching but would prefer Pre-Uni over others. My son used Pre-Uni and self-practice that made him to get to his preferred (1st Choice) Selective School. There is also another resource called 300selective.com that has lots of test materials and timed so your child can practice but I would recommend to use that 6-months prior to the actual selective test.

        Once again, there is no alternative to self-motivation and self-study as that would put your child to far better and competitive position for the long run.

        Lastly, get your child to read a lot so s/he can write better - there is no other alternative.

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