Compilation of Interesting Articles on Tuition

Recently, there have been many news on the Straits Times Forum / other newspapers / internet on the phenomenon of tuition in Singapore. There are many mixed opinions on tuition, which are discussed in depth in those articles. I have picked the most interesting articles on the subject of tuition, which would be a familiar topic in Singapore, as 70% or more of Singaporean students have tuition. The links are found near the bottom of the post.

Personally, I think of tutors like a sports coach, like a swimming coach or a badminton coach. Sports coaches help their students to play the sport better. Tuition teachers help their students to perform in the exams better. There are great similarities between their roles. Currently, almost all top athletes would have a coach, it would be unthinkable for an athlete at the international level not to have a coach.

Tuition has also been around since thousands of years ago. Alexander the Great’s father hired Aristotle as a tutor for his son. The Imperial Tutor in ancient China is an extremely prestigious post and is often awarded only to the top scholar in the imperial exams. His job is to tutor the future emperor or other princes / princesses. (See this example of an Imperial Tutor in China). In the past, only the rich and wealthy could afford tutors. However, due to the prosperity in many first world countries like Singapore and South Korea, affording tuition is becoming increasingly possible even for the middle class.

Note: I am currently not giving tuition at the moment, but I have a good recommendation for a very good tuition agency. Interested readers can email me at mathtuition88@gmail.com.

 Links of Top 10 News Articles on Tuition

1. 7 in 10 parents send their children for tuition: ST poll
2. Does tuition help or hinder? (Straits Times)
3. Tuition is popular due to education system issues (ST)
4. Tuition is comforting for some parents, kids (ST)
5. Tuition has become an educational arms race (ST)
6. Tuition a necessary evil (ST)
7. He goes for tuition …and he’s in poly (ST)
8. Tuition In Singapore: Is It Necessarily Bad? (Blog)
9. Singapore’s Young School Children Are Burdened With Excessive Private Tuition (Blog)
10. The Tuition Dilemma (NTU)

As a former tutor, I don’t really think that tuition (in moderation) can be harmful, like what some of the articles claim. Back to the analogy of sports coaches, it is illogical to suppose that a sport student’s badminton skills can worsen and deteriorate after practice with a qualified coach. That would simply make no sense! Similarly, as long as the tutor is competent and not teaching the wrong thing, it would simply be illogical to say that tuition can harm academic performance. It would be really strange if a student becomes worse at math after more practice.

The key to successful life is balance. A role model for children would be Jeremy Lin, the Asian American basketball player. Highly intelligent and an excellent student, he has been admitted and graduated successfully from Harvard. He is also a professional basketball player in the NBA, and at the peak of physical fitness. He is also a humble and devout Christian. He is one guy that all students should take as a role model.

Book on Jeremy Lin:

Jeremy Lin: The Reason for the Linsanity

Author: mathtuition88

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