Beirut-
Do my primary school children need private lessons at home?
A question that worries parents, especially those who are preoccupied with the harsh requirements of life and do not find enough time to teach their children, so they think of getting the help of a private teacher to make up for their absence on the one hand, and ensure that their children get a good education on the other.
This phenomenon has become very common among working families, but is it beneficial or harmful?
Al Jazeera Net met with some parents to find out the reasons for their resorting to private lessons. It also met with specialists to discuss this phenomenon, and how important is it and what are its harms?
Necessity to establish a child
Umm Nisreen Sidawi narrates her experience with her eldest son Omar regarding private tutoring at home, she says, "I made my decision to bring a private teacher to him a week after the start of the primary stage. I did not have enough time or patience to teach him, which is explosive energy, and teaching English, for example, needs a person capable and not for someone who knows little of it, so it was my decision, which I heard a lot of criticism on, but I ignored the matter, and my child's performance has indeed improved, and he is no longer the troublemaker who does not care about his lessons and duties."
And she adds, "I never gave up listening to him and sharing some lessons with him on holidays. I also found that the presence of a private tutor is very necessary in the first stage to establish the child and address his weakness in a particular subject, although it is very expensive, but the results are positive with my son, who improved his educational level, especially In reading and writing, which is a step I do not regret, and I continue to provide the necessary support for my son to be able, confident and comfortable in his studies.
There are those who believe that the phenomenon of private lessons has become a popular and widespread business, and its results are not according to expectations (Getty Images)
hot trade
As for Father Abd al-Baqi Darwish, the guardian of a student, he confirmed that this phenomenon has become a popular and widespread trade, and even the results that parents expect from teachers are not according to expectations.
He points out that students sometimes need tutors, despite the fact that some of them rely heavily on them in several matters such as homework, and he personally advises his children and all students not to rely on the tutor. Some students go to private lessons shortly to study the entire curriculum a few days before the exam date, which makes it difficult to understand and not pass the material.
For Darwish, the school is the appropriate environment for education, and the tutor should only be to address weaknesses, and he should be present in schools only to be under the supervision of the school administration to graduate generations who can teach future generations correctly, and serve the dear homeland on the best approach.
Darwish never agreed to give these lessons to his children, especially in the primary stage, and pointed out that teachers have become very dependent on the students' families, even though the parents' job is to supervise, follow up, and hold accountable, and not teach.
But for the family to be in the place of the teacher, this is illogical, and makes many families resort to private lessons that lead to children getting used to it and the inability to dispense with it, he said.
The educational counselor, Huda Al-Rifai: Learning difficulties and lack of focus push parents to resort to private lessons for children in primary (Al-Jazeera)
Main reasons for private lessons
The educational guide and sociologist, Huda Al-Rifai, explains the main reasons that motivate parents to decide to give their children private lessons, which are:
learning difficulties
It affects the brain and leads to many difficulties faced by the young student in reading, writing and arithmetic operations, which are the basis of the early educational stage.
Discovering that a child suffers from learning difficulties is not difficult, as often the child suffers from a writing defect or dyslexia, or the inability to perform arithmetic operations and follow up lessons with his peers in the school classroom.
A child who faces this problem needs private lessons at home to follow up what he missed at school to help him learn as much as possible, so he should not hesitate to consult a psychologist and help the child by giving him private lessons at home.
The inability of the child to follow the lessons with his peers in the classroom may mean his need for private lessons (Shutterstock)
Lack of focus
The child usually gets used to playing constantly and needs more discipline, which means he needs a private tutor at home to follow up on what he missed on the one hand, and accustom him to high concentration under the supervision of parents on the other hand.
Weakness in a particular substance
The student may need private lessons for only one, two or more subjects, and he has difficulties understanding it and following up his lessons with it, such as finding it difficult to study English or studying mathematics or others, and if the parents are busy with life matters and do not find time, resorting to a private tutor is a good solution.
Disadvantages of private lessons?
Accustoming the student to dependency: The
student who knows that there is a teacher who will study with him word for word will become dependent, and to overcome this negativity, parents should intervene and impose strictness on the teacher, leaving the student to solve some duties on his own.
Exorbitant costs:
private lessons impose great financial burdens on the family, especially those who do not have a large income, and the problem can be solved by choosing difficult subjects for the student and placing a private tutor for them, not for all subjects.
Al-Rifai pointed out that if private lessons are needed, the study time will become longer, so the child should be compensated a little by participating in some outings, and reducing the time for private lessons as much as possible.
Pros of private lessons
Private lessons have many advantages, especially in families in which men and women work for a long time, as well as in families where parents are not able to teach their children because the teaching profession requires patience and even a special talent they may not possess. Al-Rifai summarizes the most important advantages as follows:
The ability to accommodate the child more.
Increase self-confidence.
Encouraging play in the classroom for specific educational purposes provides deep learning opportunities for young students (pixels)
Elementary school does not require private lessons
For her part, the therapist, psychoanalyst and behavioral therapist, Anna Farhat, strongly denounced the principle of private lessons for the child in the primary stage, considering that the curricula of these stages do not need private lessons because they are the stage of developing the skills and abilities of children, and spending a long and intense time in studying will negatively affect their minds. Play is the context in which Through it, elementary students can develop critical and hard-to-practice skills in more structured forms, complex decision-making and leadership roles.
According to Farhat, encouraging play in the classroom and strategically harnessing its power for specific educational purposes allows young students to truly engage and deepen learning opportunities.
Farhat stresses that parents encourage their child to learn continuously for life rather than learning in order to obtain a cumulative average for the semester, as the test will not determine the level of the child.
Farhat continues that forcing a child at this age to write, read and memorize in an intense way negatively affects his nerves and suppresses his activity, so he hates education and study, in addition to depriving the child of enjoying his free time and practicing his useful hobbies and pursuing his own childish interests, and it is preferable to give the child his academic independence to move forward in his future study.