Adam Caller, founder of Tutors International, made a statement this week addressing the most common concerns associated with full-time private tuition and homeschooling for children.
The independent education consultant, who founded Tutors International in 1999, highlighted a recent article in Business Insider UK [1] insisting that homeschooling was no longer a ‘strange alternative’ to a traditional classroom education, and suggesting that homeschooled children may, in fact, be better socialised and better prepared for college and working life.
Mr Caller commented: “When conversations turn to homeschooling or private tutoring, particularly when it is full-time, it is almost inevitable that someone will try to paint homeschooled children as reclusive and under-socialised. From this article, and from our own experiences with the many families we work with, this could not be further from the truth. Homeschooled children are encouraged to be active in their communities, participating in sports and music groups, church activities, and particular attention is paid to their social development. In fact, many of the families we place our tutors with are undertaking extensive periods of travel, allowing their children to soak up a wealth of different people, cultures and environments.”
Mr Caller also echoed the article in acknowledging the drawbacks associated with traditional schooling, including peer pressure, cliques, students feeling unprepared for college, and overworked teachers struggling to address the individual challenges of their pupils, and referred back to a 2016 study by Roland Fryer [2] which concluded that one-to-one tutoring is actually beneficial to integration between pupils.
“The traditional classroom environment is completely different from anything a student will experience in college and, eventually, in a working environment. To say that this is absolutely the best way to educate a child is grossly inaccurate. Teachers are swamped with admin, large class sizes, and students are just not getting the level of attention required to address their individual needs. Recent studies have highlighted both the need for reform in our education systems and the great many benefits associated with allowing children to learn at their own pace, according to their own needs and interests, with the specialist attention and guidance of an exceptional tutor.”
Homeschooling in the USA alone has increased by 61% over the last decade and Tutors International has placed qualified tutors full-time with families all over the world. 2016 has been the firm’s busiest year on record, and the company predicts that demand is only going to increase.
To find out more about private tutoring and the services offered by Tutors International, wherever you are in the world, visit tutors-international.com
References
[1] Homeschooling is the smartest way to teach kids in the 21st century. https://uk.businessinsider.com/why-kids-should-get-homeschooled-2016-8?utm_content=buffer4ae46&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer?r=US&IR=T Chris Weller. Business Insider UK. 20th August 2016
[2] Want to fix education? Give a kid a tutor. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-04-19/want-to-fix-education-just-give-a-kid-a-tutor Noah Smith. Bloomberg. April 2016
