Private tutoring company, Tutors International, today reported that more parents are contacting them for full-time private tutors to travel abroad on extended holidays to escape the private school pressure.
Adam Caller, who founded leading private tutoring organisation, Tutors International in 1999, today released a statement that increasing numbers of families are taking what he calls ‘decompression sabbaticals’ in order to escape the pressures placed on parents and children by some private schools.
A recent Guardian ‘secret teacher’ article[1], looks at pushy parents and the excessive pressures they place on their children to perform well at school.
Mr Caller empathises with the experiences of the article’s author, “I’ve seen children vomit with worry in school before tests because of parental pressure to do well. However, it’s a fine line – and a line that varies from child to child, because I strongly feel that children should be pushed to perform at the very highest level they can. Left to their own devices, many will slink to the back of class and hide there, and will never know their true potential.”
He continued, “It is important to put the needs and unique abilities of the child first; exploring weaknesses and further developing natural talents. Every child can’t be top of the class in everything. But when they are good at something, they should be pushed to the very limits of their capability. Yes, it’s hard work and sometimes the child will push back, but I’ve yet to meet a single child who doesn’t enjoy being really, really good at something.”
Mr Caller describes how these sorts of pressures affect many families on a daily basis, “Our clients often have one or more children in private schooling, and they need time away from the constraints of the school day, playground pressures (both parents and kids!), and the intensity around exam times. One family recently told me that they just want to enjoy a higher quality of life together.”
“I’ve seen an increasing number of parents who want to escape the rat race of private schools,“ Mr Caller continues, ”There is an endless pressure on children to do more, perform better, get into this top school – and the pressure parents place on their children usually comes from wanting the best for them, but sometimes it comes from a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ mentality, as parents swap notes in the playground or at the golf club. When clients recognize this as unhealthy and counter-productive, they tend to approach us looking for some time out.”
Private tutors are ideal for this sort of situation. As Tutors International reports, many clients engage a full-time private tutor to travel with the family on extended holidays, for several months or even a year or more.
These tutors are handpicked via Tutors International’s rigorous recruitment process, not just for their outstanding academic and teaching abilities but also their personality, hobbies and life experiences to ensure a natural fit with the family.
Taking time out from school life can reignite a love of learning, away from the pressures of the classroom, while enjoying time spent as a family and exploring new cultures and climates.
“While many of our clients choose to continue with full-time homeschooling when they return from their trips, many others return to school, but refreshed and with more confidence in their own abilities and their academic future,” concluded Mr Caller.
More information about engaging a full-time private tutor can be found at www.tutors-international.com.
Reference
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/aug/01/secret-teacher-private-school-students-are-great-its-their-parents-i-worry-about, Secret Teacher: private school students are great – it's their parents I worry about, 1 August 2015
