Tutors are not miracle workers!

This is an old article posted about 2 years ago, but it's as relevant today as it is in the past. Some parents really expect miracles to happen for their kids when they send them over to a tutor. The article attributes this behaviour to the 'fast-food' generation of instant gratification. There's this whole theory how the newer generation are the 'weaker' generation. 

But is it?

Maybe so. Or perhaps they are trying to save on tuition fees (not true too, because there's usually more lessons spread over a shorter period of time). For whatever reasons, I think it's a risky proposition. When they embark on such last minute revision, they might not be able to find a tutor who is willing to take them up. I can think of many reasons why this is as such:

1. Too much work in too short a time. The intensity can be quite a turnoff for tutors
   
2. Chances are that the good track record of the tutor or centre will be marred by such students
   
3. There's no more free slot to accommodate new students as priority of slots are given to regular students.
   

So it's not like if you want a tutor, you can have one.

I think to build a strong foundation, a lot of things learnt must be reinforced again and again. There's just no time in a short period of 2 months (or even 1 month!) to cover every thing, so things must be condensed - a summary of a summary! There's only so much things you can cut before something meaningful is lost.

So please, don't have last minute 'cheong' lessons. It's highly stressful for the tutors as well as the students!