Recently, private tutoring has evolved into big business. Many students flock to different tutorial centers to get better equipped for the public exam. Some people lament the phenomenon, claiming that the trend is giving a blow to the education sector and even the growth of teenagers. Write a letter to the editor to voice your views.
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my views over private tutoring.
No one would deny that the competition in Hong Kong is fierce, especially for teenagers getting a university place. In order to increase their competitiveness, many students flock to different tutorial centers to get better equipped for the public exam. While some students appreciate and benefit from the private tutoring a lot, some people claim that such a trend is giving a blow to the education sector and even the growth of teenagers. Even though I am also a secondary student who takes the private tutorial class, I can hardly deny the negative impact brought by private tutoring.
In fact, the trend causes students to neglect the importance of the ordinary classes in school, disappointing the teachers and the education sector as a whole. Joining the tutorials, some students believe they can get all the necessary and vital examination skills and they skip classes at school, or do not submit assignments. Their poor performance and attitude at school cause a heartache to the passionate and responsible teachers.
Worse still, some students cannot pay full attention at school as they do not have enough rest. It is saddening for us to admit that Hong Kong is infamous for the heavy workload and high pressure on students. If a student joins different tutorials after school, he has to stay up late to get all things done. Without enough rest, how can he perform well in school? An unhealthy lifestyle would definitely do harm on his health. While most teens flock to the tutorial centers to get prepared for exams, they forget acing the exams needs more than knowledge itself. It is not only about how smart they are, but also if they are physically and mentally strong enough for the tough exam. Needless to say, students with poor health and inadequate rest have suffered a huge disadvantage before they sit the exam.
Yet, I have to admit that private tutoring is not all an evil if we can have a proper attitude. As a student taking tutorials, I do recognize some benefits. I can get more time to fully understand the topics which I was not familiar with before. It is actually difficult for teachers at school to help a particular student in class and ignore the teaching schedule of the whole class. Students could also get more extra practices from private tutoring to get better trained. What is worth more concern is how students use private tutoring. A gun itself does no harm. It is only the way people use it makes it harmful. The same theory also applies to how we, students, treat private tutoring. If we abuse it, we will of course suffer.
It is understandable that some teenagers follow the trend, hoping to get stellar academic results, but to be honest, the growing trend could bring harm to the education sector and even the growth of themselves. I sincerely hope that my views towards the issue can inspire other teenagers so that they will benefit from private tutoring.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Wong
Chris Wong
Ariaanne Fung Hiu Tung
6E 2015-16