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 grave concern over the disturbingly fast-growing private tutoring business in the city.
The Hong Kong education system is indisputably demanding. In order to shine in the public exam, many students flock to different tutorial centers to learn all sorts of examination survival skills and drill countless past exam papers. Originally, private tutoring is merely a necessary evil for the weaker students, who simply find the public exam completely over their heads, to catch up the school’s normal learning progress. Yet, it now turns out to be a tool for many above-the-average students, and even some elite pupils, to ace the DSE exam, making education so exam-oriented and twisting the meaning of education and learning. No wonder some citizens lament the phenomenon, claiming that the trend is giving a big blow to the education sector as well as the personal growth of teenagers.
To commence with, overwhelming private tutoring distorts the nature of education, which makes students less willing to treasure normal schooling and wrongly equate education to examinations and assessments. Treating after-school tutoring as a complement to normal schooling is perfectly acceptable as it can help students to clarify some misconceptions on their studies. Yet, many tutorial centers just indoctrinate students with lots of exam techniques and ask them to memorize many vocabulary items and key concepts. Such acts simply distort the ultimate goal of education. Constantly bombarded by the idea that ‘exam results mean everything’, many students become unwilling to pay attention in school and even treat what they learn from schools as useless. This is the reason why many teachers nowadays feel increasingly frustrated and disrespected. This dire side-effect inevitably poses a big blow to the education sector.
The trend brings about harmful effects to the growth of teenagers as well. In their teenage years, where life should be colourful, many students are confined to tutorial centers after school, instead of getting relaxed or spending time on other physical and aesthetic developments. After-school time should be reserved for developing one’s personal interests, or spending time with buddies and family, but not for drilling exam papers over and over again. Besides, as mentioned above, tutorial centers often put too much emphasis on examination. Students can hardly learn well if they are just obsessed with revising and reciting the ‘star’ notes provided. It is detrimental to their intellectual growth as they are just being spoon-fed with lots of information. This is not genuine learning, indeed.
To conclude, there is no short-cut to acquiring knowledge and bright exam results. Persistence and hard work are always the key to excellence. Tutorial classes are never a must and they should never be treated as the magic wand. It is hoped that Hong Kong students will soon realize the true meaning of learning, which is to acquire knowledge, but not solely acing examinations.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Wong
Chris Wong
Charlotte Chan Sze Lok
6E 2015-16