Move Over Beyonce...Boys Really Do Run The World

A level results have just come out and thousands of teenagers across Great Britain are either screaming in horror (because results are at a record low) or rejoicing because they've actually passed (congrats!) For the first time in 21 years, results have fallen and the cost of studying a three year degree in now a lovely £53k.

To top it all off, boys are actually doing better than girls by a whooping 0.1%. Whilst that figure doesn't sound high, the fact that boys are doing better for the first time in donkey years, says a lot.

What does it say?

• Firstly, it suggests that whilst girls might out perform boys at primary and secondary level, boys start to shine after the age of 16.
• This indicates that there's something very wrong with the current system. Is it favoured towards seeing girls succeed in the early years? Perhaps.
• Finally, it reflects the beginning of the end for girls. I know that sounds melodramatic but the reality is that whilst girls are encouraged to succeed in education, all we're really expected to do (in the long run) is bare children.

And it doesn't stop there. No matter how qualified, educated or talented we are, the reality is that almost all of us reach an age where we realise that we have to choose between being mothers and careerers (yes I know that's not a word)

The point I'm trying to make is that no matter how well girls do in our education, we're still fighting the same battle. It's career vs motherhood. This isn't a battle that starts at 25. It starts at 16 or 17 or 18 when we make that ever-so-pertinent decision to go into further education and eventually to university.

Boys are therefore doing better than girls because by the time they reach 16,17 or 18, they realise on some level that they are in charge!

They run the world. Their innate inability to bare children puts them in a far more fortunate position in terms of their careers, in terms of status and in terms of power.

Of course they'll out perform girls, they have no reason not to.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that girls can't succeed in education & career life (millions of us have and will continue to do so). Rather, I'm saying that girls are still to an extent disadvantaged when it comes to educational and occupational success. In a PC world where no one wants to talk about it or admit it, we're keeping our mouths shut and ignoring the fact that women still have a double burden and that burden is a difficult one to bare.

Think about it. Let me know if you agree/ disagree in the comments below.

Are you a pushy parent?

I used to think that 'pushy parenting' was a fallacy and that all parents shouldpush their children to succeed academically.

Nowadays however, my perspective has started to change.

I was recently teaching a lesson when a parent interrupted and started to moan endlessly about how lazy their child was.

As I nodded my head in approval, something hit me.

I realised that whilst some children are genuinely lazy and really don't care about their learning, this child wasn't one of them. This child did work. They worked incredibly hard and deserved a 'well done' or 'keep it up darling.'

I left the lesson and began to ponder:

Is it okay to constantly criticise children?

Is it okay to push, push and push your child in the bid for academic excellence?

Will constant pushing lead to success or will it just result in broken children who don't feel as if anything they do is good enough?

As a private tutor, is my role to simply nod in acknowledgement or to interrupt when parents are criticising their children?

What do you think?

Is pushy parenting acceptable or is it borderline abusive?

I'm starting to agree with the latter.

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

The Tutoress.

Are All Tutors The Same? 4 Signs Your Child's Tutor Is The Wrong Pick

These days it seems as if everyone (or every child) has a private tutor.

In fact, research shows that 25% of children living in London will receive some form of tutoring during their academic lifetime.

That means that 1 out of every 4 children are tutored in some way or another.

It's no wonder why tutoring is a £100 million industry (in the UK) and a multi-billion dollar industry globally.

With so many people offering tutoring services, how does a parent know whether a tutor is wrong for their child?

I've personally observed that many parents are focused on the wrong things when it comes to choosing a tutor for their child.

Here are four clear signs that signal that a tutor isn't the right fit for your child.

Pay careful attention to them because many parents miss these vital things.

Sign 1.

They are clueless about the curriculum. It doesn't matter if your child

is learning algebra, Shakespeare or calculus, their learning needs to fit around

some sort of curriculum especially if the child is sitting an exam on the subject.

Ask your tutor during the first meeting whether they are well versed on the relevant

curriculum for the subject they're teaching in.

Sign 2.

They're a know-it-all.

Remember those teachers at school who just rambled on and on about random things that were in hardly relevant to the subject?

The teachers who just went on and on and on and on but didn't actually break down a topic into bite sized chunks? Those types of 'teachers' aren't really that great.

In fact, they'll usually just chatter away for an hour or two talking about something that's irrelevant to your child's learning and will bill you for all that talk after!

Make sure you either sit-in on the first lesson or have a mini-interview (or even a casual talk) with your child's tutor so that you can decipher whether they're a chitter-chatterer or a genuinely great teacher.

Sign 3.

They are money-greedy.

Notice that I didn't use the word money-hungry? Money-hungriness in itself

isn't a bad thing (we all need to earn a living don't we?)

However, money-greedy tutors usually only care about one thing-

earning more money without proving a service that is valuable to their clients.

Signs that your tutor is money-greedy include things like not turning up to lessons whilst expecting to be paid, constantly increasing their prices without proper notification and

sending invoices for lessons that didn't take place (yes some tutors do that!)

The fourth and final sign is that they're not passionate about teaching!

Good teachers and tutors love educating others and genuinely gain at least a sprinkle of joy from their jobs.

Bad tutors hate their jobs and are only in it for the money or because they have nothing else to do or can't be asked to find another job.

Have you ever come across or hired a bad tutor? What did they do that was wrong? What signs did you notice that weren't great? Leave a comment below and share your experience.

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Is Homeschooling The Way Forward?

Just turn on the news and you'll hear endless stories of government cutbacks,

declining standards in schools & a growing fear amongst parents that their children

aren't receiving the level of education that they deserve.

The unfortunate reality is that many schools cannot meet the needs of every single pupil within their school.

As a result, children at the very top and very bottom of the learning spectrum tend to suffer the most.

They're neglected, frustrated and feel as if no one (or no teacher) is listening to them.

What's interesting to observe is that whist cuts are increasing and standards are declining,

the number of parents opting to home-school their children is on the rise.

In the UK, local authorities have typically seen a 61% increase in the number

of children being home-schooled.

Nonetheless, the home-school phenomenon isn't just happening in the UK, it's becoming a quiet but growing

phenomenon internationally. For example, in the USA the number of children being home-schooled has risen

by a whopping 36% in the last 5 years. That's massive growth!

I've spoken to parents who simply find regular schooling just doesn't provide their child(ren) with the level

of support that they need.

Furthermore, home-schooling offers parents far greater control in terms of the content

that their child learns and the spectrum of subjects taught.

Another possible explanation for the rise of home-schoolers is the internet! Nowadays parents can easily access free

and paid for educational materials that can aid studying.

I recall teaching/tutoring a boy (aged 6) who's mum had taught him

how to read and write by using online educational resources.

She knew pretty much every educational website and had become

accustomed with American home-schooling sites. It was rather impressive.

Do you think that homeschooling is an effective alternative to traditional schooling?

Has your child studied at home before? Was it effective?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

The Tutoress 

Is your child ready for the 11+ exams?

At this time of year thousands of parents are biting their finger nails and panicking over the 11+ (and other entrance exams).

As a private tutor, I've seen first-hand how frantic this period can be for virtually every type of family. It's stressful, actually it's excruciating!

Whilst thousands of children across the UK sit these exams, (many of whom are bright, hard-working and dedicated) there are also those children who aren't quite prepared for the exams.

Parents ask me all the time: "is my child ready?"

In fact, this is probably the most common question that I get asked during this period.

So how does one know if there child is prepared?

Do children really need coaching or tutoring for the 11+ exams?

Are the exams best suited to 'intelligent' children?

These are all great questions.

Children who are prepared for the 11+ exams are hard-working! Actually let me rephrase that: children who are well-prepared for the 11+ exams are the hardest working!

The children who do well aren't just naturally bright, they're the children who work relentlessly work hard with the aim of scoring the highest marks possible.

For example, they'll repeat practice papers over and over and over and over again until they're perfect.

A prepared child will practice endlessly.

They'll make short-term sacrifices knowing that there is a long-term gain to be made.

But the most crucial factor of all is that their parents are committed, dedicated and passionate about seeing their child succeed!

That type of intense passion and dedication rubs off on children and makes them to realise that there is a purpose for their hard work.

It's so crucial that parents who want to see their child succeed in the 11+ exams (and in life) understand this.

Yes planning, practice papers, revision etc all matter but in order to get children into a cycle of preparing for their exams, you need to instil in them values that will ignite their passion for excelling in education and life!

In the comments below, tell me one thing that you could do to help your child do better in the 11+ exams (or any exam for that matter).

I'd really love to hear your thoughts!

Have a great evening,

The Tutoress