www.womanthismonth.com 57 October 2012 | 10,000 hours! There’s an old saying — practise makes perfect. Consider the thesis of Malcolm Gladwell, writer of the book Outliers: The Story of Success (2008). He asserts that to ‘master’ something you need to follow the “10,000-Hour Rule”. Based on a study by Anders Ericsson, Gladwell claims that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practising a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. But it’s not just practise that’s needed. It’s about doing the right thing as well and this is where experienced and talented tutors come in as they work on your child’s strengths whilst developing the areas your child finds difficult. Consider economies around the world and countries that have outstanding research and development records, tuition is the norm such as that in Japan, for example, children are often given 2 hours extra lessons after school each night! Think of sportspeople. Olympians dedicate considerable time to ensure they are the best – the theory seems to work! The job market is tough at the moment, especially for school/college leavers, and it is unclear if this will improve dramatically in the near future. It is, therefore, more important than ever for a child to reach their potential and to achieve the best grades possible. Having a distinction when applying for further/higher study and job applications, is a must. Furthermore, competition for university places has been intense in recent years. The increases in university tuition fees around the world may reduce the competition in future, but there's no guarantee of this. Applicants need to maximise their grades to increase their chances of an offer at their first or second choice. It may seem a long way off, but each school year seems to fly by. So you’ve decided to consider tuition for your child, what next? Ask around among your circle of friends as recommendations are a really good place to start looking for a tutor. Next, consider what type of tutor you want. [See side bar on page 58.] Many established tutors advertise in local newspapers/magazines or on local notice boards. Many do not need to advertise! Also, think about what’s important to you, for example, does an English tutor need to have English as their first language? Is a more streamlined approach that can often happen at international tutoring centres or franchises what you are looking for? Are provisions child-centred? How often do you want your child tutored? Once a week? Three times a week? One specific subject or a variety of subjects? One-to-one for some children can be a little intimidating, where as small group classes can ensure that the sessions are not only fun and enjoyable, but that cross-curricular elements such as communication and team work can be part of the programme. Tuition benefits Consider the following benefits: l To meet your child’s individual needs l To enable your child to ‘catch up’ with their peers (children the same age/year group/grade) l To get your child into your school of choice (when entrance tests are required) l To complement and enhance their existing curriculum l To ensure they are competent with ‘new’ curricular content when moving countries/schools (US mathematics curriculum is different than the UK curriculum) l To pass examinations (SATS, IELTS, University entrance examinations) l To accelerate your child’s learning l To increase your child’s breadth and/or depth of knowledge and understanding.
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