Private tutor or private school?

Many parents struggle to find a clear and definitive answer to this question. Occasionally, parents may consider homeschool in combination with the home tutor, though here we try to focus on choosing between private and public school.

In order to make sure that the right option has been chosen, the advantages and disadvantages of a private tutor and a private school need to be reviewed. Before comparing these two, a brief exploration of the differences between a private school and a state school sounds very helpful. Once this information is reviewed carefully, it will be easier to make a decision that suits both the child and the parents.

Regardless of the residential area; there seems always to be the option of enrolling the child in a private school. After 2010 and perhaps due to the recession, it appears that demand for private tutoring has risen so quickly and significantly to the point that a recent report shows that 43% of state school teachers offer private tutoring outside their main work. These trends suggest that private tutoring could be considered comparable alternative to private school, nonetheless private schools are still attractive due to the quality of education and extra activities they offer.

In private schools classes tend to be much smaller, and about half as crowded as the public school. In addition, the teacher-student ratio in private schools is often in favour of the students. This in reality means, each student has more chance to have an individualized attention and more one to one supervision on educational progress and disciplinary measures. No matter how less crowned and caring the private schools are, the students still get significantly less one to one attention and supervision compared to that provided by the home tutors. Private tutor assess and tailor the lesson according to the student's need while the teachers in a school organize the pace and complexity of the topics according to the whole class requirements. If a student is generally slower than average in absorbing the complex and new lessons for example in Math, then a private math tutor would be beneficial even if the child is attending private school.

It is worth to mention that parental involvement in school is much stronger in private schools than in public schools. Private schools not only encourage parents' participation, but it also appears that the parents of students attending private schools tend to be more committed to involve in their children's education, at home and within school community. Many believes that attending private school is not only about education. Private schools are not limited in their program development and budget arrangement to the state or local authorities restriction, thus they often offer excellent extracurricular activities such as arts, clubs, sports and music. In general, private schools provide higher standard of education, better discipline and greater chances for future careers, however this imposes substantial financial burden. If the school tuition fee becomes unaffordable for short or long term for a student, there is less flexibility to adjust the ability to attend the school with financial situation.

When trying to decide between private school or private tutor, financial commitment of private school plays the key role for many families, particularly those considering sending more than one child to the private school, or families with uncertain financial stabilities. On the other hand, committing to private tutoring is extremely flexible, which means the private lessons are arranged according to the financial circumstances of the family.

Normally 50 hours of private tutoring is required in one academic year to compensate shortcoming in one subject. If a student requires private tutoring in one or two subjects, this seems still more economical than private school, however if a child is generally weak in multiple subjects due to lack of attention and support in state school, then private tutoring might not be a good choice.

Another important factor in deciding between a home tuition or private school is the availability of good local state schools. If a decent and nurturing local state school is accessible, then perhaps a combination of good state school and private tutor produces the same result as attending a private school. However, if nearby state schools performance are poor and below the national average then hiring tutors may not result in same academic achievements as sending the child to the private school.

While there are many excellent private schools and many children are happy and perform very well academically, there are some children who do not thrive in that environment. Occasionally some students find private schools very competitive and stressful. These aspects can lead some children to grow independent and self-confident, though others withdraw into themselves, become disinterested and may start to weaken academically.

A child with special character who requires extra assistance and supervision probably thrives more academically if the provided attention is given by a private tutor at home, where there is feeling of comfort and reassurance. To achieve the ideal result, parents are able to choose a tutor that is well-matched with the child's character and needs, however this is less practical with attending private school. In these occasions, regardless of the quality of state school or accessibility of private school, the need for the home tutor seems necessary. An experienced home tutor is able to create an environment in which the student has the opportunity to explore their own ideas and develop creative thinking skills.

Nowadays, many parents are turning to private tutoring because they find it more cost-effective than private school, nevertheless many still believe that a complete private education is the best option. Choosing between a private school and state school in conjunction with home tutor depends on many factors. Parents financial stability and affordability, performance of available state schools, child's needs and character, parents preferences and many more elements play important role in the final decision. While one private tuition may better suit one family and child, private school may be more beneficial and favourable to another family. Therefore, there is no straight answer to the superiority of these two approaches. Parents should study advantages and disadvantages of each method, analysis their own circumstances and their child and select the method that best meets their needs and situation.

Source: https://www.tutorchoice.co.uk