Extra tutorials for a five year old.

Just yesterday, I was having a hearty conversation with my neighbor who is a mother of three. I was amazed when she told me that she had already solicited the service of a private home tutor for her eldest daughter who was just five-year old.

According to the mother, her daughter's exams report have not been impressive ever since she started schooling some three years ago. She made mention of another little girl about the same age as her daughter who was doing so well and even brought prizes home after every exam.

Well, personally ,I find the idea of employing a home tutor for a five-year old quite uncalled for. I agree that it's the desire of every parent to want what's best for their children especially in today's world where the competition is very stiff to the extent that life is getting more like a "survival of the fittest contest" . So, there's absolutely nothing wrong in building an early but solid foundation for a child that would make him adapt to the ever evolving, but challenging world.

The five year old girl in question is as smart, bold and confident as any other kid would be. Apart from English, she can also communicate in her mother's tongue, Nigerian pidgin and another major language in the northern part of the country. Her mother's only dissatisfied about her academic performance when compared to that of her mates.

At this moment, alot of things were going through my mind and I tried to process these information carefully. For a brief moment, I thought about parents who use their children as minions in a game of public show off and personal gratification . Well, this has lead to alot of children growing up to hate their parents when they become forced into something they never wanted to do.... But I quickly dismissed this thought, it wasn't as bad as that, atleast not yet.

Honestly, I believe the mother is not being fair to her daughter, little kids have different patterns of learning and they learn at different rates. Not all children will come first in class and there's definitely more to discover in life than winning academic prizes. We have all heard about the stories of musical icons, captains of organizations, legendary sportsmen, world leaders who were never among the top ten in class, but achieved resounding succeses in their chosen industry later in life. Some of us have even read the book: " why A students work for C students".

At the age of five, my mom was the one assisting me in my homeworks and any other parts of my academics that proved difficult. Infact I was even more comfortable learning with her than when in the classroom. I only got to have an home tutor in junior high school when I was old enough. This was because I was not very good at maths and my parents wanted me to be a science student when I eventually get to senior high school. I only needed special intervention in mathematics through the guidance of an home tutor.

Subjecting a five year old to another hour of learning ( class room style) after already spending over seven hours in school is simply overstraining and limiting a young mind. At that age, children learn more through playing and fooling around. Their cognitive functions and mental agility is improved the more they are allowed to play, associate, explore and experiment.

As a parent, after school hours, I rather allow my child to focus on nonscholarstic engagements like sports, computer games, music, sleeping, swimming, hiking and even martial arts . These activities/life skills further enhances a child's dexterity and help propel him further on the path of self-discovery and realization.

Frankly speaking, I prefer a child who is well rounded in the real world both in education and interests than a child who had been programmed to be only interested in the pen and book.

Pls do let me know your thoughts on this.

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