1 Corinthians 13: 1 & 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

21 October 2008

2nd English Activity Day

To be or not to be (Chan Mei Yee, 7A )

When you are walking on the street, sitting on the bus, reading magazines or even watching television, it is not a surprise to see advertisements about different tutorial schools. In the 21st Century, tutorial craze has already spread throug Hong Kong. In this essay, I will discusss the pros and cons of attending tutorial schools.

Let me start with the advantages of attending tutorial schools. From students’ prospectus, tutorial classes can help students enhance their knowledge and consolidate the foundations of their learning. For some slow learners, tutorial clsses can help them catch up at school.

Also, tutorial classes provide exam skills. Those skills may not be tought in schools and most of them are tactical indeed. However, those tactical exam skills are essential for students to cope with the difficult questions in the public exams.

Moreover, private tutors may provide different learner development, like thinking skills, for students. Take Economics as an example. It is not only the matter of memorizing, but also logical thinking. Some might be stuck when they follow their teachers’ methods because teachers at school may not be able to cater for individual needs. But private tutors may provide another way of thinking and it may be useful for those who do badly at school.

Attending tutorial schools, as it turn out, it may bring many advantages, there are disadvantages though.

Some parents regard attending tutorial classes as a waste of money. For sure, it does cost a lot. It is expensive to pay $450 for four lessons.

Besides, the “video classes” which broadcast the teaching of tutors cannot help students learn better. If you have any problems, it is impossible to ask the tutor or stop the video. In the end, tutorial classes may not benefit your learning.

The most important disadvantgae is that tutorial classes might affect your school work. The tutorial classes cost up to one and a half hour every time, excluding the time of travelling, waiting and so on. Otherwise , it takes even more time. It may leave students no time to do homework or rest. You may fall asleep in class and affect your studies at school.

In my opinion tutorial schools have their own advantages, especially for some lazy students like me, those tutorial classes push me to learn harder and do revisions. You can be one of the tutorial school students or not to be. But the most important thing is that you have to make sure those classes suit you. Do not be like sheep, following the trend. Try to find what is good for your own studies.