I'm sitting at Panera, fresh from a job interview. I saw a posting on a local website from a mother who is looking for a tutor for her 2 boys for two months in August. They will be in 1st and 4th grade. I was excited about the possibility and curious to see if they were behind in class and their mother wanted to remediate them a bit, or if she simply wanted them to get a head start heading back into a school year.
It turns out that she has actually hired a full-time tutor for ALL summer, who simply can't cover those two weeks in August. Her boys are successful in school and in fact, bored because they are not challenged. They also attend Kumon (private tutoring company) regularly during the school year AND over the summer. Whew! A far cry from being behind and wanting to spend a couple weeks catching up.
It got me thinking about the effects of how parents intervene in their childrens' schooling. These parents clearly have high expectations for their childrens' education and when it wasn't going as well as possible (aka, not being challenged), they did something about it. They make it such a high priority that they're willing to post a job ad, interview, hire, and pay someone for those 2 weeks, rather than simply take 8 days off of learning. That is dedication.
I wonder what inner-city education would be like if private tutors were a common feature of family life. I was reminded of the book Home Advantage, which details how families' socioeconomic standings affect their ability to navigate (and fund) the education system. I was also reminded of a conversation with a Peruvian friend who is concerned that American education isn't as rigorous as countries abroad.
Basically, today was an interesting window into how culture, standing, expectations, and perceptions of the parents' role all affect student achievement.
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