Many parents in western countries, and some in Singapore, tutor their own children without outside help. Some statistics even show that some US children don’t go to school but study with their parents and do better on average.
We need to be careful, objective and critical with these reports.
First off, Singapore primary school standard is higher, perhaps among the highest in Asia. East Asian countries tend to be the most demanding and rigorous in primary+secondary education. What works in the west may completely fail in Singapore.
Compared to Beijing, Singapore schools place less emphasis on deeper, understanding and more on drilling, practice, speed + accuracy. My math and science class at JC level show me Singapore is more about pattern recognition. This translates to heavy homework and more practice needed for exams.
Secondly, some kids at some age are willing to work with parents. Dabao is not there yet. He loves novelty and visitors. When I was a JC student I had outside tutors. No, a tutor is NOT a servant, but I felt well taken care of, treated like a little prince, catered for with full attention. I knew it was only 1 or 2 hours, so I concentrated very easily.
Is it possible to create the same conducive learning environment between parent and kid? Not impossible. Perhaps turn on A/C, shut out meimei, limit to half an hour each session. We could try but at this stage, my answer is – at his age, helping Dabao with studies is too inefficient and frustrating.
Dabao is good at sabotage. He drags his feet and acts stupid and waits for you to give up.
3rdly, I’m a different dad than other dads. I need constant study; I need to upgrade myself constantly; I invested so much in the U Chicago program I need to put in real effort; I am a heavy blogger; I spent hours each week on personal investment; I am more serious about regular exercise. In short, I have less free time than other fathers. Therefore, I’m willing to sacrifice something to gain a bit more time. With Jason’s help, I feel I save 3 to 5 hours each week.
I feel for piano practice we could hire a tutor to speed up his progress.