Firstly, I don't go tutoring. I understand and do see why people go, and I am concerned that there is a tutoring culture developing in Australia. Students sincerely believe they cannot succeed in the hsc WITHOUT tutoring. Real World skills like thinking on your feet or for yourself, and critical thinking, are being neglected for spoonfeeding, in many cases. After school or university, you won't be able to just practise something repeatedly before you do it, or memorise an answer. That is not to say ALL tutoring is bad, but I do think that it is taking that ability to innovate and be original or think for ourselves, away, as more and more students rely on rote learning or pure memorisation in their hsc.
I see nowadays students as young as 5 entering into tutoring colleges up till Year 12, and studying an unbelievable amount for such a young child. Where is their childhood going?
The ever-increasing levels of competition are undeniably driving more and more students to tutoring. Also, it is quite well-known that it is commonplace for at least 85-90% of students in selective schools to attend tutoring of some sort. As one of the students who cannot afford tutoring(for personal reasons), and part of that 10%, I see unhealthy competition being created (I know what healthy competition is, but I see it going too far) in our schools. This sort of culture, has (taking university medicine as an example), driven courses to be created for even this. It displeases me greatly to see these methods of selection are being tutored for, with UMAT and interview tutoring widely available, and being quite popular among many undergraduate medicine students.
Do not take this the wrong way, I am NOT insulting all people who attend tutoring, or tutors themselves, I think it is great for someone to be able to have concepts clarified by a tutor, or be aided in their learning in this way. I am simply expressing some concerns relating to the effects of the ever-increasing tutoring culture in Australia.