By Alastair McClure
From the perspective of a UK citizen, Hong Kong is a unique, wonderful and slightly alien place for so many reasons. Its tutoring scene is certainly one of them.
Seventy-five percent of children from sixth grade and upwards are involved in extra tuition, be that a personal tutor or a tutoring center. This regularly adds up to 12 hours a week of learning outside of their school curriculum, which is significantly higher than averages in the UK or the US. It is not uncommon to meet children who have tutors for Putonghua, English, Math and other subjects. Notions of “tiger moms” and stories of overworked children have often filtered into ideas of Hong Kong, portraying it as a fairly unforgiving place to grow up, with added pressures in many facets of life, especially education. We want to offer a bit of balance to that perception and show how the tutoring obsession in Hong Kong is really one of the many strengths of this city.
From personal experience, teaching and tutoring in Hong Kong has highlighted two things. Firstly, children really are sponges for knowledge and, given the right environment, they can pick up wonderful skills. Hong Kong’s tutoring scene genuinely encourages that. There is a ridiculously wonderful range of things on offer—far broader and more interesting than in any other country I have seen. This means that many of Hong Kong’s children are highly successful academically, and in other areas. In all the recent international educational tables, Hong Kong comes in the top four or five. This is something to be proud of.
Secondly, the stereotype given to Hong Kong’s education system doesn’t always fit with the reality. The broad range of “tutoring” can include playgroups, oral classes, and music and sports classes. It is often based on nurturing social skills and enjoyment in tandem with education. Yes, many children work hard, but they also learn social skills and have fun. Moreover, the majority of children really want to learn. Whereas in other societies, academic achievement is often something to hide, children here are proud of their exam results. The culture trains the children to take pride in hard work, which is very much what the city was built on.
This isn’t to say that things are perfect; there are children who are being pushed too hard. The schooling system is so competitive that pressure can be high for both children and parents. Providing outlets for children who aren’t academically gifted can be difficult and more could be done to foster this. In these cases, children can lose interest, and when the right balance is not provided, they miss out on important parts of their childhood.