0 Tutoring and Ethics: Thoughts?

Posted by Atsumori. Category:

It seems to me that the use of tutors is growing throughout the country.

I hired tutors for my own children when they struggled.

The challenge for me here is the ethics relating to tutoring.

Parents and children in a school community benefit when teachers and leaders in that community tutor their children because those educators know the system, have access to familiar tools, and understand the curriculum. The system benefits because children receive the extra, targeted help in sensitive, caring ways, and system's scores and success rise. Yet, that tutoring is not available to all children, so some gain and some don't.

Many educators gain from tutoring too. Educator salaries are generally low making it very difficult for many educators, particularly educators early in their careers, to afford to buy a home, own a car, or pay for daycare. The extra money helps educators pay their bills and gives educators the terrific experience of developing their teaching craft with one-to-one efforts. Better teachers make better systems.

Yet, when teachers are spending many hours after school tutoring do they have the time to contribute to in-school needs and activities. Hence do some children gain, while the whole school loses that potential time and investment. But, since teachers usually work according to contract, would that matter? And is it fair that some children who have the means have access to the school's teachers for extra help while other children without means do not have that access?

I know that some professions present limits on professional's outside-of-work jobs as a way of avoiding conflict of interest issues as well as ensuring that the professional's time is devoted to that work environment. When are those rules limiting and when are those rules enriching?  For example if my workplace limited my writing, research, presentation, and beta testing-work, I wouldn't learn as much or have as much to bring back to the classroom since this work, similar to tutoring, invigorates what I can do to teach children well.

Perhaps the answer to this issue is protocols, protocols which allow tutoring since it does offer teachers needed dollars while also providing the system with enriched students and better teachers, and protocols which clearly outline expectations for educators' contribution to the school environment with regard to in-school work and after hours research, student-help, share, and committee work.  Similarly, schools need to look carefully at the supports students have and find ways for equal access whenever possible. For example if there are fee based programs in the school system, then there should be an adequate number of scholarships available to children in need, and if most children at risk are tutored outside of school, then perhaps some in-school tutoring could be systematized for those in need.

I outline this issue today because it is an underlying issue in school culture--one that calls for greater transparency and understanding.  What are your thoughts in this regard?

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