Am I an idiot?

[Master]

I feel the same. I have tuition and piano. But I don't think you need to have tutors for all your subjects. Only for the ones you aren't doing as well in.

[danielf]

Here is another suggestion:
Get tutors that tutor more than one of the subjects you study. Maximise driving efficiency.

As for staying focused in class. I had the very same problem. BUT I found that when I did the material at home before the class did, I was really switched on in class. I knew what was going on. THEN is when a good private school teacher comes into play. Because they teach little things that can come in really useful. If you havn't already covered the material, you'll miss those little things.

So yeah, make sure your tutors are well ahead of the class. It will help incredibly.

[kenhung123]

IMO, a tutor hinders top students.

Why?

[Akirus]

IMO, a tutor hinders top students.

Why?

Inefficient use of time, restricting your thinking/self exploration etc, etc.

[kyzoo]

There are times when you need help, there are times when you should think for yourself. When you need to think for yourself, it's a waste of time to seek help, and visa versa. Tutors mostly impair your ability to think for yourself.

That being said, I'm not denouncing seeking help from others, I've been guilty this year of trying to figure out everything by myself and not seeking enough help - too individual.

So the key is balance, and both activities are equally essential. It's just that relying too much on tutors enacts an imbalance.

[m@tty]

Don't rely on your tutor to spoon feed you, instead, drive the sessions yourself. Look over the material before you go, create questions which will increase the productivity of your session, as well as show you how much help you really need -- if it is minimal, maybe just ask your questions here, on VN.
Be active, in doing this you have the benefits of BOTH independent learning and personal instruction. If you have good teachers, you can do this with them, if not, then maybe a tutor is best.

[darkphoenix]

Its up to you, if it helps do it, if not you can always try and study hard yourself.

Also I dont think you really need a tutor for Accounting, you just need a lot of practice and dedication to score high.

[slothpomba]

When i say this read it carefully and really think about it, i mean it.

I know it's a cliche to say this but as long as you have tried your absolute best and put everything you had into it and i mean everything, you cant be at fault and you will surely succeed.

Try your hardest and honor your parents.

[jejak]

So the key is balance, and both activities are equally essential. It's just that relying too much on tutors enacts an imbalance.

Not only does too great a reliance on tutoring cause an imbalance in the student's learning process (less independent thought/more spoonfeeding), but in my experience, also an "imbalance" of sorts in the student's study time. If you are being tutored in every subject, how much control do you have over when you study and what you study? Having a tutor is helpful in some respects, but only you can know how much time you need to study for each individual subject - or when the concepts have "clicked." I fear that, with tutoring, comes the danger that you spend all your time being tutored, rather than learning. For better or worse, I have found that the "aha!" moments that are so crucial to learning have only ever occurred in my own, private study time, usually at around 2 AM .

Tutoring shouldn't be such a huge time commitment that it robs you of control over your learning process.

[midas_touch]

Agree with the sentiment that you cannot get too over reliant with tutoring. The objective of a tutor is to guide and steer you in the right direction, you still have to do all the walking.

[slothpomba]

If your parents can afford to send you to some fancy private school i wouldnt worry about the tutors

[physics]

If your parents can afford to send you to some fancy private school i wouldnt worry about the tutors

this doens't apply for me

[Andiio]

Look; at the end of the day, if it helps, it helps. That's what your parents want to do FOR YOU by getting you these tutors. I have had similar worries about my parents as I really love them and appreciate and am so so very thankful for all the hard work they put in for me. (Though not as extreme, I only have one tutor atm for extension on 3/4 english o_O) However I will probably have a few more tutors next year; but hey, it's all up to you buddy. You only get to do VCE once. This is your only chance to excel, and if you need the tutors, then you need them. Don't waste all the hard work your parents have put in for you.

[crayolé]

Nice bump dude ;]
I fail to see how people manage to stumble upon these 7 month old topics

May as well contribute while I'm here, I completely agree with kyzoo, if you can learn concepts yourself, tutors would only be a hinderance.
Tutoring was the worst decision I made in VCE. I started the year thinking a tutor was an absolute necessity in getting a high ENTER. I came here, got a tutor for every one of my subjects (two for english), went to engage etc. Most of them could teach pretty good (Truetears (h)) but I'd come home at 9pm on some weekdays and waste my whole weekends learning things I could have just picked up by reading the damn textbook. Ended up spending close to a thousand of my own money before I realised I was wasting my time.

[RainerWolfram]

Nice bump dude ;]
I fail to see how people manage to stumble upon these 7 month old topics

May as well contribute while I'm here, I completely agree with kyzoo, if you can learn concepts yourself, tutors would only be a hinderance.
Tutoring was the worst decision I made in VCE. I started the year thinking a tutor was an absolute necessity in getting a high ENTER. I came here, got a tutor for every one of my subjects (two for english), went to engage etc. Most of them could teach pretty good (Truetears (h)) but I'd come home at 9pm on some weekdays and waste my whole weekends learning things I could have just picked up by reading the damn textbook. Ended up spending close to a thousand of my own money before I realised I was wasting my time.

+1

The real game begins at University. No tuition. No hacks. No text guides. Everything is about active and independent learning.

A large proportion of fishes went to elite and renowned schools. A smaller proportion of fishes went to crappy and inexpensive educational institutions.  One day, all these fishes suddenly vanished and found themselves in another reality; a large ocean called Universeaty. There was this crazy philosophical fish under the name of danieltennis. He was lost in this reality. Usually, a catfish called Master Jack Nguyen taught many of the smaller fishes in the south-eastern region of the sea. He compressed concepts to a minimal state to help all his fishes avoid the mighty and deadly baits by the all the fishermen in the local sea. Danieltennis was a victim of Master Jack's learning. He was spoon fed by this catfish. The teaching methods of Jack was not appropriate and the right way to teach his students . While Jack did help danieltennis in his small sea, it was no help for Danieltennis when he applied Master Jack's simplistic concepts in this new reality. The compression of concepts led danieltennis to his downfall. He struggled. Baits fell everywhere from the sky. Bait after bait, he struggled until he was caught by a fisherman under the name of kurrymuncher. KM reeled the fishing line in to grab hold of his precious. Once danieltennis was in visible sight, KM complained, "what a smelly and ugly fish" and threw him back to the sea. Danieltennis was given a second chance of life. A feather in hand is better then a bird in the air. He plunged down to the bottom of the sea and reevaluated everything. He let loose of the things the catfish taught him and started afresh. He remained at the bottom of the sea for months and months learning and learning by himself. He learnt things differently and most importantly, fervently. He came back in Semester 2 with a vigorous and enthusiastic mind. From that moment on, there is not one single bait that can lure him in. Education is not received. It is achieved. And this is what danieltennis learned. The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.