Need a tutor for your child? Try looking to India.
(news.monstersandcritics.com) BOSTON - Private tutors are a luxury many American families cannot afford, costing anywhere between $25 to $100 an hour. But California mother Denise Robison found one online for $2.50 an hour — in India.
‘It’s made the biggest difference. My daughter is literally at the top of every single one of her classes and she has never done that before,’ said Robison, a single mother from Modesto.
Her 13-year-old daughter, Taylor, is one of 1,100 Americans enrolled in Bangalore-based TutorVista, which launched U.S. services last November with a staff of 150 ‘e-tutors’ mostly in India with a fee of $100 a month for unlimited hours.
Taylor took two-hour sessions each day for five days a week in math and English — a cost that tallies to $2.50 an hour, a fraction of the $40 an hour charged by U.S.-based online tutors such as market leader Tutor.com that draw on North American teachers, or the usual $100 an hour for face-to-face sessions.
‘I like to tell people I did private tutoring every day for the cost of a fast-food meal or a Starbucks’ coffee,’ Robison said. ‘We did our own form of summer school all summer.’ (more…)
I heard about this yesterday. This might be something worth looking into. The only thing that concerns me would be dealing with their accents.
It this proves to be legit WITH postive results, then this is certainly good news for parents who normally could not afford a tutor.
I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I think the program sounds wonderful. I’ve run into some really brilliant people from India in my profession, and with high speed internet this is a great idea, their cost of living is sufficiently cheaper than ours, so charging so little to US customers is a bargain. On the other hand, I think as a nation we are beginning to outsource everything from tutoring to radiology. An equivalent U.S. company cannot compete unless they take a vow of poverty, or circumvent the law. Where does it end? The irony, is that the girls Indian tutor may be helping to prepare that girl for a great university career, that will lead to a job at McDonald’s because everything has been outsourced by the time she’s 23. I’m not mad at India, they are exploiting a need.
Comment by DMG | September 29, 2006
Taking “a vow of poverty” might be a little extreme. If schools were doing what they supposed to do in the first place, this whole program will fall flat on its face. As I expressed earlier, I think the biggest road block to a program like this becoming more mainstream here in the US is the accent issue. On the other hand if public institutions do not begin to take note, more and more parents will make this a favorable option. While I share your feelings about the outsourcing trend, I feel that something like this is needed to shake up the educational system here in the US to stop wasting our money and improve itself. It makes no sense that our ed system has the highest revenue in the world yet our children can barely compete on the global level.
Comment by Duane | September 29, 2006
Well, I wasn’t thinking about the public education system when I was writing my comment. I’m just thinking that for $100, unlimited hours, I don’t think a U.S. based company would be able to turn a profit. I’m sure an individual, or 2-3 person company would fare well. But I have my doubts about a large scale venture with that price structure (especially the unlimited hours). As far as being profitable in say an area where there ARE poorly performing schools, let’s say innercity, I’m not convinced that folks could spare an extra hundred on tutoring. I actually went to a excellent public school, that happened to be across the street from Stanford. In that neighborhood $100/month was pocket change for most (except for my family), and they could probably afford a more expensive local tutoring company. About the accent issue, I guess I’m just used to it because of the field I’m in. Funny story, when I was a medical student I began pronouncing a certain drug like my Indian Senior Resident…until I went to the next rotation, and realized it was incorrect. They actually thought I was mocking one of the Professors! There are some strong accents, but then there are others with very posh British accents too. But again, I’m used to it, so I probably don’t even notice anymore. I’m tempted to check out the program for my son. Although I don’t think tutoring will replace what’s being learned in the classroom.
Comment by DMG | September 29, 2006
Wow, they offer competetive prices for professional school entrance exams (Medicine, Law, Business) as well as grade school and SAT prep. I hate to say it, but I may have used these guys if they had been available back when I was taking the MCAT. I’d be interested in seeing some outcome data on the college and post-graduate exams taken by students tutored by this company. The price is definitely right. They are running a special $49.99/month. It’s tempting.
Comment by DMG | September 29, 2006