Teaching dependence

The modern-day obsession with success has hit overdrive in Lebanese schools. While it is a trend that is difficult to quantify, it is obvious to anyone with a child in school or who works in education: students have never been under more pressure to outdo their peers academically. This pressure is compounded by well-meaning, if sometimes misguided, parents who naturally want the best for their children and resort to any means to ensure what they perceive as their children’s happiness. Those means include hiring the best tutors money can buy to boost grades and secure a spot in a reputable university. It is the new norm for students as young as seven-years-old to have after-school tutoring in almost every subject. This is a trend that now continues on through university where students regularly pay for tutors to help with their course work. Private tutoring is not new to Lebanon, but