How To Choose The Right Coaching Class For Your Teen?

It’s that time of the year. The grade X board exams are over. How do you choose the right stream and coaching class for your teen?

Your school may be encouraging students to enrol for coaching towards medicine, engineering, law, design entrance exams. Some of you may be opting for an integrated learning programme where the coaching class tutors teach within the school premises and timings. Some of you may be considering dummy schools or even going to Kota so you can prepare for the dreaded entrance exams.

Are you also wondering what course of action will suit your teen best? Are you pausing before you pay the instalment for the coaching classes wondering if your teen will benefit? Is your teen really interested in that engineering/legal/medical career?

At LifeVidya, we have worked with many teens and parents going through the coaching and subject selection dilemma. Based on our experience and understanding, we are sharing some tips that might assist you in your decision-making process and make life easier for you.

Some questions to ask before signing up your teen for coaching classes:

·         What is the brand and reputation of the class you are enrolling for?

·         Do you have a personal recommendation in your trusted social circuit?

·         Does the coaching class buy profiles of students who top and advertise them as their own students? (You know this, don’t you??!!) Avoid such institutions for your own sake.

·         What is the instalment plan? Is there a refund option in case you choose to drop out? Is it affordable for your budget?

·         How were the trial classes at the coaching center?

·         Is the facility comfortable to work in for a few hours? (Not luxurious, but simple and comfortable)

Listed above were the considerations regarding the nature of the coaching classes. But what about you? Do you know which course you want to prepare for?

Listed below are some questions regarding your teen and you:

·         Is your teen undecided or conflicted about which career or course s/he wants to opt for?

·         Is there social pressure to join a coaching class? Are you or your teen under pressure to enrol in a coaching class?

·         Are you and your teen undecided or conflicted about which course or stream to opt for?

·         Is your teen showing signs of extreme distress after choosing a stream or coaching classes?

If you answered “Yes” to one or more of the above questions, you may want to pause and read some of the cases below that we worked through in the past few months. Maybe it will help you think through your confusion and dilemmas.

Vanya, Grade X is weighing her options:

Vanya is a bright and hard-working student who was confused about which stream to take. The school encouraged her to opt for Commerce and she is in the waiting list for PCM.
She does not know whether to switch schools or boards or if she needs to take a different stream too. It was with this confusion that she came for a career counselling consultation with her parents.

Over a few sessions, it became clear that she is a very experiential and hands-on learner, she is logical, a keen problem solver, and she has a deep need to engage in something that is for the greater good of society.

With these and few more insights, she steered towards choosing
PCM and became aware of possible career options. While she awaits her board results and the final stream, she is learning the Science subjects on her own and with the help of necessary tutors.

If she chooses coaching classes, she will now choose with more awareness and discretion. Moreover, her commitment to work hard increases as she has taken her own decisions with more support and awareness.

Gulshan Grade X is confused about engineering coaching:

Gulshan had just given her grade X exams and started school. Her school was actively promoting a coaching class for engineering aspirants. Many of her friends and batchmates were joining. There was a deadline with a huge discount for early sign ups. Gulshan started asking her parents to enrol her too. Her father was concerned about the relevance and implications of this coaching class. He wanted to make sure she was interested and aware of what she wanted to do.

It was this confusion that triggered them to book a few sessions with LifeVidya. Over the sessions, her overall artistic and design capabilities were observed and acknowledged. A studious and hard-working student, her keen mathematical and artistic abilities could be combined towards a career in technology-based design or architecture. It took a few weeks, but she soon became clearer of her choices and career interests.

Gulshan may still opt for coaching classes, but she will know which coaching classes will benefit her and enrol accordingly.
She is working now with an inner compass, rather than peer pressure.

Ananya joined IAS coaching and hates it:

Ananya is a graduate in Psychology who studied in the US for a few years. She is preparing for the IAS exams and attending IAS coaching classes. She hails from a reputed family with a political career in India. Ananya’s family is very keen she pursue the IAS dream.

Ananya cannot refuse even though she is miserable and showing signs of severe stress. Ananya’s situation is not solitary. There are several students trying to fulfil their parents’ dreams sometimes at the cost of their own physical and mental health. (sometimes parents also extend themselves too much, but that is for another blog!)

Ananya needed many hours of counselling and coaching. Gradually, she acknowledged the relationship between her mental and physical health and the family stress she was facing. The situation took a few months to turn around.

Ananya took baby steps to gain back control over her life and understand her occupational interests. The process is ongoing and indicative of what happens if a student is forced into a coaching class or a career they don’t quite like or enjoy.

What about you? At LifeVidya we work towards understanding and aligning the aspirations across generations and create more acceptance. We want you to choose your careers, streams and even coaching classes empowered with greater self-awareness.

We have a few more cases like these to share. To know more you could read our book Helping Our Teens Land On Their Feet:
Career Tips & Stories for Loving Parents available on Amazon.

It is an aspiration and prayer to instil more joy and help the youth align careers meaningfully. Do connect with us if you feel this is a need for your teen or young adult.