How effective has tuition been for you?
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Hello folks!
I never used to like the idea of tuition because I don’t see much effort and commitment working with wrong people. Nevertheless guidance is necessary, I have tried a few and don’t see any good though, so I approached the parents of the same school… I asked for their recommendations and experiences like you did… I heard of name(s) so I tried again, wishing it to be more reliable.
I have tried a current one for a year plus, almost two. I am glad I didn’t stop trying. I am comfortable settling down with my current one. I have someone who can walk the journey with my child, have our goals all planned out and strive towards. Plus, my tutor, actually not, rather a trainer, coaches my children’s lives too so I am glad,\.
Whatever it is don’t give up! -
tuition has been effective for son…the important thing is he understands.
that’s my logic.
I don’t know how to teach him compo, oral and comprehension…same goes for his math. primary school math is out of reach…honestly, something should be done. kids today may be many times more intelligent than our time, but that doesn’t mean the standard has to be raised so high. it’s because the standard is so high, that we have become a tuition nation.
when my daughter sits for her psle in 3 years’ time, the difficulty level will be tougher than my son (last year). -
true u need some experienced tutor and not drill personnel to teach a kid .cheers
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Hi,
I wouldn’t say tuition has always been a success for me but nevertheless I wouldn’t give up looking for one so there goes the reward of "luck" for the effort I put in…
I think it’s all about a person’s attitude towards what he/she does. "Luck"ily, I managed to work with a suitable one through recommendations. I can drag about her dedication and passion but ultimately, it’s the attitude of my child and results that shows what is put into. I am a mommy of 2 precious devils, Results are improving from 60+ and 70+ to 70+ and 80+, it’s P5.
Her students are doing very well too, recent exam, one ACS boy scored 98/100 too from 80 marks of the previous exams.
I feel every parent is concerned, as this is a common issue face by every parent, just my experience I share! Good "luck" everyone!
Lica -
Well I am a child. I would say that you need to know the cause. It might be because she is a bit stressed out by work/home assessment or because she does not understand the questions or because she is careless? If she is stressed try to not give her extra work. Let her play on the computer for 15 mins. If she does not understand the questions try to not give her a tutor if not you might have both problems. Teach her how to do the questions. Maybe if she is working on division try to buy cookies and use it to explain it to her and if she understands it, she can get a cookie. Have patience. If she is careless, find ways to help her be more careful. Maybe tell her to circle the option numbers and write it down. I suggest joining A Just Education class at Seng Kang Anchorvale Road Block 319. :udaman:
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Agree with Lica and JossCruz. Tuition was not always a success for my children until I chanced upon 2 good tutors, after many tries. Dedication and professionalism aside, I think that the most important factor would be to have a tutor whose teaching methods fit the learning style of your children. Every child learns differently. I can naturally see that the tutors cater to my children's needs based on the constant improvement in their results and the vast improvement in my DS & DD's learning attitudes.
I believe that tuition does work, especially for most of us parents who are working and don't have much time to guild our children academically. If you find a good tutor, the tutor can be your children's academic guild during your absence. A few hours of dedicated revision per week is still better than none at all, especially if the child is academically weaker.
As parents, I think we also need to do our part in guiding our children on a daily basis. After all, tuition is at most once or twice a week; definitely not enough if the child is already not doing well in school. As much as possible I liaise with my children's tutors & see how else I can help my children. In the past, my DS & DD could not sit down and do any homework by themselves. If I told them to start doing homework and left them alone, they would sit for 5-10 minutes, then walk away for another 15 or I would find them daydreaming. So no matter how tired I was after work, I would ensure that I sit down with them, and guide them through their homework at night. If their tutors revised past topics with them during tuition, they would let me know what was taught, then I would help to ensure that they do their homework on for revision non-tuition days. I don't need to do much of the teaching since the school teachers and tutors do it. I just sit down with them and do my own work, while making sure that they concentrate on completing their work before going off to play.
Habits are built over time. My kids are now older, more motivated, can concentrate better in class, and are willing to do revision work by themselves already. So just sch lessons and weekly tuition for subjects they are weaker in work very effectively for them. I think my efforts have paid off cos they are doing well in sch now, no need to worry that much anymore.
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Hi my DS is in P3 and I gave been monitoring the progress since beginning of this year. it’s the exam period and unfortunately foundation is very important. I neglected this aspects in the first 2 years.
He had been attending group Chinese and English enrichment class but the results is not there. Was thinking of getting a private tutor next year instead of group class but the challenge is in finding the right tutor.
I have to cut back on work and coach him on Maths etc but English and Chinese is very difficult to coach especially composition. DS is typical kid where I have to sit down and watch him study… It gets very frustrating and tiring especially when stressful work adds to it.
Any tips to help such student? Have to start coaching to make up for lost time. -
Hi my DS is in P3 and I gave been monitoring the progress since beginning of this year. it’s the exam period and unfortunately foundation is very important. I neglected this aspects in the first 2 years.
He had been attending group Chinese and English enrichment class but the results is not there. Was thinking of getting a private tutor next year instead of group class but the challenge is in finding the right tutor.
I have to cut back on work and coach him on Maths etc but English and Chinese is very difficult to coach especially composition. DS is typical kid where I have to sit down and watch him study… It gets very frustrating and tiring especially when stressful work adds to it.
Any tips to help such student? Have to start coaching to make up for lost time. -
Thought of sharing my 2cents as a full-time tutor (trained in MOE) whom has been in the education line for more than 7 years about the pros and cons of group based and 1-1 tuition format so as to make your $$ well spent and child’s grades improve
For other articles or resources, can check out my wordpress site (click my profile to see the link)
There are basically 2 types of tuition services, group based and 1-to-1 based. Both have their pros and cons as such:
Group based tuition Advantages
Your child gets to make new friends apart from the friends in school. This is especially helpful for children who are shy or do not have many friends in school. Having an additional platform for your child to interact will help him/her brush up their social skills. It is definitely not a waste of money as good social skills will allow one to combat stress better.
Your child feels more comfortable having same level students around than being alone with a teacher. Some children may be really timid and afraid of teachers (after past experience in school). Hence they may fear being alone with the tutor. If one is afraid during lesson time, he/she may undergo fight/flight experience leading to poor learning as he/she may either react negatively towards the tutor or find ways to avoid the tutor.
It is a cheaper option. Definitely true if you are looking for tuition in 1 or 2 subjects since group tuition is usually by per subject based. Nonetheless, if you are looking at more than 2 subjects, this may not be the cheaper option. For instance, per subject is charged at $100 per 4 lessons, 3 subjects will be $300. As compared to 1 to 1 tuition of rate $20/hr, 3 subjects for 8 times will cost $240.
It is a better in subject focus. Yes it is since each lesson will only focus on 1 subject. With 1.5 hours concentrating on that particular subject, the tutor can actually be more focus and hence teach better without missing out any information. Students do not need to switch from English to Math to Science etc within the short 1.5 hours which can lead to unnecessary confusion and accurate retaining of information.
Group based tuition Disadvantages
Your child do not get the full attention from the tutor. Since tuition is to help your child to learn better, having more attention from the tutor is what parents desire. Nonetheless, do observe how your child is behaving and adapting towards his/her tutor as his mood and attitude can affect his learning. In addition, the tutor may not be able to observe your child needs and work according to his/her needs to better improve since group tuition is usually generalized and not individualized.
More travelling down with more subjects. Since group tuition is per subject based, if you are looking for 3 subjects, your child will have to travel 12 times a month! Since travelling seem to be an issue constantly, do consider carefully knowing that missing out lessons without valid reasons will result in a full charge for the lesson.
1-to-1 tuition Advantages
Full attention and focus on your child! This is also what most parents look for when engaging a home tutor and what many parents perceive as more value for money. True definitely that the tutor has full attention and focus on your child. However, having full attention and focus on your child does not determine how well your child tends to learn.
More subjects focus, more value for money. Well, definitely more subjects focus but is it really more value of money, that will depends on the tutor’s expertise and your child’s ability to shift fast from subject to subject so as to absorb what was taught. Many a times, parents seek tutors who are able to do many subjects but how many tutors are there who are truly capable to teach expertly in all the subjects parents requested? Well, not many but for the sake of money, many tutors still take up the assignment and advertise their services with a huge range of subjects included.
Minimal or no travel time required. Since most 1-to-1 tuition is held at the comfort of your house, you and your child do not need to travel down anymore which of course saves you time and energy. However, do take into consideration if your home environment is suitable for tuition. Many a times, tutors are unable to teach well due to the environment. In addition, your child may be too comfortable at home, hence is unable to switch his mind to the learning mode. In more challenging cases, children may run about or lock themselves up in the room for avoidance of tasks etc. Bear in mind that not all tutors are trained in managing challenging students. In such cases, tuition is ineffective and hence money is flushed down the drain unknowingly.
Your child learning needs are taken care of. This is really the best advantage to have 1-to-1 tuition setting. As the tutor is able to observe carefully how your child learns, the tutor is able to identify the gaps in your child’s learning which they can work on bridging these gaps. In addition, tutor can modify their teaching style to suit your child’s learning patterns and abilities.
1-to-1 tuition Disadvantages
Minimal interaction. As it is a 1 tutor to 1 student setting, many a times, your child do not get the chance for social interaction especially if he/she is the only child. In addition, if your child is shy and timid, he/she may not be able to communicate effectively with the tutor which can led to misunderstandings. Tutor is unable to understand or know your child’s issue, on the other hand, child is unable to voice out his/her confusion. This may lead to yellings as tutor may see it as daydreaming.
Quantity over quality. Since 1-to-1 allows more subjects to be included, the quality of each subject may be compromised. As mentioned above, apart from tutor’s expertise, it is also necessary for your child to have the ability to shift from subjects to subjects fast for effective learning.
With the advantages and disadvantages spelled out above, I hope it can better assist parents who are looking for tuition services for their children next year. In short, take into considerations these 4 factors – the environment, child’s learning ability, travel time and cost.
I would like to emphasize that tuition is not the most important or the only solution to improve your child’s grades. Many a times, by working on your child’s interest, attitude and behaviour can also greatly increase their learning behaviour and grades. What’s more, they don’t cost you any money.
Try not to pack your children with one tuition or enrichment after another as overloading their mind can backfire resulting to zero retention and learning. Note that as adults, we do not work more than the usual 8 hours daily, so why must our children work for more than 10 hours daily? -
I am thinking of getting help for my P3 DS’s Chinese. Besides tuition centres as an option, I am also considering a home tutor. Any good recommendation of home tutor around Choa Chu Kang area?
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