School Teachers Working as Tutors

[mrswongtuition]

For IP schools, I think the basic expectation from the teacher should be to provide a skeleton of what needs to be learnt and the kids go do their own reading in detail then come back to class for presentation/discussion. Then the teacher will fill in the gaps from there (things they missed out or concepts which they read but misinterpret).


This is what I’m doing with my students in school and it really provides very positive responses even though I’m not teaching in an IP school or ‘elite’ school.

[atutor2001]

Such system is good only for diligent students as they will understand the concept better through researching on their own. However, if the kid is not good in comprehending written articles, then more time will be needed as compared to having someone teaching them directly.


The problem is "How many diligent students are there?" None of my own kids is diligent. They were all from IP schools. I witnessed how they are cunning enough to cut and paste the relevant parts of the different sources. The finished work looks wonderful but they hardly understood the fundamentals. The end result is that the general IP students will lose out to the top O level students in JC1. However, these kids being smarter will catch up with the fundamentals very quickly.

Lets not be fooled by students who submit sparkling research works especially from IP schools. They are great in "bluffing", able to speak with confident and sound like they have done a lot and know what they are doing. The truth could be that they have copied from friends or even from seniors/brothers/ sisters who have done the same project. I have seen it happening with my own eyes.

In conclusion, the greatest advantage is that it teaches students where and how to find information but it is not a good means to teach and build concept and fundamentals.

[mrswongtuition]

It very much depends on the SCAFFOLDING provided by the teacher and the experience of the teacher to know how is 'smoking' and who is not.


I know my students well enough that one look at the first page and I'll know if they did it on their own. It's pretty obvious. For work that was not done by them, it'll be given back to them to be re-done.

Also, quizzes are conducted to check if the students know their fundamentals. I'm not sure how the IP schools are doing it now but at my school, we give them scaffolding and mini quizzes.

Depending on the student's interests and abilities, project topics will vary but the fundamental concepts will be the same (which is what they are quizzed on).

'Teach Less. Learn More.'
Whether good or bad, seriously depends on the school management who oversee the content and the teachers carrying out the lessons.
My students have given very good feedback when we do this 'teach less learn more' thing in my lessons. It takes alot more planning than regular lessons but it's rather fun.

BTW, mine are seriously NOT diligent students. NOT AT ALL. But they enjoyed the process and really learnt alot more. Teachers need to push & prod but that's what a teacher is suppose to do, isn't it?

[wonderm]

Are your students in primary or secondary school level?

[parent_in_west]

I think it is not true that ALL teachers who are still teaching in schools CMI. But it’s true that teachers have many responsibilities and duties other than teaching and marking. My sister is a teacher and she has to juggle with teaching duties and other admin work like writing reports, running programmes or taking charge of competitions in schools. Hence, this explains why teachers are not able to put in 100% at times on their CORE job.


My DS is fortunate to have a very dedicated and passionate teacher this year. I am really thankful as it is the crucial year, PSLE year.

However, I heard from my DS that the teacher has casually mentioned that she may be quitting soon. Sigh! It’s really a loss because the teacher actually prepares her own creative writing materials, Oral materials and Math worksheets. My DS has improved tremendously this year. She is in an average class but told me that she had observed the movement of the examiners’ pencil and she thought they gave her a total of 27 marks for Oral. I really salute the teacher as my girl was scoring between 61 for English in P5 SA2. This year, she has been scoring slightly below 75 for both SA1 and the Prelims.

[kiasu_mum75]

yes...school teachers are NOT allowed to teach in tuition centres because that is a form of \"outside employment\"... cannot be take $ for moe and take $ from tuition centre boss right? haha.

[SengkangMum]

Dear all,


I am looking for a tuition teacher for my p2 gal
But was caught in a dilemma of
whether to get her a school teacher or a full time tutor.
Anybody out there can share your experience?

[atutor2001]

SengkangMum:

Dear all,


I am looking for a tuition teacher for my p2 gal
But was caught in a dilemma of
whether to get her a school teacher or a full time tutor.
Anybody out there can share your experience?

It's not the title. It's the style that matters. Look for some one who can :

(1) Motivate
(2) understand how to prepare and tackle exam

Very few have such qualities - regardless whether is a teacher or full time tutor.

[littlewoman]

But how to know if teacher is good? Calling agencies rarely turn up good teachers, and if I do not know any good tchers by word of mouth, very hard to find these good teachers.


I urgently need a good tutor (1-1) for chinese but all those that I tried by agencies cannot teach well. They do not sem to know what to focus on and push for when teaching. Worse still, my kid ends up wasting time talking non-essential things

[SengkangMum]

Thank you for your feedback. I do agree with atutor also it doesn’t matter whether is a school teacher or full time tutor. Quality of teaching is very important. My requirement for a Teacher is very direct and simple. So long teacher CAN TEACH and is responsible. And my kids don’t feel bored throughout the 2 hours lesson.


I do share the same sentiment with littlewoman too!. Words of recommendation is also important. At least, you know the teacher profile through someone you are familiar with. And getting positive review from parents about the Teacher can be a great help to us too! Not just a stranger that walks into your house. I believe there are still good tutors and school teachers around. Just that we have not bounce into them. So parents out there, your valuable feedback and recommendation will be greatly appreciated and seriously considered.