Comparing Enrichment Programme versus Private Tutor

[chic_savvy]

Hi parents, appreciate some opinions here on whether you think private tutoring is better or with groups at a center? (inclusive of all subjects for lower primary students).


If centers, any good recommendations in Sengkang, Hougang, Punggol, Yio Chu Kang areas?

[abcsstrawberry]

hi there … well i have 3 kids at lower primary … doing quite well with small group tuition at khatib.its held at the tutor’s house. nice environment…It all depends on the tutor not the center.

[Jennifer]

It really depends on the child.

[blackberrycck]

i believe home tutor is for very very weak subjects, once get the hang of the subject and avg grades. Join a centre as they have more structure and proper syllabus and more exam driven.

[mrswongtuition]

There are a few things to take note:

1. Student’s learning style. Some children cannot concentrate in group classes. They are too distracted by others in the class to pay attention. Some find it too boring being alone with the tutor.

2. Student’s learning needs. Some students require teachers to redo their entire foundation. I have encountered P4-6 students who require revision on P1-3 work. This definitely can’t be done in group setting, as such, individual lessons are needed. Some students are fast learners but lack the exposure, then group tuition might work.

3. Size of group. If there’s too many in a group, it defeats the purpose of going to tuition. Also, your child might get very naughty classmates in their tuition classes and end up disrupting the entire class (esp if the tutor is not a trained teacher and does not have classroom management skills).

4. Tutor’s ‘curriculum’ and structure. Not all centres have proper structure in their curriculum and not all private tutors do not have their own curriculum and structure.

Personally, I do draw up a scheme of work for all my tuition classes. In it, it details what I intend to do that week and which worksheet/books/pages will be covered. As such, I would say that my lessons do have structure as they are carefully planned and followed to ensure that all the necessary content and skills are covered.

As a parent, I also send my son to a mixture of classes and he also has individual lessons for Chinese. Class size is extremely important to me and I send him to classes with MAX 6-8 kids in the class.

As a tutor, I also limit my classes to 5-6 in each class. Allows me to give adequate attention to every child and understand their weakness to find solutions to help them.

And small group tuition is getting very popular now. That’s why I’ve decided to recruit good tutors to join my network to offer small group home based tuition. Still in the midst of setting up website and recruiting teachers but I’ve already received a lot of queries and reservation of slots.

[jennmathews]

My boy is in P4 this year. After sending him to almost a year of english enrichment class, his english marks are still hovering around 60 plus.


Can anyone advise on how I can help him to improve his english marks?

Some people advise that it's better to have group tuition for languages....but he is not improving...I really need to help him to improve on his language.. :idea:

[ascklee]

An added advantage of group setting is that there can be peer teaching and learning, too. This can be a very important factor, as peers can sometimes very quickly put the material in the \"right frequency\".


CKLee
For free additional mathematics materials, visit http://xxxx

[meinteel]

I agree with Mrs Wong. It really depends on the which home tutor and which centre you are comparing to as well as your child. 1-1 attention can never be bad. Home tutors tend to have a bad name because of certain irresponsible tutors who are out to earn a quick buck.


If you are looking for home tutors, find someone who is responsible and professional. When he comes for tuition, does he bring anything? How does he dress? (Jeans & Shoes or Shorts & Slippers?) Can he tell you what he intends to teach your child for the coming lesson?

My friends and I have been teaching for a few years now. While we’re not the best, we are pretty experienced. We take pride in our work and work hard with our students to achieve academic success. We set up guidelines for ourselves for different level and subjects and often meet up to discuss about our students and new teaching methods etc.

[meinteel]

I agree with Mrs Wong. It really depends on the which home tutor and which centre you are comparing to as well as your child. 1-1 attention can never be bad. Home tutors tend to have a bad name because of certain irresponsible tutors who are out to earn a quick buck.


If you are looking for home tutors, find someone who is responsible and professional. When he comes for tuition, does he bring anything? How does he dress? (Jeans & Shoes or Shorts & Slippers?) Can he tell you what he intends to teach your child for the coming lesson?

My friends and I have been teaching for a few years now. While we’re not the best, we are pretty experienced. We take pride in our work and work hard with our students to achieve academic success. We set up guidelines for ourselves for different level and subjects and often meet up to discuss about our students and new teaching methods etc.

[meinteel]

It is important to identify what area he is weak in first.


From my experience, students who manage to attain 60+% for their English Language, they should have decent sentence structure. What is lacking are usually grammar consistency and vocabulary. This would penalise them in the composition as well as open ended comprehension.

One of the best way would be reading. I encourage all my students to read everyday. Newspapers should be a daily affair and one quality storybook a week should bring his grades to distinction, or at least close to. However, results will not be immediate. It will be a long enduring process.