School Teachers Working as Tutors
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Ever engage a current school teacher for my kid but find that they are always in a rush and the quality is so so. Word of mouth referral is good but hard to come by. Thinking of enrolling my kid into a tution centre in the east that adverise on a magazine and run by super tutor that appeared on TV and newspaper , anyone have experience with this tuition centre , any feedback?
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I am looking for a Chinese tutor to come over my place at toa payoh for my pri 4 boy next year (2012). He is a special need child ( the gifted spectrum)… Pls pm me if u r keen…thanks . he is doing higher Chinese .
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A school teacher does not guarantee that he/she can definitely teach well. A lot of parents have the very wrong concept that people who can study well (degree holders, nie-trained) can teach well. I am not trying say that all school teachers are bad. There are also many passionate ones who go the extra mile to help the weaker students. But I also hear a fair share of stories from parents about the lack of responsibility of some school teachers.
Seriously, you do not need a degree to teach primary levels. Even a secondary student can teach his younger primary level sibling. So it’s not about the degree but PASSION.
To find a good tutor, try to go by recommendations. Tuition agencies do not guarantee the standard of their tutors. Even if they do, it’s based on their results, which I have mentioned earlier, does not necessarily mean that he/she can teach well. -
I totally agree with KiasuNewbie. A school teacher doesnt mean he/she know how to teach. As in the school, it is classroom teaching with 30plus kids, it is so different from private tution or group tuition.
However, like wat KiasuNewbie had mentioned, not all school teachers are bad.
Qualification is not the determining factor, a tutor who knows the tactics to teach and responsible is much more important.
Besides, I believe that the determining factor is the kid himself, whether he is self-motivated. A kid who is not motivated at all, will not do well even if you let him know what are the questions that will come out in exams. -
SengkangMum:
Hm there is much on my mind regarding this whole big picture of private tutors. I definitely agree with SengkangMum and littlewoman about the importance of word-of-mouth recommendation. One of the best indicators will be the passion to teach, although other factors like reliability (turning up for lessons) and rapport with student do contribute to the overall tuition experience.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.
To redeem the tuition agencies a bit, one good way to save time from picking the right tutor will be to look at the comments from other parents about the tutor. You can normally find this in the profile of tutors, if any are listed on the tuition agencies' website.
If no comments are available, yet you trust the tutor's own description of his/her experience in their profile, the next step may be to have a phone interview with the tutor. Ask them for their experience, their track record. Describe your situation to the tutor and ask what strategy will they take to help your child.
If you're still not fully convinced after the phone interview but will like to give the tutor a try, ask for 1 trial lesson from the tuition agency. You normally pay for only 1 lesson's worth, so it protects you from any serious monetary commitment. The problem with trial lessons and in all other classes though, is that results can rarely be seen in just 1 lesson. It normally takes at least 1-3months of lessons to observe differences in grades. That said, the passion of the tutor to teach and the rapport with student are still the most important factors for results. -
If teachers cannot teach in school, they should not be allowed to tutor!
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Original Title: current school teachers moonlighting at tuition centres
realized that many current school teachers are moonlighting at tuition centers in singapore. the tuition centers advertise them as top school teachers... they are earning big bucks.. shouldn't they be teaching in school and helping the weaker students instead? heard teachers can teach for certain number of hours.. any teachers can shed some light on the regulation? -
iamamummy:
realized that many current school teachers are moonlighting at tuition centers in singapore. the tuition centers advertise them as top school teachers... they are earning big bucks.. shouldn't they be teaching in school and helping the weaker students instead? heard teachers can teach for certain number of hours.. any teachers can shed some light on the regulation?
I heard from a teacher friend that the rules depends on the principal. Officially they are not allowed to moonlight. This will be especially troublesome if the student comes from the same school as the teacher. There's a conflict of interest here. According to my friend, who does outside tuition besides his full time teaching, it can be done. Just don't teach students from the same sch. And don't kena complain, haha -
i dont think it depends on principal… u can actually chk on the moe website if i’m not wrong… a moe teacher can tutor students outside for not more than 8hrs weekly… but that will be upon the approval of their application to teach outside school… for what i know, it is not illegal for them to do that… just that have to apply prior to teaching… not too sure if students can be from same school…
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I think you’re right…I remember the 8 hours weekly thing, but what I meant was that certain principals expressly don’t want their teachers to teach students from their school. Imagine a teacher is teaching student A, and student A also have tuition under that same teacher. When it comes to giving marks during exams, it’s hard to keep a cool head…someone else might complain of favoritism too…basically it’s just an ugly affair.
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