How effective has tuition been for you?

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Fri, 18 Sep 2020 07:17:17 GMT

BigMomma — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 07:17:17 GMT

Hi, if you have any recommendation on home tutors for English and/or Maths, please send me a PM. We tried to teach our son but may not be able to continue this due to workload. Need a tutor who’s experienced and very strict as my son can be playful.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Tue, 19 Nov 2019 01:59:57 GMT

Regin — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 01:59:57 GMT

I think alot come down to the chemistry between the child and the tutor.

A tutor who can break down concepts and make learning easy for the child will certainly advances the child’s grades.
I had teachers with excellent grades but couldnt teach.
Other factors to consider are factors like is the child getting enough rest? If he/she is always tired at school, then having tuition wouldnt help. Rather getting enough rest could be the solution.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Mon, 30 Sep 2019 23:46:08 GMT

Lynn1967 — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 23:46:08 GMT

Home tuition hv been effective for me though I agree it is costly.

2 of my kids are v weak in Maths and need a tutor who is very patient to explain to them.
Math is so much harder than our times. Even though my Math wasnt poor when I was in school, I am not able to teach or used the wrong methods which made them more confused.
But I do see great improvements over the years and there is really a difference with tuition if you really got yourself a suitable tutor.
So for my youngest one, he started math tuition at k2 started a few mths b4 p1.
He is v hyper n I can’t get him to do hw but tutor can.
Yes u may feel that I’m kiasu but he is doing better for Maths. He got 60plus in p1 and 70 -80 in P2.
So I feel that one shd start early if u feel that yr kids is particularly weak. Don’t wait till they are in upper primary as it will be a little too late.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Thu, 23 May 2019 03:54:10 GMT

Alan_seoMUFC — Thu, 23 May 2019 03:54:10 GMT

Resurrecting this thread again even though it is a couple months old...

To add on to the latest post, I agree on the points made to make tuition a success for both parents and the children. But to add for student it is also not just about how focused and serious they are on lessons, but also what study techniques work best. Are they more comfortable in a group setting or one to one setting? What really perk them to want to put in the extra mile to do well or learn concept? Certain times it will depend on both the parents or the tutors to figure out the personality of the child or children and apply not just the right study techniques but also motivational techniques for them.

One more for tutors are that the more experienced the better as certain times for tutors who are part - time they get distracted by other things like their full-time job which will affect their tutoring. I started by letting my p4 daughter try science tuition as she did really badly in p3 (border line pass). As it is the first time, and I thought i could also help her so i employed part-time tutors. But i ended up having to manage not just my daughter but also the tutors as they keep changing time for classes which wasnt good for me and my daughter. I was really lucky through also this forum to get to know Frankie who helped my daughter tremendously after teaching her for about 3.5 months or so. I think he applied the right study and motivational technique by getting to talk to my daughter on why and the how to improve her grades. Her recent SA1 grade was quite an improvement and even her teacher was a bit surprised by her progress. For me as a parent I am also pleasantly surprised but her improvements but Frankie did tell me it is more of the motivation rather than study technique for my daughter as previously she has always done well and thought she can get by and she didnt know that having an additional new subject created a greater load on her. She also realized from my chat with Frankie that she needs to put in more effort to really learn the foundations first and to read broadly to learn the new science concepts. If any of you parents out there require science tuition, you can contact Frankie. I believe he has > 30 years experience and was a former teacher before he focused on tutoring full-time. You can contact him at 81393075 to know more.

https://postimg.cc/MvrmPpp6

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Tue, 25 Sep 2018 08:13:42 GMT

FindHomeTuition — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 08:13:42 GMT

mummyxoxo:

Having a child who is currently in P4, I was quite curious in the specialised, different kind of 'tuition' provided. Went to check on the site and realised that the weekly tuition consists of 2hrs ($90 per lesson), a class with different ages, with 1.5hrs consisting of going through homework/assessment books and 0.5hrs of playing enriching boardgames.

Was just wondering, how many parents here are willing to spend money to send their kids for homework revision and playing games with other kids? You can call me stingy, but I will never be willing to spend in such a way. For my kids, as long as their results are not in the red light (eg. Low 60 and below), I will not resort to tuition. Even when I resort to tuition (like my dd1 previously), I will ensure my dd1 pay attention during tuition classes and remind her that she must make good use of the opportunity and learn as much from her tutor as the classes are not cheap. Glad that dd1 understood and the tutor then was good to teach her and save her from the danger zone.

Its really interesting to hear different views from different parents on the effectiveness of tuition. We personally do not support unnecessary tuition for children too, especially at early ages.

Have effective tutoring lessons really comes down to
1. Parents - how well they work with the tutors to ensure that the child is on track + monitor the progress of lessons
2. Tutors - quality and experience level
3. Student - how focused they are on lessons and how serious they are during lessons

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Sat, 06 Jan 2018 14:05:14 GMT

mummyxoxo — Sat, 06 Jan 2018 14:05:14 GMT

yeeginng:
When I was a student I really wished I had better takeaways from tuition. I felt that tuition was just lecture after lecture and time was just spent memorising information. For parents who believe in a well-rounded education and the importance of cultivating a sense of curiosity and love for learning, I am offering a specialised class - a different kind of 'tuition' - you can check it out here: https://manytutors.com/classes/6470/english-maths-science-tuition-lompang-road

Having a child who is currently in P4, I was quite curious in the specialised, different kind of 'tuition' provided. Went to check on the site and realised that the weekly tuition consists of 2hrs ($90 per lesson), a class with different ages, with 1.5hrs consisting of going through homework/assessment books and 0.5hrs of playing enriching boardgames.

Was just wondering, how many parents here are willing to spend money to send their kids for homework revision and playing games with other kids? You can call me stingy, but I will never be willing to spend in such a way. For my kids, as long as their results are not in the red light (eg. Low 60 and below), I will not resort to tuition. Even when I resort to tuition (like my dd1 previously), I will ensure my dd1 pay attention during tuition classes and remind her that she must make good use of the opportunity and learn as much from her tutor as the classes are not cheap. Glad that dd1 understood and the tutor then was good to teach her and save her from the danger zone.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Sat, 27 Jun 2015 23:01:24 GMT

Swift Formula — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 23:01:24 GMT

melodyrain2:
hquek:
[quote=\"melodyrain2\"]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?

Have you tried asking your neighbours? I was quite amazed to find out that there were home tutors operating in/near my block. But have not used these. Please be careful with recommendations online, I usually go via word of mouth (esp pp I know and trust).

Good luck for your search.

So far only one neighbour, she will inform me when her tutor comes. During holidays, their lessons are not so regular.[/quote]Depends on the amount of budget :moneyflies:
Usually Full-Time tutors will advertise or create websites to draw crowd.
Part-Time tutors are less passionate about teaching, after all part-time is just extra income. People would put in more effort into their Full-Time career than Part-Time career right?

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Mon, 25 May 2015 07:51:59 GMT

alng — Mon, 25 May 2015 07:51:59 GMT

I am never an advocator of tuition both as an educator and parent but I acknowledge that some children need tuition.

Do not give the child the easy way out, i.e. regular tuition, first. Each child has to be taught to be responsible for his/her learning first. Some children need extra help because they could not understand their teachers’ teaching or simply that they do not learn well in a big-class environment. Most children, if they pay attention in class and do their work, should learn reasonably well. They may need extra help now and then but usually do not need regular tuition. I have seen many children having regular tuition for every subjects and they no longer see the need to pay attention in class as they have their tutors to fall back on.

Parents could also engage tutors on an ad-hoc basis and only come in to provide consultation to their children on a need-to basis. In this case, the children will know that it is still their responsible to learn.

There are long term effects on tuitions. Ultimately, our children have to learn to self-learn and solve problems. I have seen undergraduates not enable to self-learn. One undergraduate, who was from a top IP girls’ school and then to a top JC, confessed to me recently that she had difficulties to self-learn in the University. As a result, she is struggling with her various modules. She thinks that this is a result of all the tuitions she had in the past.

Food for thoughts for parents…

I struggle as a parent too. My dd1 does not need tuition but my ds2 does not learn well in school so he needs tuition.

Group or individual tuition will depends on the child’s needs and learning style. There is no one size fits all.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Mon, 25 May 2015 07:22:00 GMT

janet88 — Mon, 25 May 2015 07:22:00 GMT

Very effective…my daughter in p5 can get her daily math homework done with the help of tutor’s teaching.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Mon, 25 May 2015 07:17:54 GMT

momkiasu — Mon, 25 May 2015 07:17:54 GMT

I am a full time tutor and a mother of 3. My eldest son is Sec 3, with 6-8 subjects to cope with. Hence it is quite necessary for me to outsource home tutors on the subjects that i am not able to coach my child. Home tuition is more targeted to an individual child’s learning needs as compared to group tuition and my child need not have to travel out of home, which can be time consuming on top of their hectic school hours.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Fri, 22 May 2015 04:05:35 GMT

1amber — Fri, 22 May 2015 04:05:35 GMT

Hi

My dd only has chinese home tutor because we can’t speak and write chinese without google translate. But when she brought home her mock exams results in late March, I was alarmed she scored only 25%. So immediately I personally coached her in chinese with the help of google translate. Her results improved immediately and she scored almost 70%. I believe this is just my own experience.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Tue, 09 Dec 2014 08:08:54 GMT

Blue Pearl — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 08:08:54 GMT

well said learneatplay

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Fri, 05 Dec 2014 16:02:03 GMT

melodyrain2 — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 16:02:03 GMT

hquek:
melodyrain2:
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?

Have you tried asking your neighbours? I was quite amazed to find out that there were home tutors operating in/near my block. But have not used these. Please be careful with recommendations online, I usually go via word of mouth (esp pp I know and trust).

Good luck for your search.

So far only one neighbour, she will inform me when her tutor comes. During holidays, their lessons are not so regular.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Fri, 05 Dec 2014 05:40:41 GMT

hquek — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 05:40:41 GMT

melodyrain2:
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?

Have you tried asking your neighbours? I was quite amazed to find out that there were home tutors operating in/near my block. But have not used these. Please be careful with recommendations online, I usually go via word of mouth (esp pp I know and trust).

Good luck for your search.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:27:20 GMT

melodyrain2 — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 02:27:20 GMT

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?

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Thu, 27 Nov 2014 08:28:48 GMT

learneatplay — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 08:28:48 GMT

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?

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:08:42 GMT

ongstarling — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:08:42 GMT

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.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:07:27 GMT

ongstarling — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:07:27 GMT

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Sun, 28 Sep 2014 13:48:56 GMT

Mrs_Chan — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 13:48:56 GMT

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.

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Fri, 22 Aug 2014 17:02:35 GMT

Little Loomer — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 17:02:35 GMT

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:

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Tue, 09 Jul 2013 00:07:37 GMT

Lica — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 00:07:37 GMT

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

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Sun, 12 May 2013 04:57:06 GMT

tutor76 — Sun, 12 May 2013 04:57:06 GMT

true u need some experienced tutor and not drill personnel to teach a kid .cheers

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Sun, 12 May 2013 01:53:13 GMT

janet88 — Sun, 12 May 2013 01:53:13 GMT

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).

Reply to How effective has tuition been for you? on Sun, 12 May 2013 00:15:08 GMT

JossCruz — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:15:08 GMT

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!