TheAnswer\" post_id=\"1141991\" time=\"1383993536\" user_id=\"78248:

Newcastle is quite alright.. But it depends which teacher you get..
Some of the class sizes also very huge 15-18 students.. But of course there are other classes with lesser students..

Sometimes finding the right center and the right tutor also need to have some luck..

Newcastle is not alright! I wish someone could have posted something to warn parents of this centre! I enrolled my child in this centre but not good outcome from it. The worksheets given were all messed up with different subjects especially during the online period. All the worksheets can be found in assignment books. No much Science experiment conducted. And a male teacher kept shouting in class all the time. My child was too terrified to even ask questions during lessons. The facilities are run-down and old, it is not a good learning place.

Mindful:

My child is in P5 HA Writer's toolbox and English class during weekend at Bishan. My other friend's child also under the same teacher but he is taking P6 class WT on Sat. My child is able to follow the class well as she is a conscientious person and will also take the initiative to do her own revision after the lessons/concepts being taught to her. Indeed, one must consider multiple factors as to what work best for our children.

All the best in your search for a suitable one for your child!

Thanks for your reply, Mindful.
I believe every teacher will have their own methods of teaching and reasonings and the only way to find out more is to speak to them. As a consumer, we are free to choose whichever centre suits our situation or beliefs but I glad to hear some good feedback from your experience and from some other past postings.
I pm u for some other questions. Thank you.

Thank you Mindful for the insightful thoughts.

I’ve also encountered unpleasant experience with the counter staff too. Sometimes, I wonder why they seem so impatient with parents who just want to make some enquiries about the course etc… Anyway, which level is your child in for English? I’m quite ok with the students having to ‘copy’ or whatever is the teaching method as mentioned by the all the past thread posts, I reckon that we must also put some trust in teachers since we decided to register our children with the centre. No point questioning till the cow comes home but if the teacher is genuine and caring, I suppose this is an important factor for any child to learn but we also have to factor in the time duration for tuition and also how our own child’s learning attitude is. And of course, having a good teacher who cares and knows what s/he is doing is crucial too. Though there seem to have some unfavourable feedback from the past posting,I still believe there are still some good teachers out there (heard good feedback about MS from my friend’s children who enjoy the creative writer’s tool box and English classes but the other centre is too far for us).

Mindful:

Just sharing my thoughts and experience.

At the beginning of this year, I was deciding about whether I should enrol my child with Mindstretcher at Bishan for English and Writer's toolbox so naturally I would like many other concerned parents to gather feedback and made enquiries with the counter staff. I didn't have a good experience talking to them as I found them to be impatient and sometime even rude. When I enquired about who the teachers would be teaching for English and some feedback on them, they would just say 'if you want stricter teacher then go for Teacher A' so that what's everyone will think it is good, right?...However, my child's feedback was that the teacher was so strict that nobody dared to ask him any questions even when they were in doubts. My child didn't improve much at all but towards the end of this year, I'm glad to have a new female teacher teaching my child (changed my child to a new timeslot and class) and even though the teacher doesn't seem that 'strict' (which I think this term is very subjective) but I could tell that she is a very responsible, diligent and approachable teacher. As according to my child, she doesn't teach like a robot to simply cover all the worksheets but she will explain the concept well and she is firm with the class. Thus never judge a book by its cover. My child is motivated to learn much more now and doesn't complain about 'copying' or the 'frustration' of learning English or Composition etc.
All I can say is that everyone's expectation is different, as parents, we have to be wise in making decision for our child whether which teacher is good or not, time will tell. As for the centre staff, I do hope that they can improve on their customer's service - not to be so calculative, be more friendly as they will leave the first impression of whether we should or not to enrol our children in. Most importantly, I'm looking for the quality of the teacher and not an overly strict/fierce robot to teach my child!