Home Tuition Singapore: (Choosing Your Tutor)
Home Tuition Singapore: Choosing Your Tutor
One of the first decisions you have to make when finding a home tutor is what kind of home tutor you want to engage. Tutors are categorized into 3 categories – part-time, full-time, and school teachers.
How do you choose the right tutor category?
There is no single correct answer to this question. We have compiled 3 key questions you need to ask yourself in order to decide which tutor category to choose.
- What are you willing to spend for the sake of your child’s education?
Generally, if budget is not a issue for you, I always recommend Full-Time Tutors or Ex MOE School Teachers. The choice of choosing Ex MOE rather than current School Teacher is because they have less time left after school teaching.
These tutors charge higher for a simple reason – they are more experienced and qualified to help your child get the most out of tuition.
If budget is a concern, as it will be for the majority of Singaporeans, then you need to think deeper.
- How much can you afford to gamble?
Make no mistake, engaging a private tutor is a big gamble.
The real cost of ineffective tuition is not just the tuition fees paid but the time lost. In today’s unforgiving, lightning-paced learning environment, it is crucial that your child receives the best tuition they can receive and not lose out on any time to race ahead of their peers.
Engaging a higher qualified tutor maximises your chances of matching with a good tutor.
- What works best for your child?
Sometimes, engaging a more qualified tutor may not lead to better results. Surprising, but true. It is crucial as a parent to think from your child’s perpective and what works best for them.
Apart from age and demographics, you can make a better decision by delving deeper into your child’s needs. For example, if your child works very hard but fails to score well in exams, a full-time tutor or MOE teacher might be much more effective than engaging a part-time tutor as what your child needs is someone experienced and familiar with the exam techniques required to score in exams.
At the end of the day, one of the biggest advantages of private tuition is that it’s 1-to-1 and very personal. Ask yourself what works best for your child and engage someone that fits the bill!
Mr Cheng (Principal of Garfieldandy Education) comments
Over my time of teaching, I figure out very well that all students are equally comparable, just that some are able to understand the concept and knowledge faster than the others.
To the weaker students, we need to give them a lot of motivation and proper guidance such that they can also excel indefinitely.
For this perhaps a full time tutor or a Ex-MOE teacher might be the solution. It is very easy to find a tuition teacher out there but who do you choose?
Cheapest? Highest education qualification?
Cheap usually do not determine good quality. High education does not mean they know how to teach.
My 3 cents of advice is to find someone who can build chemistry rapport with your child. Understanding of the current school Syllabus, be it CIE, IB, NUSH Diploma will be an advantage over the other teacher who taught only 1 Syllabus. It might be just the same A-level equivalent Chemsitry but in the topics and depth of learning between different Syllabus will be difference.
For example NUSH Diploma cover certain topic which is taught in Bachelor or even Master of Chemistry, as such a very experienced A-Level tuition teacher will not be able to effectively guide or teach such topics
At the end of the days, choose wisely and carefully weign all the pros and cons. Afterall this exam will indirectly determine University course of study and eventually determine your child future