What constitutes a good private tutor
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There are many factors parents and students consider when choosing a effective private tutor. Some considerations can include age, sex, experience, qualifications, reputation/track record, budget, etc.
Given that there are many tutors around, how then could you as a tutor stand out? I shall share a few factors which I think is important.
1) Passionate and knowledgeable in the subject you are teaching
This is an important criteria that you must fulfill. Other than previous grades in school, a good tutor has to demonstrate a good track record, and be able to make references to the why and how of tackling the concept or question.
Most importantly, a good tutor must be able to put seemingly difficult concepts into simple terms, making sure that the student can absorb and assimilate the details.
Passion is also important because a good tutor must want to impart his skills, knowledge as well as passion to his/her students. He/she must want to target for full marks, and not just sufficiently high grades, for his/her students.
2) Active tutoring
There are tutors who are tutoring passively. That means, they sit around and watch the students do their homework/schoolwork. There are tutors who simply tell the students to try and try again, without offering much active help. In my opinion, this is clearly a waste of money by the student. Why pay so much to employ a guardian to watch over you do your own work?
Active tutors take the initiative to provide notes and questions to their students, and teach in such a way that it helps the students think, comprehend, analyse, and understand concepts and questions. They repeat this process again and again. They train the student to grasp concepts, to utilise effectively every tool in their hands (calculators, rulers, etc) and to make full use of exam strategies to reduce their careless mistakes or take advantage of the structure in which questions are set.
3) Motivating
This is to me the most important factor to be present in a good tutor. To do so, tutors have to be able to build good rapport with their students. They have to create the hunger, the want, the confidence to score in their students.
Many a times, I have come across students who are desperate, dejected and totally low in confidence. They seeked tuition from me as a last resort, as if I'm a miracle pill to at least help them pass a subject. And luckily for them, I managed to instill more confidence in everyone of them, give them hope, and finally, they achieve a grade that is way better than a pass.
There are also students who have totally no idea why they should study a particular subject. I have this student who plans to go into game design, and cannot think of any reason to study and do well in physics, other than to make the grade. That unmotivation remains, until I explained how mechanics and physics are also required in games, and went into some details on how the programmer needs basic knowledge in these aspects in physics to create a realistic game.
There are many more stories, but I would have to stop. In short, a good tutor will be able to help students break out of their rut and work hard for their goals.
4) Responsibility
A good tutor will take responsibility for all of his/her students. Being responsible as a tutor means
i) willing and want to take the student all the way to the end of the year
ii) do not teach the wrong things. When unsure, state so, and do extensive research before teaching the student the correct things. It is a hideous sin to make the student unlearn wrong things.
iii) ensure that the student improve in gradesTo your success :D
Article is also found here
and it will be submitted to ezines soon. -
to me, it's teaching the students the skills so tt he/she will not need a tutor
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Originally posted by FireIce:
to me, it's teaching the students the skills so tt he/she will not need a tutor
to me, it's a bit different
it's teaching the students the skills so tt he/she has the ability to be a tutor as well in the future if he/she wants to
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U saying tutors should teach students the skills so that tutors can destroy their own ricebowl!?
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Originally posted by jgho83:
U saying tutors should teach students the skills so that tutors can destroy their own ricebowl!?
That's called passion.
And if you are a very good tutor with a proven track record, are you going to be afraid of newcomers?
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Originally posted by jgho83:
U saying tutors should teach students the skills so that tutors can destroy their own ricebowl!?
Quite true. I mean if you were to teach, you would want your students to be better than you actually.
Chinese phrase: Green comes out from blue, wins the blue. Translate it yourself. Haha!
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Help the student acheive his/her aim. Minimize time, Maximize effort.
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Originally posted by jgho83:
U saying tutors should teach students the skills so that tutors can destroy their own ricebowl!?
there will forever be lousier students who need tutors
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Article is now up here as well :D
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Constitutes-a-Good-Private-Tutor?&id=1937614
Just submitted to associatedcontent.com too :D
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results
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If it's good results of the tutor, there are many around... And good results doesn't mean good teaching
If it's results of the students, i.e. track record, many tutors have it as well.
My point is just sharing some additional info and things to look out for that can make those who aspire to be tutors to stand out, to differ themselves from merely offering good educational certs and track record.
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eh eagle how to be tutor? must sign up with tuition agency? i think i can teach a level chem haha
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You can advertise yourself or sign up with an agency.
So far for me, I have not gone through any agency before. You can add me on msn then we talk more ;)
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Originally posted by eagle:
You can advertise yourself or sign up with an agency.
So far for me, I have not gone through any agency before. You can add me on msn then we talk more ;)
kk... i only a level holder. wait. not even a level holder. haven't gotten back yet. when i get my chem A then we'll talk more
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haha eagle.. i usually have lobangs but i scared ppl screw up my reputation so dont dare to intro =x
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Originally posted by tinuviel07:
haha eagle.. i usually have lobangs but i scared ppl screw up my reputation so dont dare to intro =x
do you think NS men can tuition well? i mean. we're gonna be brain dead for 2 yrs
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Originally posted by tinuviel07:
haha eagle.. i usually have lobangs but i scared ppl screw up my reputation so dont dare to intro =x
i still need lobangs for JC1 Maths & Physics :(
2 students still not confirmed whether to join my grp... got 2 slots more...
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Originally posted by unclebutcher:
do you think NS men can tuition well? i mean. we're gonna be brain dead for 2 yrs
sure if u can tahan physically... most are too dead tired unless you are doing easy job...
i just got one offer for a level chem/gp.. $50/hr.. but i too tired to teach so don't wan to hai the student...
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Originally posted by unclebutcher:
do you think NS men can tuition well? i mean. we're gonna be brain dead for 2 yrs
Not so fast... It would be good as you keep and maintain your knowledge, and when you go uni, you will CHEONG AH
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Originally posted by tinuviel07:
sure if u can tahan physically... most are too dead tired unless you are doing easy job...
i just got one offer for a level chem/gp.. $50/hr.. but i too tired to teach so don't wan to hai the student...
wah so high :(
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Originally posted by eagle:
If it's good results of the tutor, there are many around... And good results doesn't mean good teaching
If it's results of the students, i.e. track record, many tutors have it as well.
My point is just sharing some additional info and things to look out for that can make those who aspire to be tutors to stand out, to differ themselves from merely offering good educational certs and track record.
it's obviosu the results of the students. You don't really need anything else.
Track record is the most important. The rest is jsut bull. of course that doesn't mean to say that it doesn't help with the advertising.
So if you're talking about advertising, then there's also packaging and acting to look commited etc. But end of the day, it's still the track records that's most important. Only when these are equal will they look at anything else (apart from the sex that is out of our hands)
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Originally posted by eagle:
wah so high :(
hahah my bf always charge very high.. but he can't teach chem for nuts so always pass me...
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Originally posted by hisoka:
it's obviosu the results of the students. You don't really need anything else.
Track record is the most important. The rest is jsut bull. of course that doesn't mean to say that it doesn't help with the advertising.
So if you're talking about advertising, then there's also packaging and acting to look commited etc. But end of the day, it's still the track records that's most important. Only when these are equal will they look at anything else (apart from the sex that is out of our hands)
Actually to me, the rest will help in improving your track record.
My article was written for tutors actually.