Vicky’s Insights

Treasured Moments from My Students

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I am inspired to write this article after several students shared their ups and downs with me these few days.

Incident 1:

Last week, my primary 3 student started his first lesson with me after a 2-week break from his exams. During the lesson, he confided in me that he felt upset as he did not make it through the second round of the Gifted Education Program test (GEP). He was a very intelligent boy who grasps concepts very quickly. I could fully empathize with him. I consoled him and started to counsel him by telling him that GEP is not the only route to academic excellence and shared with him the bigger picture of life: academic success does not equate to success in life. Even though these precious few minutes deviated from academic topics, I felt that I have taught my student an even more important lesson than science: the lesson on picking himself up from failure (in a different way) and learning to be positive and strive to be the best he can be in his own way.

Incident 2:

Several of my students are taking O Levels this year. The Physics MCQ examination was held last friday and the Chemistry MCQ examination was held this morning. After the physics and chemistry papers, three of them excitedly updated me their scores after their exams. (Apparently, their school teachers worked out the answers as they were doing the exams and gave them the answers after that. Hence, the students knew their scores straight after the paper). All three did very well, with marks ranging from 35 to 39 out of 40 marks. I was very happy for them as their hard work and perseverance paid off. When these students came to me, they had only D7 to C6 grades.

Both incidents touched me as a tutor as they signified that I have become more than a tutor in their hearts. I have become their confidante and their counsellor. As a tutor, I believe that besides helping my students to excel, I should also guide them to become more resilient individuals who are able to see beyond academic success and also learn timeless values like commitment, responsibility and integrity which will serve them will in their future endeavours.

Congratulations to A Special Boy

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Over last weekend, I received news from one of my students’ mum that my primary three student achieved 83 marks in his SA2. I was extremely delighted when I heard this news. I was happier hearing this news than the other piece of news from another primary three student who scored 98.5 in science.

You may be wondering why I am happier over the news with lower marks than the news of almost full marks. The reason is because the student who scored 83 marks is a child with learning challenges. He started lessons with me end of May this year after failing his SA1. I faced many challenges teaching him.

For a start, his attention span was short. Secondly, for him to understand a science concept, I must think of innovative and simplified ways to explain to him in order for him to understand. I also realised that for him to improve, I must definitely enlist the help of his mum as I only see him 1.5-2 hours a week. Daily guidance at home is essential for him. As a result, I make detailed notes at the end of every lesson summarising clearly his weaknesses as well as the concepts to reinforce at home so that his mum can continue with the necessary home education. Despite these challenges, I enjoyed teaching him very much as he is a cheerful boy who always try to complete whatever assignments given to him and is committed to coming for every lesson.

I was overjoyed to hear that he improved so much as I did not expect it. Being his tutor, I know that there are still several areas he can improve on. However, the dedication of his mum and the boy’s hard work has spurred me to try even harder to teach him.

 

A Strong Foundation in Science: Give your Child THE Opportunity

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The exams are over and the Nov/Dec holidays are round the corner. Have you any plans for your child this holidays? If you are reading this article, very likely you are sourcing for a good tutor and your child has gotten less than ideal grades for his science exams.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate you for being a very concerned parent who is trying to help your child achieve better grades. Getting good grades in science is more than just scoring As. It brings a host of other benefits:

  1. It opens doors for your child: If your child is taking pure sciences, scoring As in “O” Levels will mean at least 1/3 of the battle won as two science subjects can contribute towards the 6 point aggregate system. You child can have the option of which JC or poly he/she wants to go.
  2. The widest possible choice of careers: “A” levels science students with good grades can choose any course of study they want in the universities and this ultimately determine their careers. It will also open up scholarship opportunities.
  3. Understanding yourself and the world around you: Our body functions, the nutrition our bodies need, the appliances and machines around us, the air we breath in are all science. With a good science background, you will be able to better care for your body and understand the environment around you.

Given the benefits of doing well in science, I love to help weak students improve and excel. Many students come to me either failing science or having D or C grades. The common comment from their parents is they do not have interest in science. I think that is a very natural reaction. How many people like things that are not their strength? Under my tutelage, I have seen these students transformed and blossomed into individuals with a keen interest in science. The key reason I believe for this metamorphosis is that they began to understand what they are studying and they start achieving. The achievements give them confidence and hope.

Hence, if your child is struggling with science, I strongly urge you to make full use of this holidays to help your child build a strong foundation in science by having tuition with the right tutor. Do not waste this golden opportunity.

Consistency & Commitment

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One of my students, a JC 1 student, informed me this week that his Chemistry grade improved from an “Unclassified” grade to a “D” grade. I was very happy for him. This student only joined me in August and his final exams was in September. Even though there was less than 2 months to help him, he still managed a more than 20 point jump in marks and an improvement by 2 grades. I strongly believe that one of the key factors for his improvement was his commitment in coming for tuition and his consistency in doing the assigned homework. He did not miss a single lesson and completed all the homework on time.

From my teaching experience, I observed that the students that went on to do very well in the exams may not be the most intelligent ones. Rather, those students who came regularly for lessons were the ones that went on to ace their exams even though they had dismal grades before coming to me. Thus, I have formed the linked between commitment and consistency to success.

This is definitely not a new idea. The best sportsmen, violinists, pianists etc are those who are most committed to their trade. My observations basically echoed the fact that those who are most committed will achieve success in whatever they do. Hence, I hope to inculcate commitment and consistency in all my students.

 

Making Dreams Come True

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The past few weeks had been very fulfilling for me. Several of my students had improved by leaps and bounds. Let me share the stories of four students with you. Let’s start with the story of student 1.

Student 1 is an N level student. When his mum first called me in April this year, she told me that Student 1 was very weak in Chemistry. He had never passed chemistry before and his marks were about 10-15 out of 50. His N levels is end of this year, so his mum was very worried. She decided to engage me as his tutor. After 4 lessons with me, he had his mid-year exams. For the first time, he passed his chemistry, achieving 28/50. Two weeks ago, I received an SMS from the mum thanking me. For his recent prelims, Student 1 scored 38/50 for chemistry! He went from a fail grade to A1 within a span of 5 months. He was so happy that he informed his mum with a photo of his grade immediately after receiving it. With this achievement, he is confident of doing well for his N levels.

Student 2 is a sec 3 combined science student. When she first came to me, she was weak in both chemistry and physics scoring D8-D7 for both subjects. I realised that her fundamentals were weak as she did not understand her concepts and she also did not have sufficient exposure to application of the concepts learnt. Under my tutelage, she announced happily to me last week that she scored 20/25 for her physics test, 18/25 for her chemistry test and 10/10 for her chemistry quiz. I could see her glowing with joy. She also had a second physics test and she excitedly related to me one of the questions she found challenging. I had never seen her so excited about science before. This was an amazing transformation from a girl who was once weak in science.

Student 3 is a sec 4 pure science student. She had a history of changing tutors. When her mum called me in early June this year, I can sense her frustration with the frequent change of tutors and the seemingly impossible quest to find a suitable tutor. Her mum asked me if it is possible to have one trial lesson with me to determine if her daughter like me to teach her. I told her, sure, why not. After the trial lesson, this student decided to continue with me. In her mid-year exams, she had only borderline grades for chemistry and physics. After four months of hard work, she scored a distinction for chemistry in her recent prelims.

Student 4 is a sec 2 student. He has never passed science in sec 1 and always had very low marks (<15 marks). He just joined me in mid-august. His mum told me that his goal is getting into pure science stream but achieving this dream seem very impossible. It happened that after the first lesson with me, he had a science test the same week. For that test, he scored 21/50. To me, that was an amazing feat. Although he still failed, more importantly, he scored more than 20 marks for the first time. He needed only 4 marks to pass and this improvement was made after only 1 lesson. Can you imagine how much more he can improve with more lessons? His mum thanked me and feedback that his confidence improved greatly after one lesson with me. He was very confident of passing the test and was disappointed with his marks. I told his mum that it was a very good performance and her son may be able to achieve his dreams as we still have one more month till his finals.

Witnessing the improvements and confidence gained by these students has truly given me a great sense of satisfaction. Moving beyond grades, I am happy that their dreams are slowly but surely turning from impossible to possible: Student 1 wants to do well enough to go on to Sec 5, Student 2 and 3 want to go to JC and Student 4 wants to be a pure science student.

My sense of satisfaction comes not just from the improvement in grades but also from knowing that I have helped my students to realise their dreams, develop their potentials, and gaining the “ I Can Do it” spirit.

My Students, My Blessings

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I was very touched when I received a thank you message from one of my students’ parent last night. She text me the following message:

“She is so blessed to have you as her tutor. She is very happy that she understood what you taught her today. She said she didn’t understand it when her teacher explained to her in School. Thank you”.

Personally, I feel that I am the one that is truly blessed to have the faith of my students and their parents in my ability to tutor their children. Hence, I always strive to do my best to teach and coach them. When any of my students do not understand a particular topic at first and show an enlightened look after I explained to them, that look really brightens up my day.

I am especially heartened by one of my students, “X”. Before X came to me, X has never passed Chemistry and found Chemistry incomprehensible. After a month’s of tuition with me, X passed Chemistry for the first time and even told me that Chemistry seems so easy now. I am very impressed by X’s learning attitude. X never misses a lesson with me even when X had a bad fall and one of the legs’ was in a cast and clutches were necessary. X still came faithfully for lessons. During heavy rain and thunderstorms, X also turns up for class and there was a time when X thought that X maybe late for class, X even took a taxi just to be on time. After a few months’ of tuition, I can see the transformation in X. X has become much more confident in doing science questions now and is aiming for high grades. I really hope that X can do well in the upcoming major exams.

As a tutor, every parent that decides to entrust their child to me for science tuition is a blessing to me. Thus, I try every way I can to help their children achieve their dreams. I hope I can continue to help more children in the years to come.