chemistry tuition

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.

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.

 

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.

 

Key to Success

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For the past week, a number of my students who are taking important exams this year did not complete their homework. I had expected it as school has reopened, and numerous activities would have taken up their time.

Nevertheless, I spoke to each student and provided them with some advice. As this is the beginning of the second semester and many students will be taking their national examinations in a few months’ time, I would like to share my personal experience on what I feel are key factors to achieving success and a balance in life (not just studies, but in all aspects of life).

All of us have only 24 hours each day. Why are some people able to accomplish so much in 1 day? Whereas others can hardly get anything done?  Secondary school students in Singapore usually have to juggle between 6 to 9 subjects on top of other extra curriculum activities. How can a student cope and do well in everything then?

The key lies in good time management. To be able to manage one’s time effectively, you need to have Planning, Prioritisation and Discipline.

Planning

For things to happen, you must plan for it. I like to plan on Sundays what I would want to get done for each day of the following week. I would also set aside time to do each activity (block time). If you are a student, you can also plan a schedule on what subjects and topics you would like to cover each day. Set realistic time blocks which are achievable, for example, 15 minutes a day on chemistry. If you were to calculate, 15 minutes a day on one subject, if done consistently for 7 days is equal to 1 hour and 45 mins a week. That is a significant amount of time. When you get use to this routine, you can slowly increase the time block for each activity. This small incremental amount of time spent each day on each subject has a cumulative effect and will lead to astonishing results!

 Prioritisation

Human nature is such that we prefer to do things we like first and procrastinate on doing things we dislike. Similarly, for subjects or topics that we dislike, they end up at the bottom of the ladder. We may end up not studying them or study them at times when we are already exhausted. Consequently, these subjects/topics also become our weakest ones and are our Achilles’ Heels. They will hinder us from getting our A1/A*s ultimately. Hence, when I had multiple subjects to study, my strategy was always to do what I dislike most/weakest. By doing this, I ensured that my weakest points were covered when I was most alert. I would also feel a sense of achievement after accomplishing them and I could look forward to doing what I liked next.

I strongly urged students not to give up on their sleep in order to squeeze in more activities. Our brains need to rest and our bodies need to rejuvenate. A well-rested mind and body can achieve much more than an exhausted one. Hence, please make having adequate sleep one of your top priorities too.

Discipline

The best schedule will not work if it is not put to action. Hence, discipline is vital for any planning to succeed. Discipline may involve sacrifices such as missing out on favourite TV programmes at times. However, if one looks at the bigger picture, these small sacrifices pave the way to achieving success at greater heights.

Last but not least, it is important to review what you have done to past week: have you use your time constructively, are there ways you could have improve on your time utilisation?

Remember: manage your time well to lead a balanced life !

The Magical Tool Box: A Prelude to learning Science

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The principles and concepts in Science are like the varied and amazing tools in a magical toolbox to me. Just like the tools in a toolbox, there are many interesting and fascinating facts in Science.

But, the responses we get when we hand a child a toolbox to play and when we give the child a book to learn about Science are worlds apart.

The child will explore the toolbox and its contents with glee, making an effort to find out how to use the different tools.

As for the book, few children will really sit still and read the book with interest!

Why are the responses so different then? How can we create the experience of learning science similar to that of playing with a toolbox?

In the toolbox case, the child undergoes experiential learning: he/she learns from exploring, he tries and experience, observes and make inferences. Through this mode of learning, the child remembers and will learn the purpose of each tool and how to use them next time.

In the science learning case, it is very dry and boring to learn science by reading. Many concepts and principles in science are best learnt and remembered through hands-on activities and experiments.

To cultivate an interest in the learning of science, the Educator should make the “Science” come alive; Let the child see how deeply science is intertwined in their daily lives:

Example 1: why do you need to breath and eat? (This will explain the principle of respiration)

Example 2: why do plants die when they do not have sunlight and water? (Simple experiments can be done to show the wilting of plants when one of the factors is removed)

The Educator plays a vital to ignite and continuous fuel this passion in the child by:

  • Breaking down complex concepts into simpler, bit size pieces for the child to understand
  • Show how concepts taught are used in real world science applications
  • Provide a platform for the child to explore, experiment, observe and internalise the learnings
  • Encourage the child to explore

Once the child gains mastery of each tool (science concept), he/she will know which tool to take from the magical toolbox (Science) to use when given a problem to solve.