Choosing a tutor

I have seen many posts from parents seeking tutors. How should parents select one? I will like to share some views on this, having being in this field for 26 years and counting.

1. Educator competency
The educator competency is perhaps the most critical aspect that parents need to pay attention to. For instance, if a tutor is offering Additional Maths as a subject, but has not taken this subject before, will you be willing to engage this tutor? Likewise, would you be willing to engage a former primary school teacher as a tutor for your secondary school child?

Being a relief or even, ex-teacher does not necessarily mean that such tutors are deserving of a premium in fees, in my honest opinion. Parents may wish to note that for teaching positions in tertiary education such as polytechnics and universities, lecturers are NOT required to possess PGDE in order to teach in a tutorial class or lecture hall setting.

Most importantly, the technical competencies of tutors are largely similar, though the key is how readily the educator is able to make difficult concepts simple, yet enjoyable for learners to comprehend and accept. This can only be achieved through accumulation of experience. A personal reflection is that my teaching methods has definitely evolved, compared to 10 years ago.

2. Results or money-back guarantee
Many tutors list down this as one of the captivating traits. Frankly, in my 26 years of tutoring, I am not aware of any sure-win practice of teaching students which can guarantee results. Will a parent be appeased if his or her child does not do well, and gets a refund back (if this is indeed the real scenario)?

3. Rates
There is one point I want to raise, whenever the issue of rates is mentioned. It is often easier for a tutor to seek a slightly lower rate, and then request to parents to increase the frequency, chalking up more fees. As such, if hourly rates is the subject of discussion, then it is not quite relevant, as this is not indicative of the total fees. Also, are we talking about buying the same can of Coke from Cold Storage or Giant where we can simply compare the prices? Moreover, most parents will have assumed that the pace and method of teaching is same, hence the outright comparison of fees which is really lopsided.

Parents need to know that tutoring is a service (commercially yes, but morally no), not a product. While the knowledge imparted is similar, the methodology engaged can be different. It’s never an apple-to-apple comparison. The most expensive item for tuition is not the fees, but the student’s time. This is often a neglected fact by most parents.

To conclude, the educator who is engaged should be one which the parent has total trust and confidence in.

4. Student results
I have seen many of my counterparts and tuition centres publishing results of their students. The performance of top students may at times conceal the competency of tutors, as they are likely to do well. So, to publish the results of top students as proof of the tutor’s capability is not a frank assessment in my view.
As a tutor, I always tell parents that tutors can only catalyse learning. Students should claim the most credit if they do well. This is conversely true, if students do not fare well. And faring well does not hinge solely on the 2 or 3 hours spent with the tutor, out of the entire week. Much depends on how the educator is able to motivate the child to study harder, on autopilot mode. And just how realistic is it, to supposedly see improvement just after a few sessions?

5. Testimonials
This may be fake, but it’s better than nothing.
It pays to contact the author of the testimonial to check the credentials and capabilities of the tutor.
Not forgetting, if a tutor can agree to tutor a child based on rates, and without prior discussion on aligned goals, it probably spells a lot on the tutor’s intentions.

6. Tuition agency
Do qualified tutors need the assistance of agencies to widen their network? Usually no, more so with the advent of media.
Parents are unlikely to find inexperienced tutors from agencies. Why? Think of it and you will know…..

7. Tutor credentials
This is one important aspect. I have seen a lot of ex-teachers seeking rocket-high rates. Unless the teacher is one who just recently left service, how much does a ‘retired’ teacher differ from an experienced educator? Adding on, “ex-teacher” and “current teacher” do have several implications. Are parents looking for ex-teachers to teach their children based on subjects they have experience in? It is indeed not uncommon that some teachers exploit their exposure as a teacher (eg: primary school teacher) to market themselves as being competent to tutor at secondary levels. Not to say they are incompetent, but does that serve the purpose of parents seeking current of ex-teachers? There are also parents who actively seek tutors who are PSLE paper markers. The intent seems to try and beat the system of tests, rather than helping the child learn effectively.

8. Social media
This is perhaps more pervasive, especially on Facebook. This will need a bit of heuristics to sieve out potential hoax. For instance, parents will need to assess the logic about students or parents (or even anyone) aggressively promoting his/her tutor over social media. In short, with the “fake news” era, it’s often possible for tutor-parents to craft bad reviews to impact competitors as well. Also, there are occurences where someone seeks recommendation for tuition classes, and the proprietor will recommend his or her own centre, without upfront saying that he or she is the owner.

9. Nature of employment
Parents and agencies alike, I often see posts seeking “full-time” tutors, or MOE-trained tutors. And for some agencies, they price “full-time” tutors at a premium.

The nature of employment should not be the benchmark to assess a tutor’s credibility. Of course, we need to be fair and make an apple-to-apple comparison. If a parent were to compare a full-time tutor versus an undergraduate tutor, then there could be instances that the latter may have to cancel lessons due to personal academic commitments. Likewise, if a tutor is “full-time”, bread and butter issues may come into play, and this may also cause tuition to be short-lived since maximizing monetary returns could be one goal they have.

There is also nothing such as MOE-certified tutor, ex MOE-trained tutor, or MOE-registered tutor. For a start, MOE does not train tutors [Refer to point (7)].

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Eric
passioninlearning.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/passioninlearningeric/