Mathematical Inflation
Yea. I another new student. Maths of course. If I was tutoring Chinese, you could buy Toto
System 7 and probably ace the Group 1 Prize every week for the next century.
Considering the rate at which parents are signing up their children for tuition, I can't help but concur the newspaper article on the tuition frenzy. But I can also understand why the students require assistance in their academic aspects.
1) Insane Common Tests and Examinations
I got a shock when I saw some of the questions that existed in the common tests and prelim papers. If they can even send me into a stupor on rare occasions (yea i'm expecting myself to do every A level question with ease which fortunately has been thus far), then we really think all our JC students are Nashlings and Cauchies and Riemanians. If the exam is an attempt to ensure that the student understands the basic concepts and applications, then the questions present are simply a blatant attempt to leech dry their creative juice, their stamina and undermine their confidence.
A simple analogy is this. The schools are teaching you how to drive a car on automatic transmission and then expect you to drive a F1 car during a night race for examinations.
2) Lack of Exam Strategy
Most of my students always have a tendency to fumble on their graphical calculators (GC). In fact, when schools tweak their questions to maximize the potential of the GC, students are still left clueless, because somewhere along the way, be it lack of practice, or teachers leaving the onus of learning their GCs on their students, they have a tendency to completely forget how to operate the functions and use the functions to their benefit.
Part a Part b Part c phobia. Maths Examinations are full of sub-partitioned questions. Maybe they should put as a reminder to all students on the front of the booklet that you can still try to do Part b and Part c if u mess up Part a along the way. Based on experience, you most probably can add an additional 5 marks to your existing score. (university exams included lol)
3) Disinterest
Of course. When you keep doing integration and differentiation and wonder why on earth do you even do it, when you probably don't even appreciate it's importance in Optimization, Finance, Engineering, Economics, Computing and Statistics. I still think topics like Planes in Vectors, Maclaurin's Series and Complex Numbers can really kill your desire if you don't see it's practical usage in life.
4) Over-reliance
Touchy issue. I always thought that tutors are meant to be facilitators and supplements to additional questions or to assist students in revision for topics they are unsure of. But when we start to supplant the role of the teacher completely, then perhaps the student is better of attending school with me as the Maths teacher than listening to their existing one.
5) "Don't do well for A-Levels, that's it" mentality
nah that stupid a level cert isn't a means to a desirable end. it helps, but only so much. in fact when you go to uni, it's a reset button all over again. i was reading the convocation book for Michelle's year and some people that I know, who have pretty moronic personalities and aren't exceptionally smart in my opinion, end up with a big fat first class honours. while people whom I respect based on my interactions with them, end up bottom heavy.
I guess that's where we tutors come in, in hopes of rectifying points 1 to 3. Hence the surge in demand. For a country whose only resource is brainpower, it's no wonder everyone's placing such a high premium on education. Ironic that it's an intangible commodity, where we tutors are acting as traders and calling a long position on the price of it. Haha.
Anyway solely my opinion. Don't take this post, throw it to the Straits Times Forum or complain about my irregularities or justifications. Or I will sue you like how every American loves doing.
System 7 and probably ace the Group 1 Prize every week for the next century.
Considering the rate at which parents are signing up their children for tuition, I can't help but concur the newspaper article on the tuition frenzy. But I can also understand why the students require assistance in their academic aspects.
1) Insane Common Tests and Examinations
I got a shock when I saw some of the questions that existed in the common tests and prelim papers. If they can even send me into a stupor on rare occasions (yea i'm expecting myself to do every A level question with ease which fortunately has been thus far), then we really think all our JC students are Nashlings and Cauchies and Riemanians. If the exam is an attempt to ensure that the student understands the basic concepts and applications, then the questions present are simply a blatant attempt to leech dry their creative juice, their stamina and undermine their confidence.
A simple analogy is this. The schools are teaching you how to drive a car on automatic transmission and then expect you to drive a F1 car during a night race for examinations.
2) Lack of Exam Strategy
Most of my students always have a tendency to fumble on their graphical calculators (GC). In fact, when schools tweak their questions to maximize the potential of the GC, students are still left clueless, because somewhere along the way, be it lack of practice, or teachers leaving the onus of learning their GCs on their students, they have a tendency to completely forget how to operate the functions and use the functions to their benefit.
Part a Part b Part c phobia. Maths Examinations are full of sub-partitioned questions. Maybe they should put as a reminder to all students on the front of the booklet that you can still try to do Part b and Part c if u mess up Part a along the way. Based on experience, you most probably can add an additional 5 marks to your existing score. (university exams included lol)
3) Disinterest
Of course. When you keep doing integration and differentiation and wonder why on earth do you even do it, when you probably don't even appreciate it's importance in Optimization, Finance, Engineering, Economics, Computing and Statistics. I still think topics like Planes in Vectors, Maclaurin's Series and Complex Numbers can really kill your desire if you don't see it's practical usage in life.
4) Over-reliance
Touchy issue. I always thought that tutors are meant to be facilitators and supplements to additional questions or to assist students in revision for topics they are unsure of. But when we start to supplant the role of the teacher completely, then perhaps the student is better of attending school with me as the Maths teacher than listening to their existing one.
5) "Don't do well for A-Levels, that's it" mentality
nah that stupid a level cert isn't a means to a desirable end. it helps, but only so much. in fact when you go to uni, it's a reset button all over again. i was reading the convocation book for Michelle's year and some people that I know, who have pretty moronic personalities and aren't exceptionally smart in my opinion, end up with a big fat first class honours. while people whom I respect based on my interactions with them, end up bottom heavy.
I guess that's where we tutors come in, in hopes of rectifying points 1 to 3. Hence the surge in demand. For a country whose only resource is brainpower, it's no wonder everyone's placing such a high premium on education. Ironic that it's an intangible commodity, where we tutors are acting as traders and calling a long position on the price of it. Haha.
Anyway solely my opinion. Don't take this post, throw it to the Straits Times Forum or complain about my irregularities or justifications. Or I will sue you like how every American loves doing.
posted by HanseL at
12:07 AM
