Teaching Philosophy

As a teacher-turned-tutor, first and foremost, I believe that teaching is a work of heart. It is something that takes up a part of the tutor, to invest in the lives of my students.

Effective tutors who prepare their lessons tailored to their students and who connect with their lives through teaching are able to nurture them in the subjects that require improvement. It takes more than just a liking for a subject to teach it well; competency in the subject to explain to the student in order for him/her to comprehend is a real factor. If a concept does not 'click' with the student, he would be just as lost or even more lost than before the tuition class. Apart from that is that teaching requires a love in wanting to provide the best for the student regardless of his/her ability.

Teaching should never be taken with a flippant attitude, whiling time away at the expense of students' learning. It is a commitment towards both students and parents who have invested trust in me as a tutor. That is why in teaching, it is so important to provide students the rationale of doing an activity so that they are aware of the direction of their learning and not left to wander about why they seem to be 'wasting time' on a project or discussion. This will not only direct them to a common mindset, it will also engage their thoughts and participation more readily.

Also, I believe that every child has the potential to comprehend and learn through the employment of different teaching strategies based on their learning styles. No two learners have exactly the same way of grasping subjects and that is where the tutor comes into the picture in a small group to bridge learning gaps and queries before challenging them to attain higher order thinking skills. It is crucial that as a tutor provides a conducive learning environment for his/her students so that there is open tutor-student communication, allowing the student to be comfortable in clarifying misconceptions or confusions pertaining to a topic taught. This effort on the students' part taps on the expertise of the tutor so that active and meaningful learning takes place instead of merely receiving information that is given by the tutor or teacher in school.