I was in such a crummy mood this week due to the aura of bad luck which has not disintegrated that I got my friend out even though he just had an operation two weeks back and will be on medical leave until the end of the year. Anyway he said he was going crazy staying at home and I was getting depressed staying at home, so we met up for lunch and two movies, "Sky High" (a cross between "X-Men" and "The Incredibles") and "Just Like Heaven" (which was so heartwarming that it really made me cry). Sometimes I wish I have super powers to save the world from evil and wars.
I also managed to get advanced tickets for "Harry Potter" this Saturday, which I will be watching with my cousins. The first real all-cousins outing (although not a complete one as some of them are overseas) without our parents. There will be seven of us watching the show - me, my brother, the two cheeky girls, their eldest sister, our eldest cousin and her husband. Really looking forward to it!
I bumped into a former tuition kid of mine today. Actually he was the one who recognised me because the last time I saw him he was a small-sized, shy Primary Six kid, and now he is already in the army. Wow….. I am old….. I am surprised he recognised me though because it had been almost eight years since we last saw each other.
Both of us were students then and now both of us have grown in our own ways. This is one of those heart-warming times where teaching pays off, as no matter how hard the work you put in, your students do remember you after so many years and appreciate you for all the things you have done.
He was the first kid I tutored, way back when I had just finished secondary school. I wanted to earn some extra pocket money for myself as I could hardly survive on what my parents gave me. I registered with an agency (which for some reason seemed to have closed down) and I got this kid.
I was surprised that I got the job because I also advertised in one of the papers for students, but when the parents called up and realised I did not have ‘A’ levels or a degree, they promptly hung up the phone.
Parents who called for tuition would normally be parents of primary school kids, so I was feeling a little down at being “looked down upon” just because they thought I would not have the ability to teach their kids due to lack of certain qualifications.
Anyway this kid’s mother is a very nice lady. No doubt her kid was mischievous and lazy, but she was always nice to me. Once in a while she would even cook lunch or serve me food or tidbits when I went over. The kid was downright lazy and just refused to do any work, but the mum gave me carte blanche to do whatever was required. And even when he did not score well, she never once blamed me as she knew her kid was lazy.
My parents disapproved in the beginning as they wanted me to concentrate on my studies without any distractions. But I told them I needed extra cash as what they gave me was only enough for transport, class fund and lunch. There were no extras if I wanted to stay out for dinner or go out during the weekends. My mum always claimed what she gave me was enough, so if it was not enough, I should cut down on my lifestyle.
Cut down what?! I had to turn down everytime my classmates went out for a big meal just because I was not able to afford. I did not even go out during weekends unless I needed to go to school. I could not even go for movies with my friends as I did not have the money to pay for myself! And I still needed to cut down more?!
Ironically my friends stay in flats and I am the one who stay on a landed property, yet their pocket moneys are at least twice what I was getting. Which is why right now I relish the freedom of being financially independent! You do not need to be accountable on what you spend your money on and what type of lifestyle you lead, nor do you have to put up with people giving you a sour look just because you asked for a little extra for the month.
So I continued with my tuition assignment. I taught him from Primary Four all the way until he completed his PSLE. I was not paid much, but at least I managed to earn enough to tide me over. When I did not do well in my studies my parents wanted me to give up the assignment, but the kid was in upper primary then, so I wanted to chart his progress. Besides I scored badly not because of the tuition assignment, but because of other factors.
After him, I was recommended a few other tuition assignments. By then, I had higher qualifications so was able to charge a little more. When I entered NIE, I got even more jobs with higher rates, but due to my heavy workload, I was not able to tutor much, thus I only stuck to those who were taking their final year in school.
One of my kids later went to the top school and her mother was so appreciative and still calls me every now and then. But she has a good attitude. She is the type who can wake up at 6:00 am just to study, so she definitely has no problems. In the first place, she did not even need tuition, as she was already in a pretty good school, but just because her grades dropped from above 90 to 80, she panicked and wanted extra help. From academic tutoring, I went on to teach her music too until she passed her Grade 8.
Why did none of my real school students ever have that attitude? They thought that as long as they could score well enough to remain in the best class, even if they averaged 80%, they were satisfied already. I always told them why stick to just 80% when they could have 100%? Perhaps there really is a difference between students from premier schools and students from just normal schools.
Luckily most of my tuition parents are very nice people. They really respect tutors and let me do my job. I even brought some of my kids out before, when I brought them to the library to borrow some books to start them on reading, or just a walk around a park (if they are staying near a park) to observe the flora and fauna, or even to an ice-cream parlour when they improved or did well and I wanted to reward them.
I really miss those days. If I could go into full-time tutoring I would, just that it is not a secure job and I prefer to do something more secure. I feel more at ease to know that I will have fixed income coming in every month at least.
I also managed to get advanced tickets for "Harry Potter" this Saturday, which I will be watching with my cousins. The first real all-cousins outing (although not a complete one as some of them are overseas) without our parents. There will be seven of us watching the show - me, my brother, the two cheeky girls, their eldest sister, our eldest cousin and her husband. Really looking forward to it!
I bumped into a former tuition kid of mine today. Actually he was the one who recognised me because the last time I saw him he was a small-sized, shy Primary Six kid, and now he is already in the army. Wow….. I am old….. I am surprised he recognised me though because it had been almost eight years since we last saw each other.
Both of us were students then and now both of us have grown in our own ways. This is one of those heart-warming times where teaching pays off, as no matter how hard the work you put in, your students do remember you after so many years and appreciate you for all the things you have done.
He was the first kid I tutored, way back when I had just finished secondary school. I wanted to earn some extra pocket money for myself as I could hardly survive on what my parents gave me. I registered with an agency (which for some reason seemed to have closed down) and I got this kid.
I was surprised that I got the job because I also advertised in one of the papers for students, but when the parents called up and realised I did not have ‘A’ levels or a degree, they promptly hung up the phone.
Parents who called for tuition would normally be parents of primary school kids, so I was feeling a little down at being “looked down upon” just because they thought I would not have the ability to teach their kids due to lack of certain qualifications.
Anyway this kid’s mother is a very nice lady. No doubt her kid was mischievous and lazy, but she was always nice to me. Once in a while she would even cook lunch or serve me food or tidbits when I went over. The kid was downright lazy and just refused to do any work, but the mum gave me carte blanche to do whatever was required. And even when he did not score well, she never once blamed me as she knew her kid was lazy.
My parents disapproved in the beginning as they wanted me to concentrate on my studies without any distractions. But I told them I needed extra cash as what they gave me was only enough for transport, class fund and lunch. There were no extras if I wanted to stay out for dinner or go out during the weekends. My mum always claimed what she gave me was enough, so if it was not enough, I should cut down on my lifestyle.
Cut down what?! I had to turn down everytime my classmates went out for a big meal just because I was not able to afford. I did not even go out during weekends unless I needed to go to school. I could not even go for movies with my friends as I did not have the money to pay for myself! And I still needed to cut down more?!
Ironically my friends stay in flats and I am the one who stay on a landed property, yet their pocket moneys are at least twice what I was getting. Which is why right now I relish the freedom of being financially independent! You do not need to be accountable on what you spend your money on and what type of lifestyle you lead, nor do you have to put up with people giving you a sour look just because you asked for a little extra for the month.
So I continued with my tuition assignment. I taught him from Primary Four all the way until he completed his PSLE. I was not paid much, but at least I managed to earn enough to tide me over. When I did not do well in my studies my parents wanted me to give up the assignment, but the kid was in upper primary then, so I wanted to chart his progress. Besides I scored badly not because of the tuition assignment, but because of other factors.
After him, I was recommended a few other tuition assignments. By then, I had higher qualifications so was able to charge a little more. When I entered NIE, I got even more jobs with higher rates, but due to my heavy workload, I was not able to tutor much, thus I only stuck to those who were taking their final year in school.
One of my kids later went to the top school and her mother was so appreciative and still calls me every now and then. But she has a good attitude. She is the type who can wake up at 6:00 am just to study, so she definitely has no problems. In the first place, she did not even need tuition, as she was already in a pretty good school, but just because her grades dropped from above 90 to 80, she panicked and wanted extra help. From academic tutoring, I went on to teach her music too until she passed her Grade 8.
Why did none of my real school students ever have that attitude? They thought that as long as they could score well enough to remain in the best class, even if they averaged 80%, they were satisfied already. I always told them why stick to just 80% when they could have 100%? Perhaps there really is a difference between students from premier schools and students from just normal schools.
Luckily most of my tuition parents are very nice people. They really respect tutors and let me do my job. I even brought some of my kids out before, when I brought them to the library to borrow some books to start them on reading, or just a walk around a park (if they are staying near a park) to observe the flora and fauna, or even to an ice-cream parlour when they improved or did well and I wanted to reward them.
I really miss those days. If I could go into full-time tutoring I would, just that it is not a secure job and I prefer to do something more secure. I feel more at ease to know that I will have fixed income coming in every month at least.
6 comments:
As long as there are students and kiasu parents, there will be home tutors. That is to say, there will always be a demand. I have been asked quite a few times by my previous guardian to teach tuition to some Indonesian kids, and I have refused as for one, I need my free time. For two, the pay is not nearly enough for the time spent (inclusive of commuting). For three, the current batch does not need a tutor, they need an army sergeant!
I already know 2 people (one of them is my JC mate, and the other, an ex-primary school teacher) who are full time tuition teachers.
you do not have to worry about not having fixed income if you go the extra mile to prepare giving tuition full time.Give in small groups rather than one to one. Persuade them to come to your house rather than go to theirs and slowly build up your reputation. With your credentials,it should be no problem having as many as 30 students or more to teach if you go full time. I had tuition teachers who gave small group tuition and they could earn as much as 10000 per month. Give tuiton to secondary and jc students as they can be charged more. Though the downside is it is quite taxing on the mind to handle so many students at one go. Good luck.
There's relief teacher at my sch who's a full time tutor. He told us that he's earning way above what we're being paid and loves it that he has control over his schedule. He's really comfortable doing what he's doing. Downside is that you won't get any benefits such as CPF or medical benefits of coz.
If said person is already earning a lot more than me, I do not see CPF as a "benefit" as I am already a thrifty person.
CPF is only preventing me from investing over 20% of my salary in ventures that have potentially larger returns. By itself, it is not even going to be enough for retirement anyway.
don't let stuff get you donw. i think tutoring can be a full time steady income job, with all the flexible benefits of time. think about it??
or it can tide you over for some time while you find a job you really like.
Ole Wolvie : Yes, the current batch of kids need an army sergeant more than a tutor.
Anonymous : Well.. I'll think about it. Perhaps in the future when I can work more flexible hours.
Imp : Yes, if I can find a suitable student, perhaps I will start tutoring again. All depends on how soon I get my next job.
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