Month: June 2021

Are your children bored out of their minds at home? With schools and education centres shifting to home-based learning, you may find yourself having to take on an additional role of teacher for your child. Unfortunately, there are far fewer textbooks and guides for teaching preschool-level children and younger. If you have little to no experience in coaching your child, it may seem to be a daunting task. You may be wondering: how do I know what kind of content to teach my child? How can I scale it to a level that is easy for them to understand? Can I make it entertaining enough to capture their attention? Add these challenges on to a regular work schedule, and the problem intensifies.

If this sounds like you, we have some good news. We know just the topic you can use to teach your kids that will keep them occupied for hours on end. They will be able to pick up valuable problem-solving and critical thinking skills, while exercising their imagination and creativity. What’s best, this fun activity can provide them with valuable skills relevant to the times that might just secure them a job in the future? This activity is none other than coding.

Why Coding?

This gem has only surfaced in recent years as an enrichment class for kids, but has made its mark on numerous children of all ages, from pre-schoolers to teenagers. No kid is too young to learn coding – if they can read and write, they can learn coding too!

Coding is a unique enrichment subject in that it trains both the left and right brain at once. While kids learn about logic and processing when coding, they are also able to build applications out of their own imagination. There is no single correct answer in coding, which enables children to think out of the box and apply their own understanding to solve the problem.

Additionally, having a coding background gives one a valuable advantage when they enter the job market in the future. In today’s digital world, coding is a highly prized skill. You don’t have to have formal qualifications in coding to prove your worth in the field. In fact, many professional coders are self-taught, and it is completely possible to provide your children with such an opportunity in the comfort of your home.

Teaching your children to code is usually much less difficult than most parents expect. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be an experienced programmer to guide your children in their coding journey.

Read Up on the Basics

If you plan to personally teach your children, it never hurts to get some basic knowledge on coding, especially if this is your first time touching programming. One easy way to pick up coding is to read up on beginner guides, many of which are available both online and in programming books at any library. If you prefer video tutorials, there are plenty of them on the web. You’ll also have to decide on what programming language you plan to teach your kids. For a complete newbie to coding, we recommend going with Python or JavaScript, both of which are easy to pick up and highly transferrable.

Start Small

Nobody expects a complete programming novice to come up with a full-fledged application on the spot, so don’t sweat it. You can begin by giving your child a simple task to code, such as a “hello world” message. Start with the basics to test the waters. We find that most children struggle most with getting started on coding, because they probably do not even know what it is all about. Once your child is comfortable enough finding their way around a text editor, you can then progress on to introducing more coding techniques and problems and perhaps enrol them in a coding class for kids.

Use Analogies

Is your child having a difficult time wrapping their head around a particular concept? You may have to break the concept down into bite-sized tidbits of information for them to have an easier time digesting. One great way to do this is to use analogies and examples. If you need a list of popular analogies for different coding concepts, there are plenty of online resources to help with that.

Consider an Online Coding Class for Kids

Perhaps you’ve decided that coding is not really your thing, or maybe you just don’t have the time to devote to preparing coding lessons for your child. Don’t worry, as there are still plenty of ways your child can learn coding! For older kids such as teenagers, signing them up for an online coding class for teens can be a viable idea. It not only keeps them busy, but also encourages them to be independent and study on their own!

Many people associate tuition classes with primary or secondary school. Even at those levels, tuition classes are often considered to be either a luxury service or for those who are really falling behind. However, is tuition still relevant in JC? What can tuition help JC students with? Are tuition classes actually beneficial or just an added commodity for the kiasu?

There are no clear answers to these question as the need for JC tuition depends on each individual. To help you out, we have listed down some reasons why you may want to consider tuition for JC.

The JC Curriculum is Tight

The JC syllabus like JC chemistry is crafted to span three years, but for most JC students, it is crammed into a period of less than two years. This is on top of CCA and external commitments that can really take up a student’s time. Most JC students can attest to the fact that they barely have enough time to complete their homework, much less revise their work. In JC, students must quickly get used to their new packed schedules and sort out time management to survive.

Students are also required to take more in-depth subjects than in primary or secondary school. Often, these subjects require a full understanding and application of the subject matter, which means that studying is of even more importance since one cannot simply memorise the model answers without absorbing the content. Multiply the time required to study each subject by the number of subjects each student is expected to take, and one tends to wonder how a student can squeeze out enough time for everything.

The JC Environment is Competitive

It is not uncommon to start a fresh year in JC and notice that a number of your classmates already know topics that have yet to be covered. Since students realise that they will likely be hard-pressed for time in JC, they may take it upon themselves to obtain studying material and revise in advance, especially for content-heavy subjects such as JC economics and JC chemistry.

One option to keep pace with those peers would be to follow suit and make use of your holidays to study as well. However, what if you have other commitments during the holidays? What if you have also been revising but find it difficult to understand the content on your own? In such a case, you may want to consider going for JC tuition. Some tuition classes are held during the term breaks or before the academic year begins, so you can get a head start on your schoolwork.

The JC Style May Not Cater to Different Individuals

In JC economics for example, lessons typically consist of lectures and tutorials, which are often held in large groups. It can be difficult to get one-to-one time with a teacher, especially if you find yourself lagging behind the rest. Certain topics may be tougher for some people to grasp, but the school curriculum cannot wait for a minority. While classes are conducted to guide students, students are mostly expected to be independent and self-study to brush up on their understanding. As such, the JC teaching style and pace may not be suitable for everyone.

If you find JC lessons less than ideal for you, it may be time to look for a class that better suits your learning style and helps you pick up the subjects with more ease. JC students who attend tuition often find that they have ample time and opportunities to clarify their doubts with their tutors. They can also get tips and tricks that may not be taught to them in school. If you find yourself in such a situation, signing up for JC tuition may be the key to enjoying an easier time in school.

To sum it up, whether one needs tuition in JC is a highly subjective matter. Plenty of JC students have done well without needing any help from tuition, while others swear by supplementary sessions to help them catch up on schoolwork. That being said, having a good tutor can be invaluable in helping to pull up your grades for a particularly subject.

A good number of primary school students are seeking help from tuition teachers for their studies. These days, it would be uncommon for top students not to have a helping hand in order to keep up with the increasing difficulty of the primary school syllabus. For instance, the PSLE standard for Primary Maths is getting tougher each year, with even teachers scratching their heads over some of the problems. You may be wondering if it is time to get in touch with a tuition teacher for your child. Well, here are some observations that may mean that your child requires tuition.

Your Child is Having Difficulties with Homework

Teachers often assign homework to help students practise what they have learned in class. If a student has been keeping up with their classes without problems, they should also be able to complete their homework most of the time without requiring help. However, if your child frequently asks for homework help or does not know how to do most of the questions, this is usually a sign that they are having difficulties keeping up to speed with the topics that are being taught in class. Since primary school class sizes typically range from 30 to 40 students, teachers usually cannot afford to slow down for a select few.

Your Child is Scoring Poorly in Tests

Tuition classes ideally start in conjunction with the beginning of the school year, as students will have more hours of practice and the tuition teacher can clear up any doubts before moving on to the next topic. Unfortunately, some students only realise too late that they have difficulties with their schoolwork, such as when they receive a poor grade on a test. Even if it may be disheartening, getting a low score is not the end of the world. Your child may have missed out on the added benefit of attending tuition classes for the first part of the year, but it is never too late to seek help for their studies. A good tuition teacher will be able to work with your child to iron out any pitfalls and misconceptions. Addressing outstanding problem is a huge step towards achieving a better score.

Your Child Runs Out of Time during Exams

While exam papers can be gruelling, they are crafted to be completed within the stipulated time frame, if assuming students are familiar enough with the question types and answering techniques. If your child is frequently running out of time to finish their exam paper, this may be an indicator that they lack familiarity with some of the concepts or techniques. One can practise with any amount of assessment books and papers, but sometimes, it takes a good tuition teacher to suggest easy techniques that students can use to answer their test questions more efficiently. The more your child practices with the new methods they are taught, the more familiar they will be with common question types likely to come out in the exams, and the faster they will be able to answer each question. Once your child has mastered the art of working through test papers, they will be surprised how easy it is to finish everything within the time limit – with extra time for checking!

Your Child is a Precocious Learner

Since parents often associate tuition classes with catching up on the school syllabus, this may come as a surprise. However, if your child is ahead of their peers and has been breezing through their schoolwork, it may be a good idea to sign them up for some enrichment classes to promote further mental stimulation. Unlike tuition for revision, enrichment programmes are aimed at stretching your child’s mental capacity and inspiring them to realise their full potential. Students will also be provided with opportunities in school to use this extra knowledge, such as in the Gifted Education Programme, Maths and Science Olympiads, spelling bees, and other special competitions. Moreover, allowing your child to keep on learning beyond the classroom teaches them that there is always room for improvement and encourages them to continually better themselves.