Posts

Empower Your Kids To Master The Multiplication Tables

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Time To Practise Time Tables We should teach time tables in a fun and easy way. Instill a little bit of competition amongst your kids. Time them. Keep a record of the timings. I made the video below after a parent enquired how he should help his child master multiplication tables. Here's some tips on how to make the cards and use the strategy.

Academic Success Takes Work!

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  Every learner needs to put in the effort, time and energy to learn and master new knowledge and skills. There is no short-cut to learning. You cannot take a pill and expect to attain higher levels of mastery. Such pills only exist in the world of fiction, not reality. If you want to master any difficult knowledge or skill, you need to put in the effort, energy and persevere through the difficult period called the learning process.

Teaching Math Strugglers Via Zoom

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It takes a whole set of skills and the right attitude to teach and inspire students who are weak at Math. To do it via an online platform like Zoom can make it tougher. But it is not impossible. To those who are interested as to how this is possible, watch a glimpse of it here.   

About Shaheed Salim

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Recently, Suria TV made a short documentary about the things I do.  A good part of it is about the tuition I do. You can watch the video above.        

What Makes A Great Teacher

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In my life as a student, I have met only a few great teachers. Who is a great teacher to me? First of all, a great teacher need not be working as a teacher. A great teacher transforms some of his students positively and inspires many more to new and greater heights. He cannot but be passionate about teaching, and it is likely he is always in a permanent learning mode. A great teacher creates impact although he may sometimes steer off the syllabus. If you were to ask him why he steered off track, perhaps he would tell you that positive transformation is at the core of the curricula, and therefore, he has stayed true to the purpose of teaching and the curricula. Mr David Fahy, an Irishman in my secondary school, was more a lion than a school teacher. Much larger than most adult Asians, his size, voice and antics scared the hell out of my classmates. Thinking logically and being articulate in our thoughts was the path that led to a well of knowledge the lion protected. One not to shut his

The Frederick Douglass Story: A Revolutionary Idea For Our So-Called Modern Education System

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  Portrait of  Frederick Douglass The life of a slave is pitiful but Frederick Douglass, although a slave in the early years of his life, shows us that any person can become an inspiration to humanity; he also showed how important a role education plays to the freedom and empowerment of a human being. The turning point came in his life came when the new, kind wife of his owner saw him with a soft heart and taught him the English alphabet and how to spell very short words. This process carried on for a few days before the owner found out that his wife had been teaching a slave the written word. He stopped her from doing so and explained, “A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master—to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world.”  From that day onwards, his mistress changed from a loving lamb to a strict tigress; love and kindness for the slaves had left her heart. She stopped teaching Douglass and he observed, “Nothing seemed to make her more angry

Does My Child Require Tuition?: A Tutor's Candid Thoughts

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  The CA1 is just over. When the results are out, some parents begin to panic. "My child needs a tutor!" "Where do I find the right tutor?" "My friends send their kids for tuition. Should I do the same?" The tuition industry is booming and it feeds on the fears and hopes of such parents. In reality, we can categorise students into 2 groups – those who need tuition and those who do not. Yet when we study the clientele in the tuition industry, we realise that sometimes those who need tuition do not get tutored, and those who do not need tuition are enrolled for many sessions with tutors. Common sense should guide how parents decide. What should clueless parents do? Simple – ask yourself sincerely whether your child needs help with his studies? If your child is scoring As, is tuition really necessary?  I remember a parent telling me, "My son scored almost full marks for Math last year." My uninhibited response was, "So why do you think he needs