When would you start tutoring? (4 Viewers)

[rumbleroar]

Hey Thanks for your extremely detailed response xD
The subjects I'm planning on doing are:
English Advanced (compulsory)
English Extension 1 (Compulsory)
Mathematics
Maths Ext 1
Biology
Chemistry
Modern History
Visual arts

I know I will definitely probably get tutored on in English, (since I think i pissed off my teacher enough in 2013 with all the extra essays haha) and also maths which isn't my strongest subject. I'm not sure on any of the other subjects, only because in terms of the sciences, I did fairly well on them this year without really trying, but I'm considering tutoring since apparently Year 11 makes everything tonnes harder and so I may need an further insight into it lol.

The trouble with thinking about tutoring is that I'm not sure if I need it XD As in, I've done progressively better over my junior years as just a result of studying 3 days before rather than on the day. With help of my family and friends, I'm getting better in time management. In terms of my stance within my school (NBSCMSC) I'm definately above the average, excelling in History, Geography and IST (only taking history next year xD though). My rank in science is above rank 20, and that to me seems OK for a subject I didn't even really try in. On the other hand, my parents and I fear that I'm just going to cruise through year 11, armed with the arrogance of a Year 10 who thinks she did OK, if I don't have the extra "push" given by tutors lol xD

I'm also concerned with tutoring in say VA. howwouldyoudoit?//shot

If I can ask a few questions - what do you do for tutoring in maths? I thought maths was generally a subject that was all practise, so what does the tutor do for an hour? o3o
Same for science. Can you (pretty please with sugar on top) tell me what science classes are kinda like? Is it like the school science classes? Do you get handed hand outs alot or like watch powerpoints? How does the tutor or tutoring college determine your strengths and weaknesses? Do they make you take a test every now and then or...?

Again thank you so much for your response ) It's extremely helpful<3

If you're looking to get tutored for maths, I suggest you start looking now. Maths is one of those subjects where you need a really strong foundation, in order do well. 30% of prelim maths comes up in HSC, so it is crucial you get your foundations solid. These holidays are a good time to go through the first couple of topics for year 11, so you have a head start and can pretty much use that time as revision.

Haha year 11 chem does the year 10 chem unit in like the first couple of weeks (from what I've heard, didn't pick chem in year 11). Some of my friends started chem tutor halfway through year 10 and were ahead of school by a couple of terms, so I guess they used class as a revision. If you feel as though your sciences are strong, don't bother with tutoring. Just study smart, but if you're struggling, consider getting a tutor. None of my friends who do bio get tutored for it, because they believe its a subject they can learn themselves. Up to you

You will discover a lot of your motivation is intrinsic. I was affected a little by external motivators, but much more so by internal ones. Set yourself goals that will make you motivated to do better. Tutors definitely give an extra "push", because there's the thing where you don't want to disappoint them and waste your parents money, etc., but find it in yourself to get that "push". I did really crappily in year 10 and wanted to better in year 11, so that was an intrinsic motivator for me (And it worked!)

I do VA, and tutoring is not necessary. Just practice writing responses to your Section I, II and III and do some practice essays. Also learn how to use the art terminology. With your art skills, always practice! I didn't get tutored for VA and ended up getting a 99/100 for it, which is really ironic, because one my best subjects was the one I didn't get tutored for The most you can get tutored for in VA is essay feedback. It's really hard to get tutored for prac, because it is actually just practice.

Answering your questions:

Maths tutoring:
- tutor teaches us new content, goes through it super thoroughly.
- does examples with us
- helps us with questions
It's for 3 hours, and we also get homework, which in a sense, is our "practice"

I went to PEAK science, so my experience with science tutoring could potentially be different to someone who went to Matrix or Zhang's. It was 2 hours of pure learning about physics (yay....lol) and my teacher would go through a powerpoint and explain everything to us. It is extremely thorough (and concise!) and much more intensive than school. In a good lesson, we could potentially cover 4-5 dot points, roughly the same amount as what school covered in a week or something. We got handouts each week, as part of our homework. We would also get sprung some quizzes to make sure we were consistently revising, and a topic test at the end of each topic. We were also made to do syllabus dot points for study notes and they were handed in the same day as our test

Hope that helps!

 

[rumbleroar]

North shore as in the one in chatswood with a logo of the sydney opera house? Apparently tutors from Delta (i think it's delta) are good in terms of english

Delta is really good haha

 

[anomalousdecay]

I thought only aSIANS need tutoring.

Yeah that's why I never went.

 

[Erinaceous]

If you're looking to get tutored for maths, I suggest you start looking now. Maths is one of those subjects where you need a really strong foundation, in order do well. 30% of prelim maths comes up in HSC, so it is crucial you get your foundations solid. These holidays are a good time to go through the first couple of topics for year 11, so you have a head start and can pretty much use that time as revision.

Haha year 11 chem does the year 10 chem unit in like the first couple of weeks (from what I've heard, didn't pick chem in year 11). Some of my friends started chem tutor halfway through year 10 and were ahead of school by a couple of terms, so I guess they used class as a revision. If you feel as though your sciences are strong, don't bother with tutoring. Just study smart, but if you're struggling, consider getting a tutor. None of my friends who do bio get tutored for it, because they believe its a subject they can learn themselves. Up to you

You will discover a lot of your motivation is intrinsic. I was affected a little by external motivators, but much more so by internal ones. Set yourself goals that will make you motivated to do better. Tutors definitely give an extra "push", because there's the thing where you don't want to disappoint them and waste your parents money, etc., but find it in yourself to get that "push". I did really crappily in year 10 and wanted to better in year 11, so that was an intrinsic motivator for me (And it worked!)

I do VA, and tutoring is not necessary. Just practice writing responses to your Section I, II and III and do some practice essays. Also learn how to use the art terminology. With your art skills, always practice! I didn't get tutored for VA and ended up getting a 99/100 for it, which is really ironic, because one my best subjects was the one I didn't get tutored for The most you can get tutored for in VA is essay feedback. It's really hard to get tutored for prac, because it is actually just practice.

Answering your questions:

Maths tutoring:
- tutor teaches us new content, goes through it super thoroughly.
- does examples with us
- helps us with questions
It's for 3 hours, and we also get homework, which in a sense, is our "practice"

I went to PEAK science, so my experience with science tutoring could potentially be different to someone who went to Matrix or Zhang's. It was 2 hours of pure learning about physics (yay....lol) and my teacher would go through a powerpoint and explain everything to us. It is extremely thorough (and concise!) and much more intensive than school. In a good lesson, we could potentially cover 4-5 dot points, roughly the same amount as what school covered in a week or something. We got handouts each week, as part of our homework. We would also get sprung some quizzes to make sure we were consistently revising, and a topic test at the end of each topic. We were also made to do syllabus dot points for study notes and they were handed in the same day as our test

Hope that helps!

That is honestly so helpful! Thank you <3 You seem to know your stuff in VA... would you mind if I asked for an example of your work? ;-; I'll show you mine if you want <~ just wants to see the standard of year 11.
lol been drawing since '97, currently in an artblock :c

Your physics tutoring seems to be really nice xD <~ sucks at physics so bad. I've been told that Matrix is good for chemistry? Would you know if PEAK science offers chemistry classes? Can you also recommend any maths tutors or coaching colleges? I'm still considering at the moment

The bit about motivation - I'm the type of person who gets motivated really easily and quickly, but in short spurts. So I kinda need something other than myself to give me a "push" and help me motivate myself or otherwise I'll be hoping that my motivation coincidentally ties in the same dates that my test will be on about, or I'll be forcing myself to study, and generally having an unhappy time lol.

Also, +1 for the detailed response

 

[nerdasdasd]

North shore tutoring in carbamatta....

 

[Erinaceous]

North shore tutoring in carbamatta....

wowies o3o

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Btw guys, I just want to say thank you all so much for your input Hopefully I'm not bothering you all with my questions lol xD

I have a few points that I'll like clarified please ) - "English tutoring - tbh, I think a good time is mid-late Year 11 where you need a basic foundation for essay writing skills. Then in Year 12, you will obviously need it if you choose to be tutored. " What do you mean by "Then in Year 12, you will obviously need it if you choose to be tutored" What's it? I was under the assumption that it was a tutor, but then the "if you choose ot be tutored" threw me off lol xD

So you would recommend starting science tutoring from the beginning of year 11? Is there any particular reason why?

Is the point of tutoring just to try and improve on your weaknesses with the added help of other individual(s) or is it more just to improve overall rather than on targeted weaknesses? Thanks

''It'' is ENGLISH TUTORING. (sorry if it threw you off lol)

As for science tutoring, I think being good at Year 11 Chemistry is solid foundation for the HSC Chemistry Course. (something to do with calculations skills that are transferable between both years - I never did chem so I don't know exactly. Maybe someone can help me here).

As for Physics, I think you can still do really well in Year 12 Physics without most of the Year 11 course (so I guess it's not NECESSARY to go two years of tutoring) so yeah.

I THINK your point is more important for chem compared to physics and bio.

As for your last question, all comes down to the individual.

Tutoring may be a good way of improving your weaker subjects.

Also, tutoring is used by many people as an attempt to raise their ranks. (You'll often hear about people coming from the very bottom in Year 11 then reaching the top 5 in a subject due to the help of ''tutoring'')

However, I believe that achieving something like 1st in your subject really requires you to put in the effort rather than relying on a tutor.

In the end, the ''point'' of tutoring varies between different people.

 

[rumbleroar]

That is honestly so helpful! Thank you <3 You seem to know your stuff in VA... would you mind if I asked for an example of your work? ;-; I'll show you mine if you want <~ just wants to see the standard of year 11.
lol been drawing since '97, currently in an artblock :c

Your physics tutoring seems to be really nice xD <~ sucks at physics so bad. I've been told that Matrix is good for chemistry? Would you know if PEAK science offers chemistry classes? Can you also recommend any maths tutors or coaching colleges? I'm still considering at the moment

The bit about motivation - I'm the type of person who gets motivated really easily and quickly, but in short spurts. So I kinda need something other than myself to give me a "push" and help me motivate myself or otherwise I'll be hoping that my motivation coincidentally ties in the same dates that my test will be on about, or I'll be forcing myself to study, and generally having an unhappy time lol.

Also, +1 for the detailed response

Haha my year 11 wasn't that great, I did like 0 practice in year 10, so my skills were really rusty. I'll PM you my instagram, which has most of my works (some of its incomplete, and I haven't uploaded much or anything from year 12 onto there, so I can send you snap chats if you want lol) don't worry, I have art blocks all the time. Try not to have an art block during year 12 when you do your BoW though.

Haha dw, physics is one of those subjects haha! and I'll PM you with tutoring recs

Don't worry, I have a similar motivation frameset like you, short bursts. But I kind of found something that lasts longer, so you just need to find something that lasts longer! Be careful you don't crash and burn (I gloriously did in the last week of year 12, post assessments hahahha). Don't worry, you'll find the motivation to do well.

 

[salshel]

But OP hasn't even started prelims, and I think she has the misconception that tutoring is required for a high ATAR, when independent study is more than adequate to gain a high ATAR. Either that, or OP has a lack of confidence in her ability to do well in the subjects she has picked, in which case I would seriously recommend rethinking subject selections.

Isn't it good that she is doing this preparation/ research before she starts her prelims, has acknowledged that her learning in Year 10 may not be adequate to properly achieve the results she wants, realises that perhaps to stay on top of a competitive environment she needs that extra mile which her teachers (which she has previously stated) are not willing to give her and have not spend the first half of her prelims puzzling before realising that she doesn’t have the luxury of time to do this? I would actually applaud her for taking her matters into her own hands. It shows that she genuinely cares about her learning and also recognises the flaws she may have. I know for a fact that schools ranked in the top 10 or top 5 (such as my school) have a crapload of lazy teachers and believe it or not, they don't care about us. Despite common belief, sometimes tutoring is necessary for an individual to “unleash” their full potential. I say this because self-learning can only go so far, no matter how motivated an individual is, simply because students have little to no proper resources if we eliminate those that are provided by the school/tutor. (By proper resources I don’t mean Google where you could waste hours upon hours googling a single piece of information only to find that it’s too complicated, too easy etc.)

Obviously independent study is important; although this remains true whether you tutor or not. Contrary to popular belief (this has been stated in the above posts though- kudos to you guys ^^) you also need to independently study your tutoring material. (By independently study I mean revising and absorbing content). The concept is the same (school materials & teacher vs tutoring materials & tutor)- the circumstances are just a bit different.
I would disagree that OP has a lack of confidence and that a lack of confidence is a bad thing, especially to a point where an individual should rethink their subject selections because they are looking for tutoring in them.
.
.
.
I mean, come on! Seriously? Wanting to do well in her studies and going that extra mile =/= lack of confidence. Furthermore, in your statement, you have established this sort of thinking/ syllogism:
Major premise: All individuals who look for tutoring are not confident.
Minor premise: Being not confident in your subjects would mean one should rethink their subject selections.
Conclusion: Individuals who look for tutoring should rethink their subject selections.
Duuuude. Firstly, an individual may be completely confident in their current knowledge, current skills and current ability in their subject. However, through this confidence in their skills, they also know for a fact that they are not one of the best. And this irks them. So they look towards tutoring for help.
Secondly, let’s assume that this individual is lazy and does not want to waste countless hours browsing through the web for resources to supplement a tutor (such as independent learning) that may otherwise be attained through paying a fee to a tutor.
Being lazy =/= not confident.
Finally, I find it funny how your conclusion contradicts your statement (and other advice I’ve been given, namely “Do the subjects you’re interested in because then you’ll be motivated to do well”). Interest =/= being confident in a subject. OP has not started her prelim. She has no experience in the subject yet. How can she be confident if she has no experience? Are you suggesting OP should rethink her subject selections before she even starts the subject? Furthermore, if the individual was looking for tutoring to become confident then why the heck would they drop the subject if they’re obviously interested enough to want to do well in it?

Sorry if this was a bit curt, your post just irked me a bit. >> I guess I thought your tone was sort of condescending. If it wasn’t, just disregard this post.

 

[salshel]

^ Sorry that was a rant.

In relation to the post- Can anyone suggest a good tutor for maths/english?

 

[iJimmy]

delta education? where's that?

 

[hawkrider]

delta education? where's that?

Eastwood.

 

[panda15]

Sorry if this was a bit curt, your post just irked me a bit. >> I guess I thought your tone was sort of condescending. If it wasn’t, just disregard this post.

My post wasn't condescending at all. I was just pointing out the misconception that tutoring is needed for a high ATAR. When OP said that she just finished year 10 and was considering starting tutoring already, it showed me that she believed in this misconception. I was just passing on my experience to say that you don't need tutoring to do well, and that she should see how she is going in her courses before she considers tutoring. Tutoring can be expensive, and if you are doing well at your subjects, then why waste money on it?

 

[Erinaceous]

Isn't it good that she is doing this preparation/ research before she starts her prelims, has acknowledged that her learning in Year 10 may not be adequate to properly achieve the results she wants, realises that perhaps to stay on top of a competitive environment she needs that extra mile which her teachers (which she has previously stated) are not willing to give her and have not spend the first half of her prelims puzzling before realising that she doesn’t have the luxury of time to do this? I would actually applaud her for taking her matters into her own hands. It shows that she genuinely cares about her learning and also recognises the flaws she may have. I know for a fact that schools ranked in the top 10 or top 5 (such as my school) have a crapload of lazy teachers and believe it or not, they don't care about us. Despite common belief, sometimes tutoring is necessary for an individual to “unleash” their full potential. I say this because self-learning can only go so far, no matter how motivated an individual is, simply because students have little to no proper resources if we eliminate those that are provided by the school/tutor. (By proper resources I don’t mean Google where you could waste hours upon hours googling a single piece of information only to find that it’s too complicated, too easy etc.)

Obviously independent study is important; although this remains true whether you tutor or not. Contrary to popular belief (this has been stated in the above posts though- kudos to you guys ^^) you also need to independently study your tutoring material. (By independently study I mean revising and absorbing content). The concept is the same (school materials & teacher vs tutoring materials & tutor)- the circumstances are just a bit different.
I would disagree that OP has a lack of confidence and that a lack of confidence is a bad thing, especially to a point where an individual should rethink their subject selections because they are looking for tutoring in them.
.
.
.
I mean, come on! Seriously? Wanting to do well in her studies and going that extra mile =/= lack of confidence. Furthermore, in your statement, you have established this sort of thinking/ syllogism:
Major premise: All individuals who look for tutoring are not confident.
Minor premise: Being not confident in your subjects would mean one should rethink their subject selections.
Conclusion: Individuals who look for tutoring should rethink their subject selections.
Duuuude. Firstly, an individual may be completely confident in their current knowledge, current skills and current ability in their subject. However, through this confidence in their skills, they also know for a fact that they are not one of the best. And this irks them. So they look towards tutoring for help.
Secondly, let’s assume that this individual is lazy and does not want to waste countless hours browsing through the web for resources to supplement a tutor (such as independent learning) that may otherwise be attained through paying a fee to a tutor.
Being lazy =/= not confident.
Finally, I find it funny how your conclusion contradicts your statement (and other advice I’ve been given, namely “Do the subjects you’re interested in because then you’ll be motivated to do well”). Interest =/= being confident in a subject. OP has not started her prelim. She has no experience in the subject yet. How can she be confident if she has no experience? Are you suggesting OP should rethink her subject selections before she even starts the subject? Furthermore, if the individual was looking for tutoring to become confident then why the heck would they drop the subject if they’re obviously interested enough to want to do well in it?

Sorry if this was a bit curt, your post just irked me a bit. >> I guess I thought your tone was sort of condescending. If it wasn’t, just disregard this post.

wowies lol Thanks for defending my cause haha //shot I had the same reaction to Panda15's post at first but advice is still advice. Plus my rants a more -cough- uncivilized -cough- lol xD

 

[Erinaceous]

My post wasn't condescending at all. I was just pointing out the misconception that tutoring is needed for a high ATAR. When OP said that she just finished year 10 and was considering starting tutoring already, it showed me that she believed in this misconception. I was just passing on my experience to say that you don't need tutoring to do well, and that she should see how she is going in her courses before she considers tutoring. Tutoring can be expensive, and if you are doing well at your subjects, then why waste money on it?

\Why would you assume that I believed that tutoring is essential when I have stated quite obviously in my first post that previous experiences in tutoring didn't work for me at all (e.g Selective school tutoring) You could have mentioned the "she should see how she is going in her courses before she considers tutoring" instead of "she should rethink her choices in life because she has no confidence and therefore she won't do well". I can honestly say that that "rethink" part of your statement was definitely condescending.

True tutoring can be expensive. I see tutoring as an opportunity to interact with individuals who know their stuff. I want to try it, not because I have the "misconception" that tutoring is essential for good marks - which I've made pretty clear, but rather because it's an opportunity for me to perhaps experience a different learning style that MAY suit me more than independent learning. Really, I'm just open to everything right now.

 

[Erinaceous]

Is project academy good? Can anyone offer insight into this?
Also, why's Matrix so good? i mean so many people recommend it.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Is project academy good? Can anyone offer insight into this?
Also, why's Matrix so good? i mean so many people recommend it.

Matrix is pretty great for the sciences (my friend improved heaps in Physics after going Matrix).

 

[smashgh]

Yep, definitely agree with what's been said. Tutoring is really not essential if you grasped most of the concepts at school. IMO, tutoring is only for those people (like me) who ceebs be studying and need another motivator to get them to work. When you're paying up to and even over $5000 for a year of tutoring, i found that to greatly encourage me to really give the HSC a go. (illogical maybe but it did motivate me throughout the year)

 

[strawberrye]

The concept of studying smart lol xD I got that drummed into my head from my lovely twin//shot
But would it be a good idea to wait until you get a general gist of what subjects you're weakest in or is it recommended to just like go straight into the general maths/english tutoring?
Umm since I've seen your VA posts (THEY'RESOGOODANDWOWIESANDAWESOME) is VA one of those subject where pure self-studying won't help? Thank you so much for your post <3

VA is one of those subjects that you can't really study for in advance-like you can understand the concepts, but because each school does different artists and have different assessment tasks and the syllabus is really quite broad, that's why you need to wait until you start the school year before you can study for VA. It is the ONLY SUBJECT you definitely will not need a tutor for-if you have any questions on VA-just reply to my VA threads and I will reply it as soon as possible.

It is important to wait before you just launch straight in, particularly if you haven't had tutoring before. Don't go straight into maths/English tutoring, if your teachers are really good-like they mark essays without complaints and give a lot of detailed comments, then it is not necessary. Many people go for English tutoring because they want more frequent comments and feedback which their teacher often just doesn't have time to give due to their already massive workload.

But just one last word of advice, don't go tutoring for more than 3 subjects-just go tutoring for one or two max-the reason being you are on 14 units, which is quite a lot for year 11, and if you go tutoring for too many subjects, you won't have enough time to finish your assessment tasks and prepare for them effectively for school to excel them. Sometimes people spend so much time travelling to and fro tutoring centres as well as actual tutoring, they can waste their entire weekend which could have been better spent actually preparing for school assessment tasks and practising questions instead of wasting travelling time.

 

[rumbleroar]

Is project academy good? Can anyone offer insight into this?
Also, why's Matrix so good? i mean so many people recommend it.

Project is relatively new, but I reckon they're pretty good The tutors are amazing, they're willing to help you out almost 24/7 (besides when they sleep) and the environment is also pretty good. But I also guess it depends what kind of teaching styles, environment and learning preferences you may have.