I believe that all students are capable of improvement and the extent of that improvement depends upon the school and family context, the period of time involved, and on the effort and commitment made. Coaching and tutoring are an opportunity for additional progress, even a privilege, but in all cases character is necessary to achieve results. Fortunately the vast majority of my students are able to achieve noticeable improvement.
Coaching means extra work for the student but all progress occurs in a team setting. Students must become more effective in their classrooms and the contribution of their families is also necessary. The older the child the more important is what is happening at school. In Years 11 and 12 schoolwork takes about 90 per cent of my focus in providing coaching.
Typical elements of my coaching program in English are as follows:
- Years K-2: Reading, phonics, comprehension and writing;
- Years 3-6: Reading, phonics (in Year 3, if necessary), comprehension, language, grammar, writing (basic types) and school projects;
- Years 7-10: Reading, rote learning of essay terms and language features, grammar, comprehension including open-ended questions and multiple-choice, writing (about 55 types), exam papers, internet research and school assessments; and
- Years 11-12: Reading, rote learning of essay terms and language features, literary analysis (eg perspective, context, values and beliefs, readings, discourse), writing as necessary, exam papers, internet research, school and HSC assessment task and exam preparation, and entry to university programs.
Teaching learning programs are individualised for each student, with some features being added and others changed or removed.
Homework is set and marked each lesson. The nature and organisation of that homework increasingly becomes the student’s responsibility, especially in Years 11 and 12. The emphasis is on achieving quality work not on getting through sheer volume.
The teaching materials used I believe are the finest available in Australia. Most are no longer published because of their length and in-depth approach, and because there are no answers. Today most home tuition texts are short, simple, and are equipped with answers, otherwise they would not sell. Their coverage can be quite limited. The materials I use, in contrast, are designed for serious classroom use by real teachers who know the answers. This is especially the case with the language and grammar materials which I use.
Most of my new students are referred to me from existing client families. It is not uncommon for me to teach children of one family more or less continuously for extended periods.
I especially enjoy helping my students apply for holiday jobs and work experience, and for cadetships which begin in the first year of university, following the HSC. Assisting children to make successful applications to change schools is another source of satisfaction for me. Often it is from a good school to a better one, or sometimes from a fairly ordinary school to one of the top schools in Sydney. Among other things, the student learns the importance of applications and personal resumes. These days the best schools are very competitive and want only students who can make an effective contribution to the brand of the school. Thus both results and potential have to be clearly demonstrated by students who want to change schools.
Further understanding of my approach to effectively helping my students, and to education generally, may be obtained from the various parent resource articles on this website.
