Maybe this is how being a mother feels like.




WORRYING.

I'm worried crazy over my two kids. If I don't express it now I think I'll burst like a bubble gum that's blown too huge.

I'm tutoring two kids now.

(1) One is a Sec 1 kid who is really sweet. Very polite but lazy. He'll do the homework I assign him one hour before tuition. HOW TO SUBMIT DECENT WORK IF YOU DO LAST MINUTE! ):
So for the past six months I've been receiving last-minute scribblings.

(2) Two is a Pri 5 kid. She is very mischeivous. And she's refuses to put in her best. (At least One will try his hardest to think of the answer when I ask him a question.) I don't know how to motivate her.

What I'm doing now:

(1) For One, although the half-baked work does bother me, it is not at the top of my concerns. He answers questions that I ask and actively participates in the lessons, clarifying his doubts and such. BUT he's learning Acids and Alkalis (science) and Angles (maths) now and he's having trouble for the first time this year.

I remember how in Secondary 1 I had the same problem. The teacher would shove equations down my throat, asking me to memorize them. And I don't want to do that to One.

A: Sulfuric acid + carbonate --> Salt + water + carbon dioxide
B: Sulfuric acid + metal --> Salt + hydrogen

My dearest One asked me yesterday why can't water be produced as well for B. I have no idea how to explain it to him sufficiently succint without going in dept into the chemistry. Keep in mind that poor sec ones do not know our friendly neighbours electrons, protons and neutrons yet. So they wouldn't know the chemical formulae of sulphate and his multi-atomic friends.

Anyway I found a way of explaning it to him somehow yesterday. I was literally squeezing his brain dry.

"So carbonate with acid will always produce carbon dioxide" *squeeze*
"How can acid with metal produce carbon dioxide??" *squeeze*
"Tell me what elements sulfuric acid contains." *squeeze*
"You forgot what are elements??????" *squeeze*

Poor One.



(2) Two doesn't complete the homework I give. Oops. I should say H.W. because she hates the word "homework" (and will say, "Don't say it!!" when I'm about to say "Homework"). When I'm teaching she'll lay her head on the table. I ask her a question, she'll shrug her shoulders. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

The thing is if I prompt her, she knows the answer. She just refuses to think.

Do you know I got a C for maths in PSLE? Before every lesson, I'd plan first. Then complete the maths questions before I head for tuition. And when your dear student mischievously refuses to think, it gets really disheartening.

Two didn't complete her H.W. again yesterday. So in addition to the new H.W. I assigned her yesterday, she must complete the ones from previous lesson. I want her to learn that she should not delay doing her H.W. and she should complete it on time. I'm predicting when I visit her on Satuday she wouldn't have completed much either.

I'm lost. Can anyone suggest an effective method for me to employ?

I don't want to punish my students. I don't want them to dread tuition lesson. I want them to think it is a lesson where they can learn yet interact actively with a tutor. So I go by reward system. It doesn't seem to be working well though!



(If you want to get tutor, remember: your tuition rate is proportional to the results your student must receive. So if it pays well, you can be sure as pie that the parents expect results to be rising as fast as your stress level!)