Is Phyiscs Tuition Really Necessary?

Some parents believe tuition is a waste of time and money. They believe that what is taught in school is sufficient and children should be self-reliant.

While teachers aspire to teach well, not all teachers have achieved proficiency. Some teachers are relatively new and still lack teaching experience; some others bear many responsibilities and may not have developed the teaching skills. It is all up to chance whether your child gets a good teacher. If your child gets teachers who are not able to explain physics concepts well or who emphasizes memorising and drilling, your child will struggle to understand and perform well in Physics.

When school’s physics lessons are ineffective, your child will have to spend extra time to understand the concepts and applications by himself or herself. They will need time, which they don’t have much of.
Upper Secondary Physics is a big step up from lower Secondary. Students may not get used to the increased difficulty in concepts and applications. Many students struggle but are unable to overcome. This can be very demoralising. Proper guidance through good tuition will help them to overcome these difficulties. Proper guidance is not spoon-feeding; it provides just sufficient help for students to grasp difficult concepts. Let’s be honest, who haven’t wish for help, coach or mentor when they really need some guidance.

A good physics tuition helps students save time. A good physics tutor can present physics concepts in concise and understandable ways. He will also provide a good selection of questions that help them learn physics effectively. For example, a student in a 2 hours Physics tuition may be able to understand and learn more than 6 hours of self-study. Many students have busy schedule packed with CCA and projects. Therefore, they choose to join physics tuition to make full use of limited time.

Regardless of whether a student be sitting for O Level or IP Physics exam, Physics is a subject that many students find that they need guidance from an experience and good tutor to do well. In Physics, students need to understand concepts well before they can solve Physics questions. Some of the concepts are not clearly explained to students in school, or even in their textbook. Therefore, many intelligent students can also do poorly for Physics. A good physics tutor is not only able to explain these concepts in easy to understand manner but is also able to highlight to students how to answer questions with the required keywords to have marks awarded.

Normally, students do not ask questions in a big classroom setting. They may feel that the teacher does not have time to answer each student’s questions. However, students typically feel more comfortable asking questions in a small class. In a small class tuition, students get to have their questions answered. This is a true experience that comes from my students, Delaney and Sebastian:

“Physics tuition with Mr Loh really helped me understand physics concepts and how to apply them successfully. On gaining a deeper understanding of concepts, I went from hating physics to enjoying lessons. Mr Loh’s patient teachings have helped me gained confidence in attempting physics questions and mastering them. Mr Loh is a very patient and detailed teacher which enabled me to be not afraid to clear doubts when needed.”
– Delaney (From E8 to A2, CHIJ Katong Convent)

“Before joining Mr Loh’s Physics tuition lessons, I’ve never quite understood how physics work, the explanation before everything. After I joined his class, his patient guidance and continuous practices helped me to improve tremendously. His class has also sparked my interests in physics as I begin to realise that physics can be applied in our daily lives. Mr Loh is very kind and concerned and is willing to help out in our physics homework when we encounter certain problems. Not by giving us the answers, but by patiently guiding us and along the way, introduces some interesting questions to help us get a better understanding of the topic.”
– Sebastian (From C6 to A1, Tanjong Katong Secondary School)

So, is physics tuition necessary? Yes, if you would like to drastically shorten your child’s learning curve and maximise their learning efficiency instead of wasting half a year or a year struggling before realising the benefit of being guided by a good physics tutor.

If you are convinced to send your child for physics tuition, you should consider the available physics tuition options. Do not worry, you can read this article on Group Physics tuition versus 1-to-1 Physics tuition to see which one your child suits best.