How we select the best tutors in Singapore | 7 Important Criteria

Selecting the best tutors in Singapore goes beyond looking at the tutors past
academic grades. This is because having good grades and straight As
doesnt mean one is able to teach, and being able to teach doesnt mean that
one is able to motivate and inspire.
It takes a certain personality and aptitude to be a good tutor and mentor.
At CampusTutors, we go to great lengths to select the best tutors and we
consider the full scope of each tutor - profile and personality - before referring
them to our clients. We seek tutors who, besides being academically
proficient, are able to motivate and inspire his or her students and become
good role models.
Here are some helpful selection criteria that we apply.

Academic Proficiency
The first thing we look at is the tutors academic grade for the subject being
taught. If were looking for a Secondary-4 Math tutor, we would only consider
tutors who had scored As for both E-Maths & A-Maths in their O-levels. To be
consistent too, the tutors ought to also have an A for their Math in A-levels too.
So, our standard practice is to only seek out the prized grade A, and nothing
lesser.
You might assume that we have an elitists mentality, but think about this: If a
tutor isnt able to score a grade A himself, how is he or she able to impart the
correct learning techniques to you or your child?
Familiarity with the latest school syllabus
As MOE revises the subject syllabus every other year or so, tutors must be
familiar with the latest syllabus and learning methodologies.
In addition, the tutors must have already gone through the Singapore
educational system and have experienced the local syllabus in order to have a
good understanding of the examination formats.

Communication, communication, communication

Aside from knowledge, being a great teacher requires great communication

skills a combination of being a good listener and having the ability to
articulate and express oneself clearly.
In the process of shortlisting potential tutors, we conduct individual phone
interviews and engage them with casual conversations. During this process,
we assess their communication skills.
We are attracted to candidates who possess a strong, upbeat, optimistic and
confident voice.

Leadership ability: Is the tutor a good leader?

Have you noticed that back when you were in school, there were some
teachers who could engage and orchestrate an entire class very effectively
and even pique the learning interests of the most delinquent students, while
some teachers seem to lose control in the chaos of the classroom? I certainly
had, and I remember how embarrassing it was to witness a teacher being
made fun of in class.
What was the difference these teachers had? Surely, they were all
academically adept in their own subject fields.
A good leader differentiates between the great teachers and the mediocre
ones. Leading a classroom or boardroom isnt just about standing up and
presenting some materials and speaking. Its about first listening, engaging
and motivating people (the essence of being a leader). Only when youve
established that connection of respect and trust do people tune in more to you
and listen to you.
So, there is a strong correlation between teaching and leading.
Having operated the tuition agency business for 8 years and counting, my
partner and I have found that tutors who have leadership skills and experience
tend to be better motivators, which, in turn makes them better tutors.
Recently, one of our clients called to thank us for referring a great tutor for her
daughter. Her daughter, in her teens, had a seemingly snappy personality and
a short attention span. No tutors were able to pique her interest in learning
until we recommended one to her. In her exact words: Thank you for referring
the tutor to my daughter. You know, Im very surprised this tutor could actually
handle her. I engaged many tutors in the past but somehow my daughter

wasnt interested in learning. This tutor is really, really good. She is able to
connect with my daughter. You know, my daughter is the kind who must like
someone first before she can pay attention
We like to think that one is a better teacher because one is a leader, and a
better leader because one is a teacher.

Personality and attitude

If you think about it, tutors do spend a considerable amount of private time
together with their students. Besides the transfer of academic knowledge,
tutors ought to be good role models to their students and impart positive traits
and attitude.
We seek tutors who are generally responsible, have a pleasant nature,
optimistic and positive.
Helpful tools to assess a tutors personality and attitude are Facebook and
Twitter. Yes, we do look at a potential tutors public social media profile on
Facebook and Twitter. Someone who frequently dishes out vulgarities on
social media triggers a red flag. Or someone who is perpetually in a negative
state of mind. Nothing can be a better reflection of someones mental state
than how he behaves in the virtual world when his boss is not watching.
No wonder many HR departments these days peek into a potential hires
social media page and screen their candidates online.

Track record
If the tutor has taught previously, it is helpful to find out if students taught in
the past had seen improvements in their grades. Feedback on the tutors
professionalism, punctuality and teaching ability is important too.

Proximity to students house

Lastly, but an equally important consideration is the travelling time required for
the tutor to reach the students house. Tutors may initially agree to take up a
teaching assignment, however as they become more occupied, they may drop
assignments that require a longer travel time. Once a student has established

a certain comfort level with a tutor, it would be unfortunate to have the tutor
leave prematurely due to the distance factor.
A good rule of thumb is that, it should not take more than 45 minutes of
travelling time for a tutor to reach your house.

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Conclusion:
It is crucial for a tuition agency to be careful and accurate when screening
through potential tutors before assigning the best and most suitable ones to its
students. Similarly, it is important for a HR department in a company to be
wise at their hiring decisions.
At CampusTutors, we consider the full scope of each tutors profile and
personality before referring them to our clients. Experience and intuition go a
long way in helping us identify the right tutors during our selection and
interview of applicants. We are pleased with our low turnover rate of tutors; in
our recent survey of 137 clients who engaged our tutors, 98% retained our
tutors for more than one year and over 80% feed-backed substantial
improvement in grades! This is an achievement we like to share. So, visit
CampusTutors Singapore tuition agency to engage the right tutor for your
child.