Can-you-simplify-Shakespeare?

With the new English Literature and Language exams we’ve got huge demand for GCSE English tutors who can simplify Shakespeare,  de-mystify Dickens and untangle Keats (my alliteration fails me with Keats!).

We’d love to hear from you.

Do take a look at our For Tutors page, one of our recent blogs – Are you a teacher who’s forgotten what a joy teaching is? To find out what some of our tutors think of working as a Tutor My Kids tutor, take a look at their stories. For an informal chat, please email Rachel Law or call her on 01223 858421.

Dyslexia – Gift or curse?

I was discussing this with some of our personal tutors in Cambridge this week. We felt that we were a bit conflicted. It’s tempting to be swayed by high achieving individuals, such as Richard Branson, who firmly believe that the extra creative parts of dyslexia have been a huge help. In addition, that need to overcome these specific learning difficulties have been a pre-cursor to great wells of determination and tenacity. It’s great that dyslexia is being acknowledged and the stigmatisation of dyslexia is being removed. But is this everyone’s experience?
 
Many schools do a great job of supporting dyslexic children, by specific focused intervention plans, minimising the copying from whiteboards, offering different coloured paper, use of laptops and instructions given one at a time. Exams boards are set-up to give extra time to children who are dyslexic which can make a difference. 
 
My worry is, that by portraying dyslexia as a gift it minimises the discussion of the difficulties of dyslexia, in the classroom and in the world of work. Most companies are not set up to understand and help dyslexic adults with the difficulties they face. As adults we have a wider access to technology which makes it easier for dyslexic adults to be able to read and write with greater ease. Fortunately, gone are the days of hand writing a memo or letter, but technology isn’t a panacea. Word processors and speech to text and recognition (and visa versa) software are a great help.
 
What do you think? Gift or curse? 

Kids forget stuff! How to help them be ahead in September.

Of course they do! They forget their PE kit, their dinner money and until firmly attached, their head.

All children (and adults) need to be doing things regularly to remember them. (How easily can you remember the PIN number on rarely used bank cards?)
 
It’s not just things that get forgotten; it’s ideas too.
 
During the summer holidays teachers expect that children will forget the things that they’ve learnt over the last few months and will plan accordingly in the first few weeks to refresh the forgotten work. 
 
However, it’s useful to give your kids the opportunity to practise things over the summer – times tables, letters to people met on holiday, reviews of places visited. Make it fun! 
 
It can also be of value to have a few hours of private tuition over the holidays, just to keep some concepts fresh in your children’s minds, especially if these are areas that you’re uncomfortable with covering yourself. Phonics and maths methodologies tend to be the ones that are most mentioned to us at Tutor My Kids and to our private tutors in Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon and Newmarket.
 
Our private tutors in Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon and Newmarket are all experienced, qualified teachers who can help to support children with areas that they find tricky and need extra help with. As a general rule, we’d suggest no more than an hour a week, so that they’re confident for September, whilst ensuring that they have time to chill, see friends, go places and experience new things.   
 
Kids do need a break over the holidays, so don’t over do it. If you’re doing your own thing, a few minutes each day can make a world of difference to your kids and give them a great head start for September.