#macrobtutor

[qwedfas]

Have you been to tsfx lectures and would you recommend the winter school?

Hey there,

I’m assuming you got the email for these two recently (me too!). I haven’t been to the tsfx lectures but I have friends that do. From what I’ve heard, tsfx provides handy booklets that summarise each subject (with practise questions if it’s that kind of subject). Each lecture is as long as a school day but very helpful since they provide a headstart to the subject content. However, (for biology for example) the lectures feel like they’re teaching straight out of a textbook so they may feel monotonous. Besides subject content, they also teach things like how to answer questions and such. It’s completely up to you whether you think these lectures would be beneficial to your study. I found a few atarnotes forums on tsfx lectures (the atarnotes people may be biased, but the other students can provide some insight): https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=167053.0 https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=169091.0

Winter school is just another way to refer to this semester’s course (so the lectures).

Hope this helps,

FAMxx

[qwedfas]

Hi fam! I want to ask about tuition. I go to a place where there the place is run by one teacher. There are four people in my class and he gives us a ‘test’ at the start of the lesson each week and he does a lecture for the remainder of the three hours. I’m not sure how I feel about his methods and just him in general. I talked to my parents about it but I can’t pick out anything I particularly dislike. How do I know that I’m getting the right learning for myself?

Hey there,

I think the best way to know if you’re getting the most out of a tutor would be to ask yourself the following questions:

Is the tutor trying to constantly work ahead of class, in order to get ahead so that he/she can start on practise papers early?

Is it an environment where I can comfortably ask the questions I want to ask without feeling bad/embarrassed?

Does the tutor’s teaching style allow me to feel comfortable with the concepts being taught? Do I understand the content being taught to me?

Am I/will I be given enough resources (past papers, practise questions etc.)?

If you find yourself answering yes to most of the questions, then you’re probably on the right track with your tutor and your studies.

Hope this helps!

Love,

FAM xx

[qwedfas]

hiii fam! this probably a really stupid question lol. I was thinking about getting a private math tutor this year because I haven’t been doing too well in math. since i’ve never had a private tutor before - what exactly happens during a tutoring session? i get that it would probably vary from tutor to tutor but I have no clue what actually happens thanks in advance ;)

Heya there,

Just want to say for the record, NO QUESTIONS to FAM are STUPID!!! Don’t ever think that since that’s the reason why we are here :))) So everyone out there, wipe it out of your vocabulary because there’s a lot of genuine love and self fulfillment from all of us when we can provide some sort of support and  ease to all of you!

Depending on what you choose to do, tuition can be such that you bring questions to the tutor, and they try to explain it. They can also try and explain the content that you don’t understand, and some tutors may bring notes for you. There are also tutors who may provide questions to challenge you, but from what it sounds like, it might be preferable to find a tutor that is there to help you get up to speed before diving into more challenging content.

Don’t be afraid to seek help from your teachers though! Sometimes it’s easy to forget that they’re there but honesty their job is to help you so take advantage of that. Another thing that may help is maths help which happens on tuesday lunchtimes in K205! If you prefer to get help individually and more privately, it’s understandable that you might feel more comfortable with a tutor and it’s good to see that you’ve thought about it and that you’re asking these questions to clarify anything that you’re confused about!

Good luck with it all

Love

FAM xx

[qwedfas]

how much do your tutors cost?

Hey there,

Here’s a few of our experiences:

FAM leader 1: My methods tutor costs $60 for two hours, it’s a class tutor with like 20 other people though. My psych tutor costs $50/hour for individual but I don’t see the tutor often

FAM leader 2: My spesh tutor (group of around 15) costs $20 for 2 hours. My private chem tutor with only me and another girl costs $60 for 2 hours.

FAM leader 3: My methods and spesh tutor costs $40 for 1 ½ hours in a class of around 15. My chem tutor is also $40 for 1 ½ hours but for a class of 10 My german tutor is $50 for an hour one on one and my lit tutor is $45 for an hour with a class of two people.

Hopefully this helps,

Love, FAM xx

[qwedfas]

Hey! Do you guys know any good chem tutor private/group? Thanks! xx

Hey there,

Sorry but we can’t advertise tutors here on FAM, but you can sk of the various vce facebook pages, blackmarket or your year level page

Love,

FAM xx

[qwedfas]

hey, just a random question - how do you tell a tutor youve been learning from for about 3-4 weeks that you're no longer gonna attend their session cos youve found a better tutor? i just really don't want to offend anyone, but i can't keep paying for 2 tutors :///

Hey!

It’s great that you’re looking out for your tutor but most tutors would have experienced students leaving before, so please don’t worry too much. Your tutor will probably take it in a respectful and professional way.

The best way to ensure you don’t offend them though is to just give a general reason for leaving (such as the classes not working for you/your learning style) rather than specifically telling them that you found a better tutor. You don’t necessarily have to provide an excuse either, you can just politely them that you won’t be attending their tuitions anymore. It’s definitely easier said than done, but like you said, it’s not practical to continue the tuitions either.

FAM leader PERSONAL STORY: I told a tutor I didn’t want to go to them and went to another tutor and then realised I liked the original tutor more and just went back to him and honestly I don’t really think he cared at all, so just tell your tutor in a professional and respectful way. Some of my friends who tutor have said that although it hurts them a little that they’re losing a student, it’s really not the end of the world.

We hope all goes well!

FAM xx

[qwedfas]

Hey fam, as a yr 11 going into yr 12, i wanted to ask if tutors (private/group) are worth it? I'm not exactly struggling in my subjects now but I feel I'm scared I'm missing out on resources if I don't have tutors. I don't exactly have that much money lying around but does having a tutor make a huge difference? btw, I'm considering one for methods and for english.

Hey anon!

So here’s my personal experience with tutoring: I went for Methods group tutoring for the whole year this year as it was my ¾. My tutor is pretty reputable and he’s got heaps of students, so it wasn’t that he was just average or anything. He did give me lots of resources and I did use most of them. But personally, I don’t think it helped as much as I wanted it to, just from my general feeling but also from my study score. It was also pretty costly. I went for a private tutor for revision purposes (so not for a long period of time), and I think unless you have actual questions to ask and things to clarify, private tutors aren’t as helpful.

I didn’t do tutoring for my other ¾, and that worked out quite a bit better than my Maths. I put the hard yards in, did my own study and revision and gathered my own resources throughout the year.

So honestly, I don’t really think a tutor is extremely crucial for anyone to do well. Tutors are really only there for guidance, because at the end of the day it’s really up to you and how you go about studying which will give you the results you want. Some people have many many tutors and still don’t do amazingly, and that’s because they don’t put in their OWN effort to do well. As for resources, there are HEAPS online these days so if you do a good Google search you’ll be able to find lots.

Here’s what another FAM leader thinks:

Getting a Methods tutor is a pretty good investment, so long as you go to a good one. The good thing is that you probably don’t have to spend all year with that tutor. Some of them allow you to go to them just when you need help or during exam season, so you don’t really have to make a huge commitment to them.

From experience, it’s pretty hard to find a good and cheap English tutor.

Another FAM leader:

I think it just depends on your learning style. For me, I like to learn the content with my tutor before (even if I don’t even understand) and then “re-learn” it at school. So, for methods I went through content super fast so that I could have around two months of revision time. However, many of my friends did not have methods tutoring and used their teacher by having weekly sessions just to ask questions and stuff like that. Teachers are always willing to help out if you just ask! In my opinion, it’s not the resources that will help you do well, it’s the amount of effort you put in. There are over 100 practice exams on the methods portal and that is more than enough to prepare you for your exams. If you’re not struggling, I suggest that you don’t get a tutor and just really use your teacher, that’s what they’re there for :).

Hope this helps and all the best!

Love,

FAM xx