Tuition in Singapore has been competitive for the past several years. Parents pay hundreds to even thousands of dollars yearly to ensure their children do well in school. They start to notice, however, that even with the addition of several tuition lessons, students are unmotivated, unclear, and lack confidence. Though students achieve temporary grade improvements, they still have self-doubt, fear of failure, and a great deal of stress.
This problem is not an issue of a lack of academic help. The issue is of a lack of support in more than an academic sense. Students do not only need help in aid of the schoolwork. Students need someone who understands what is going on in their lives and, even more importantly, believes in the students that they can achieve their goals and can help the students find the confidence and motivation to do so. Students don’t need another hour of worksheets, more academic tutoring, or help in constructing their knowledge. Academically, students need support that can help gain trust.
This is the reason for the emerging new shift in education across Singapore, and mentoring has taken the place of tutoring.
A student’s mind cannot absorb knowledge when it is clouded with pressure, anxiety, and fear of disappointing parents or teachers. Many young learners come to lessons already overwhelmed, worrying about expectations, competition among peers, and the consequences of mistakes. In such an emotional state, even the most effective teaching methodologies lose impact.
A mentor-based approach understands this reality. Rather than getting straight to the assessment and corrections, it first focuses on creating a safe place where students feel seen, understood, and respected. When a child speaks about their interests, whether it is anime, football, Marvel characters, K-pop, or even coding, the school and educator should not see this as a distraction; this is the beginning of learning. Trust is the bridge to motivation.
Once a student believes that their mentor is on their side, their mindset transforms. They begin to try, ask questions without fear, and take pride in their own progress. In this environment, academic excellence has a way of achieving itself, rather than being forced.
Teaching How to Think and Not What to Think and Learn
Many students today struggle with learning not because they are incapable to learn but because they have not been taught how to learn. There are teacher-student systems which are based on repetition and memorization. While this technique is great for long term retention, it can have adverse effects on building confidence, students curiosity, putting retention into practical use, and application of knowledge in problem solving.
Such deficits can negative impacts on the future of the students and leaves education in the system to be desired.
A mentor with pedagogical training, for example the Stanford Classroom framework being used by Scholars.sg, fosters students’ the following abilities:
- Learning to think by themselves
- Being able to structure their approach to a problem
- Resilience in thinking for solving difficult questions
- Decomposing bigger tasks to smaller and actionable goals
- Having the confidence to face questions
Having the negative mental block students face during exams is a thing of the past. Students can have a equipped and not overwhelmed mindset before stepping into the realms of knowledge.
A Great Success Perspective
One of the most demanding and academically intense cultures around the world is no doubt in Singapore. Under the pressure, many students silently struggle with emotional pain in students as well as their peers, which include but are not limited to the following.
- Dreading to disappoint their family
- The increasing pressure to gain higher grades across the streams
- Comparing themselves to their peers
These emotional factors can take quite a toll on the students well being and overall learning.
A mentor understands how individuals learn emotionally. Through mental health training, they can:
- Recognize symptoms of academic pressure
- Assist students in gradual confidence development
- Provide methods for coping and self-regulation
- Focus on process over outcome
Emotional safety leads to a positive transformation in how students deal with school, and success follows.
Individual Attention and Personalisation
Although group tuition has its advantages, it lacks in providing tailored assistance. Every student has different academic backgrounds, personalities, emotional requirements, learning speeds, and one-on-one attention from a mentor allows for adapting each lesson to the student’s strengths and weaknesses.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all curriculum, the mentor centres on:
- What the student struggles with
- How they learn best
- Goals they wish to achieve
- Processes to develop confidence over a longer period
This way, students are able to transform from a struggling learner to an independent, self-motivated achiever.
Learning in Singapore
There is a shift in the tuition industry, and with it the preference for mentor-based assistance. It demonstrates:
Students want to be supported and develop a feeling of competence, confidence and assurance. It’s not just about the grades.
Holistic mentorship is what will help this generation of children learn skills beyond academics, and this will help singapores families.
Children learn from example and children have a lot of questions.
Children are deeply influenced by those who they look up to, and to guide them they need more than just someone to help them learn a subject.
They need a mentor more than anything.