Tutor Time - unqualified teachers?

[poppyrose]

Does anyone have any of their children enrolled at Tutor Time? I have heard from a couple of parents of their experiences with "teachers" of how unproffesional they seemed and that some of them didn't seem really interested in being involved with the children, ie: just standing in one spot observing for what seemed like an inappropriate amount of time (around 10mins). This was in a Kindergarten class a couple of years ago in Hong Kong side

I am considering the North Point Branch for my son who will be 3 next year. I would appreciate any experiences, good or bad.

 

[hkbee]

My daughter used to attend TT Caine Road (Toddler Activity Group). I must say I wasn't happy with the experience at all. The classrooms were actually quite small, and there wasn't any outdoor playground. The Mandarin teacher was OK, but the English teacher wasn't enthusiastic at all - she didn't try to engage the kids while singing (even though she sang only 2 songs each session). During the free play, it was actually the kids playing on their own most of the time. Most kids were accompanied by helpers (in fact I was the only parent present throughout all the classes), and the helpers were more interested in talking amongst themselves during the free play time - and the teachers / classroom assistant didn't do anything to stop this. I have spoken to the principal about some of my concerns, but I don't think she's interested in addressing them at all!

 

[carang]

are you talking about kindergarten or playgroup?

 

[FutureHKmom]

My son has been at TT for the past year+. For 1 year he was at the Caine Rd. campus in playgroup and he just recently started in the nursery class at the Braemar Hill campus. Overall, I have been quite happy with my son's experience. At Caine Rd., the mandarin playgroup teacher as well as the two classroom teachers are fantastic. The mandarin teacher is thoughtful and very engaging of the students. Our experience with the English teachers in playgroup (there had been a few changes in the year that we were there) were hit and miss. One good thing though is that they got rid of the worst English teacher and I found all the others ranging from OK to pretty good. My son was quite happy in the playgroup and he did learn. Many parents complain that TT is too much playing but one day out of nowhere after attending the playgroup for 8-9 months, my son counted from 1-10 in English, Cantonese (learned at home) AND mandarin! We don't speak any Mandarin at home so he definitely learned that from playgroup. Yes, the kids play by themselves during free play, but the teachers walk around the class and engage with each student a few minutes each. There are afterall only 2 teachers for the whole class - you can't expect the teacher to sit next to your child the whole time. Yes, there are many helpers at the playgroup during the weekday classes - but I'm sure it is the same at other playgroups also. As for the nursery class at the BH campus - I am very happy with it. The teachers are fantastic. My son, though has been crying a bit and has had some separation anxiety (as is expected of a child his age going to school by himself the first time) loves his teachers and often sings the songs from school at home. There is a website where we can log in to see what is going on in the class and I see the teachers engaged with the students. The ratio of teachers to students (currently only 13:3 but could increase to 20:3 max as more students join the class) is actually much better than other schools where I have heard the ratio being 30:3 or even 40:4!

 

[mommysf]

We like tutor time

We have our son at Tutor Time in Mid levels. He loves it there! I've met his teachers several times and they all seem lovely, energetic and really enjoy being with the kids.

 

[Sooney]

My daughter is 18 months and attends TT @ BH. The teachers are amazing and adore the kids. My daughter loves her teachers and is always excited to see them. The class activities are great and the kids are always kept super busy.