I never fail to look through the Recruit section's articles in case they can be related to the way I deal with my students. This one is on how I can retain my students, as some do stop lessons with me and switch to going for lessons at a tuition centre.
1. Do my students dread my lessons? I try to make them more interesting. If they want to speak about something other than the lesson for the day, I am open to it, as it gives them a chance to train their oral skills. I do maintain certain boundaries though. I have discussed a little on shopping malls and fashion with my students. Some parents fail to understand my real intention and think that I am not teaching. Well, it's really their child's loss that they chose to stop lessons with me. Haha.
2. I try to be patient with my students and give them the benefit of the doubt. There may be real, unintentional reasons for their performance. When necessary, I advocate direct guidance in the fulfillment of their tasks, or send reminders to hand in their assignments. I try not to label them too quickly and motivate them to get rid of their weaknesses, by telling them of the consequences or rewarding them when they do improve. Yes, God has indeed blessed me by giving me students who do more than the minimum in their studies. :) I have a student asking me for more homework than I usually give. :))
3. I show appreciation to my students who show an improvement in their performance, by verbal affirmation or tangible rewards. I also share it with their parents. Besides verbally encouraging the students, I motivated some of them by treating them to a meal so that they will be spurred on to study harder. I do feel especially sympathetic towards my China students, as they are celebrating CNY away from home and also, they may feel inferior to their local counterparts in terms of academic excellence.
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