Dear Learnable Tutors,
Over the past two weeks, the number of reported clusters and unlinked cases has increased significantly. In light of this, the Government has introduced new measures that will serve as a circuit breaker to reduce the risk of a wider outbreak of infections.
On 3 April 2020, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged Singaporeans to do three things:
- To stay home as much as possible,
- Avoid socializing with people outside of their households, and
- Only go out for essential things (e.g. food takeaways, exercise)
The Government has introduced strict new measures that are a step up from the previous safe-distancing measures, which further restrict the movement of individuals within the country. They will disrupt daily routines over the next four weeks, including for home-based tutoring.
Educating our students remains a priority even during a pandemic, and we should find innovative ways to continue teaching them. Video conferencing is one such way. Tutors can consider using video conferencing software such as Zoom (http://zoom.us/) to continue lessons with their students even in the event that they are required to stay at home. Please find a guide on how to get started here.
Some parents may be reluctant to have their children having lessons via video conferencing, understandably preferring to have lessons in person. We recommend that tutors speak to parents about the recent measures, and to walk parents and students through how each element of their lesson can be communicated through video conferencing.
As tutors plan out their lessons, it is important to consider how they can test students on whether they’ve retained the knowledge from the lesson, and how they can better update parents on the above.
Tutors might consider communicating the following template to parents via text. We’re providing some recommended text below to encompass general cases, but tutors should adapt this text only as appropriate.
Dear Parents and Students,
Over the past two weeks, the number of reported clusters and unlinked cases has increased significantly. The Government has further tightened movement for individuals between 7 April 2020 to 4 May 2020.
In this light, I am proposing to conduct classes online on Zoom, a video conferencing tool that teachers worldwide are using to teach their students effectively during lockdowns in countries around the world.
How classes will be conducted
Students will require a mobile device or laptop for lessons to be effectively conducted.
At the start of our lesson, join my zoom classroom at [tutor’s unique link]. I will be happy to test out the connection with [student name] at a time of your convenience.
Towards the end of each lesson, I will conduct a quiz with [student name] to check on whether the lesson outcomes each week have been achieved, and will keep you closely updated.
And that’s it – we’ll conduct lessons as usual, and I will continue to guide [student name] in his / her practice and development to the best of my ability.
Thank you
Many tutors may already be feeling the adverse impact of the outbreak. We’ve previously written on how tutors can qualify for the Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (see post here), and discussed other forms of Government support available to tutors (see post here). Do check these posts out!
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