Important Notice

I will be going on leave from Saturday 29 June 2013. I may still respond to essays submitted by the end of Wednesday 26 June, GMT+0800. It is unlikely that any essay submitted later than that will receive a response until after 3 July, so if you are in a hurry, that won't work for you. I wish all my students the best, and will see some of you again from 3 July onwards. Cheers!

Findings Pte Ltd

I suppose the 'secret' is out now.

Yes, we have opened an education centre at Balmoral Plaza in Singapore, diagonally opposite a famous clock tower. We handle education, research and consultancy, and we're an ethical organisation. That is to say, we won't take your money unless you benefit fairly from the expenditure.

What are fees like? For a small tutorial group (min. 5, max. 10) which convenes for just under 2 hours a week, we charge about $400/month per student. You are guaranteed that our teachers are at least qualified, and often much more than that.

I'm quite certain that you, being savvy enough to get to this page, will find us. That's why we call ourselves Findings...

Should you prefer individual or even smaller group tuition, my rates are in the previous post. However, I don't have many such time slots, so places are limited and relatively costly. Must apologise for that; economics, you know. Sigh.

Tuition Fees (from 1 May 2013)

Educational ethics have always prevented me from charging more than my usual earning rate for educational services. This was true until 17 Mar 2008, on which day my former employer liberated me from this particular constraint, 15 years to the day after I was first deployed into the local education service. Even now, I think you will find my charges reasonable should you wish to take advantage of the services I can provide.

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Currently, I charge a base fee of $150 per hour for personal tuition, single student. If group tuition is required, there is an additional $30 per hour for each additional student. This is capped at $270 per hour for 5 students. The reason for this is that it requires more energy to coordinate effective learning for a larger group. However, the members of a larger group each pay less individually, since they'll be getting less individual time.

If you turn up late, there's a maximum grace period of about 15 minutes, at the end of which you will be charged for the time you booked, including that grace period. Tardiness is disgraceful without a very good reason. If you book a session on a Saturday that starts after 5 pm, I begin charging at $200 per hour. I don't do Sundays.

For every email response to a piece of up to 1600 words in length, I typically charge $60. For a longer piece I will charge at least $120 and I also reserve the right to not respond if the piece is extremely long or the time constraints are insurmountable.

If the analysis and evaluation of a written work is required in detail, these charges will likely be higher. (I also reserve the right to charge less, which is often the case.)

The reason for this is that it does indeed take time to produce a proper analysis that is of value to the student whose work is being examined. I charge for my time, and apply a discount because it isn't face-to-face interaction.

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These rates become effective on 01 May 2013. All those who have made contracts with me before that will continue paying the old rates and can extend this till the end of 2013. I retain minimal client information, and only for purposes of declaring my taxes correctly.

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But what exactly are you paying for, in terms of qualifications and experience?

Here's a short resumé:

1991: Graduated BSc in pure and applied chemistry.

1992: Completed a year as a research chemist.

1993: Graduated from NIE with distinction; chemistry and computing.

1996: Completed MOE bond at School #1. Moved to School #2.

1997: Appointed Head/Sciences.

1999: MEd in teacher development.

2001: Began IB training cycle.
2002: Appointed IB Coordinator-Designate.

2006: Dy Dir, Year 5 IB Diploma Programme.

2006: Director, Career Guidance (concurrently).

2008: Dy Dean, Theory of Knowledge.

2012: PhD in education.

I have supervised IB students in Chemistry, Economics, English and History. I have also taught A-Level Chemistry and English Literature, along with some Physics and Mathematics (a legacy of my computer science training). I am a trained teacher of Theory of Knowledge and have conducted teacher training in this area. I've been providing educational advice (and now, formal tuition) since 1993.

My doctoral research areas were in the fields of education and globalization — policy, implementation and history. I have a detailed knowledge of integrated programmes and curriculum design. Samples of my work in these areas are available on request. My clients include international schools, elements of the local education system, polytechnics and independent schools.