Whenever your children return back from school, they might have many things to share, one of which is what happened during Chemistry lessons.  The comments might be good or much to be desired.  What do they mean?

Comments such as “the lesson today was fascinating, I never knew such interesting things happen during a chemical reaction”, “the Chemistry teacher gave good analogies such that I can understand such a difficult concept” always bring a smile on your face. This is because your child is attentive during lesson and is learning well.  In addition, when a Chemistry teacher is able to engage the students consistently, the students can be intrigued and motivated, thus performing well academically.  For the weaker students, this could mean increased confidence, and thus able to overcome any problems they might face in their work.

On the hand, the outcome can be detrimental if your child is giving negative comments about the teacher or the lesson.  Very often, we hear our students make such comments about their school Chemistry teacher:

  • “He reads from the slides, never really teach”
  • “My teacher always asks us to memorise”
  • “His lessons are so dry and boring”
  • “I sleep in his class”

These comments might seem mundane and harmless, but at Focus Chemistry, we take them very seriously as we diagnose emerging problems in our students’ learning and interest in the subject.  When a child comes to our centre with an opinion that the school Chemistry teacher does not engage the students sufficiently, we make it a point to explain that this might be an isolated case.  The onus would be on us to do the exact opposite, as we are very entrenched in the idea that good results can only come from a good attitude, and a good attitude towards the subject usually stems from an interest and confidence in the subject.  Thus, apart from the usual teaching of the subject, we do constantly ask for feedback about their school lessons, the pace of the lesson and how they are coping with it.  By consistently gathering feedback can we really help grow the child’s interest and confidence in the subject.  Only then can good results follow.