Tutoring was first offered to me by my parents as a threat: ‘if you don’t take this next maths test seriously, we’re signing you up for tutoring,’ ‘don’t laugh, we’ll sign you up for tutoring… we will!’ And, indeed, in the past, it had been an egregious experience; tutors easily pushing 60 leering at the front of a stuffy cupboard-sized room, air conditioners that never seemed to work on humid, summer days, endless testing that never seemed to improve results, but succeeded in humiliating poor achieving students. Expecting such an abhorrent experience when my parents first committed to their threats, I was shocked and taken aback at the antithetical approach to tutoring at First Education. From dragging my feet at that first session in year 7 to studying with the same tutor for many years and keeping in touch, from sitting alone at my first group mathematic session to being invited in warmly by my peers and extending our friendship and studying beyond the Masonic Hall, from walking into Chemistry tutoring in year 12 and remarking that ‘this is not even going to count towards my ATAR, I don’t even know why I’m here!’ to studying Chemical Engineering in university, it’s fair to say that First Education is doing something very right.

It’s the approach to learning. Learning immediately ends being methodical, systematic, boring. Instead, it genuinely becomes fun, regardless of how cliche and ‘cringe’ that sounds. Tutors aren’t dispassionate teachers making spare cash, but rather students fresh out of high school who are passionate about their subjects and who, most importantly, know how to interact socially with their students, whether 5 years old or 18. That barrier remains crucial to the tutoring experience, with students engaging with their tutor and their studies in a youthful, relevant way. A way which speaks to them.

I know that this is pivotal, from both ends of the spectrum. As a student who consistently attempted to wriggle her way out of initial tutoring sessions but found herself begging her parents to schedule holiday sessions to a tutor who literally sees her students’ smiles and confidence grow concurrently throughout a session, I know that the way that First Education approaches learning is special. No harsh rules, so-called ‘stupid’ questions allowed, laughing is a must, engaging and motivated tutors, and a mandatory mid-session snack! It just works.

Shahaf Liraz