Giving Grinds?

RtD

To start, not looking to advertise grinds here just yet, just looking for a bit of guidance, I figured this forum would have the people in the know visiting it. Sorry if this has been done before, I couldn't see it in the first few pages.

Anyway, I am doing an M.Sc. having already attained a B.Sc. (2.1) in Chemistry and I was considering giving grinds, LC Physics and Chemistry and maybe JC Science, and was wondering what sort of advice people would have as regards going about it.

First off, how do you get your name out there to begin with, apart from the sticky at the top of the page of course?

Secondly, is there much demand in these subjects? I'm based in the SE Dublin area if thats of any help.

Thirdly, what sort of rate should I be looking for, considering my education level and I suppose novice nature at giving grinds? €30 reasonable? Do people usually just go on a one session at a time basis? Do most people look to have their kids thought in their own homes?

Finally, I realise I'll have to do a slight bit of revising myself to make sure I'm back up to speed with the subjects, reawaken those old bits of memory, but has there been any change in the curriculum recently? How should I prepare for giving grinds, was thinking having formula sheets made out, the main scientific laws done out and all the relevant past paper's answers stored in my head?

Sorry, I know there is a load of questions there so I appreciate any one or two answers or bits of advice people might have, or if they have any questions to add.

Thanks in advance.

rainbowtrout

RtD wrote: »

To start, not looking to advertise grinds here just yet, just looking for a bit of guidance, I figured this forum would have the people in the know visiting it. Sorry if this has been done before, I couldn't see it in the first few pages.

Anyway, I am doing an M.Sc. having already attained a B.Sc. (2.1) in Chemistry and I was considering giving grinds, LC Physics and Chemistry and maybe JC Science, and was wondering what sort of advice people would have as regards going about it.

First off, how do you get your name out there to begin with, apart from the sticky at the top of the page of course?

Secondly, is there much demand in these subjects? I'm based in the SE Dublin area if thats of any help.

Thirdly, what sort of rate should I be looking for, considering my education level and I suppose novice nature at giving grinds? €30 reasonable? Do people usually just go on a one session at a time basis? Do most people look to have their kids thought in their own homes?

Finally, I realise I'll have to do a slight bit of revising myself to make sure I'm back up to speed with the subjects, reawaken those old bits of memory, but has there been any change in the curriculum recently? How should I prepare for giving grinds, was thinking having formula sheets made out, the main scientific laws done out and all the relevant past paper's answers stored in my head?

Sorry, I know there is a load of questions there so I appreciate any one or two answers or bits of advice people might have, or if they have any questions to add.

Thanks in advance.

You'll get more replies in the Teaching and Lecturing forum....

i'm a science teacher and I give grinds. You could advertise in the local papers or if there is some notice boards in local shop/supermarket/community centre etc, put up notices there. After that once you get started you can get some grinds by word of mouth

Cost depends on a lot of factors. From what I've seen here grinds seems to be more expensive in Dublin/Cork/Limerick etc than in 'rural' areas. Having said that if I was paying €30 for a grind I would expect that the teacher is qualified in the subject and teaching it and has exam experience of some sort (at the very least teaching the subject to exam level). There can be a great difference in someone who has a degree/masters in the subject and who has never taught and a teacher.

You decide how you want to run grinds. most people would do them in their own homes (if it suits). One thing I would say is, you make the rules for the grinds otherwise you'll get messed around. Travelling to students houses takes more time and might restrict you to one grind an evening rather than 2 without travel, cost of travel is also to be factored in too.

Some students will only be looking for grinds in the short term or on a once off basis. From my experience most will want them on an ongoing basis.

I would ask this at the start. Information I usually look for is:
What year they are in (ie doing LC this year or next year)
What level they are doing
Why they need the grind (missed time at school/difficulty with a topic/have to get a certain grade to meet college course requirement)
What do they want to do (exam questions/revision/help with homework etc)

Always deal with the parent, if you start dealing with the student sometimes (not all but on the odd occasion) you will get students sending you texts at the last minute going 'i'm not coming to grinds tonight' and that's it. it could be genuine or they could be skiving at their parents expense.


The curriculum for Physics and chemistry changed in 2002, the fastest way to find out what's on it would be to have a look at a few LC books. The new JC Science course changed in 2005? i think.


Don't kill yourself making out loads of handouts and worksheets until you know what you're doing. It might not be needed and could be a waste of time. Getting exam papers and solutions (free on www.examinations.ie) would probably be a good idea though. Work through the questions so you know how they are answered and why they are answered in that way.

Good Luck!

li@mo

€30 seems to be the going rate. For you to get started I think you should charge €20/hour.

This may seem poor but if your good at the grinds and word of mouth spreads you can up the price to suit demand

magsaroo

I'm a B.Ed & Psychology student and sat the leaving cert last year. I was considering giving Irish and French grinds at both Leaving Cert & Junior Cert levels. I'm just wondering will there be a demand for these subjects and also will the fact that I'm not yet qualified hinder my success?