Rhiya F
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
The British International School, Kuala Lumpur
IGCSE:
Mathematics- 9
Biology- 9
Chemistry- 9
Physics-9
English Lit/Lang- A*/9
History-A*
Mandarin (foreign level)- A*
Geography- A*
A-Levels/IAL:
Mathematics- A
Chemistry- A*
Biology- A*
The Royal Veterinary College, Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Love Learning Tutors
KS3 : Maths
Common Entrance: 11+
GCSE: Biology and Chemistry
WORK EXPERIENCE
Intern at a veterinary clinic (Dhillon’s Vet Clinic)
Teaching volunteer at PPKKCTM (care centre for children with learning disabilities)
SKILLS AND INTERESTS
In my free time, I love to read and watch movies- favourites of mine are definitely Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games. I’d be more than happy to take recommendations. I also love to write and in my High School I had written for a STEM and liberal arts magazine, as well as for the school newspaper. I also love to bake, though the results are often variable! While I’m not the most sporty – I enjoyed playing tennis (badly) back home.
I’m currently in vet school and I absolutely adore animals and will take every opportunity I can to share pictures of my dog or to talk about your pet if you have one! I can also tell you funny stories about how I’ve been flipped over by sheep and trodden on by horses if you’re interested :)
PERSONAL STATEMENT
In High School, I was faced with the very difficult trial of passing chemistry. Science wasn’t always very appealing to me. All this talk about reaction rates and cells made little sense- little people wearing suits operated our bodies (see Meet Dave, 2008). This changed for me when an amazing teacher explained things to me in a way nobody else ever even tried to. If I didn’t understand, he would never just say it to me louder. He took the time to explain things in ways that would cater to his students- with fun acronyms and visual notes- often telling us that he ‘teaches the way he learns’. With all my past experiences of tutoring, I realised that going back to his saying is what made it easiest for me to explain and teach concepts to other people, while also consolidating my own knowledge in the subject. I wouldn’t have passed if not for him. Having understood what it’s like to struggle in class, I truly believe that with the right guidance, anyone can do well in school- and this has very much inspired me to offer some guidance to young people who may need it. I think an integral part of tutoring is having empathy for the student, and getting to know them and the way they will understand things. Being someone who is very visual with learning and always needs ways to remember and apply knowledge, I know this would aid me well in tutoring students who have different learning techniques suited for them (though my singing voice is not great, so maybe the song is a work in progress).
In my lessons, I always plan out the structure beforehand, knowing how hard unstructured lessons can be to follow. I think it would be important to consolidate learning material with questions and quizzes (either as homework or during the lessons). Being someone who is very naturally curious myself, I very much encourage asking questions on anything and think it’s an excellent way to consolidate anything in the classrooms. One of the best teachers I’ve ever had made me somewhat enjoy math, so I would always hope that the positive energy and manner in which I deliver my lessons would make a subject more tolerable if a student disliked it. As someone who is fairly young myself (being in my first year of university), I would like to hope I know how to interact with younger people, though no promises (that was a joke). I have also taught children in their younger years but I’m eager to get more experience around kids.