Good Tutors needed

Michael Ewing (pictured right) has been a teacher at Mercury Bay Area School and Deputy Principal of Whenuakite School. He took time out to study for his Masters Degree in Education and in that period, he became convinced there was a growing need for affordable supplemental education in Mercury Bay. He decided to respond to this by establishing a tuition company that aims to increase access to quality education through in-person tuition models. His goal is to address the growing need for additional support for students and to raise their achievement levels. Michael is excited to announce the launch of Good Tutors and he wants to specifically work with local children going to local schools and with the homeschooling community. “Starting Good Tutors is my way of giving back to the Mercury Bay community, which has been so supportive of me and my family for the last seven years.” Michael lives in Whitianga with his wife Jacinda and children, Julia and Stacey.

“One-on-one and small group lessons that make private tuition accessible and affordable to a much larger number of families, will be the focus of Good Tutors,” says Michael. “Initially, we will offer Maths and English tutoring for Years 3 to 10, and as Good Tutors grows, we intend to expand the service area to include the entire Coromandel Peninsula. We will focus on in-person tuition that doesn’t rely on digital technology but, instead, will utilise hard copy resources to teach skills and knowledge.” Michael believes using devices can speed up or slow down learning, which depends largely on the user's digital proficiency and their reading comprehension level. “These days, schools rely heavily on students being able to use devices well, but many children don’t have the skills necessary to find, access and understand what they need for their learning.”

He says local schools have a significant number of ‘priority learners’ who would benefit greatly from tuition as it is difficult for teachers to fully meet the needs of every individual when there is such a diversity of needs in the average class. Through Peninsula Community Trust, a non-profit organisation Michael helped found, Good Tutors is looking for partners to further their goals - other community groups and organisations who are willing to support this initiative by offering grants to subsidise costs for those in the community who need extra support. Michael is also interested in hearing from experienced educators living in the Coromandel Peninsula who would like to know more about working with Good Tutors. Tutors are not required to be registered teachers, but they will need to be suitably qualified, checked and have adequate work experience to be considered.

Michael says the community’s response so far has been overwhelmingly positive and he is looking forward to a successful uptake.

For more information and to get in touch with Michael, visit www.goodtutors.co.nz or email info@goodtutors.co.nz.