Friends of GT Scholars – It’s all about having some fun and helping young people!

Friends of GT Scholars – It’s all about having some fun and helping young people!

Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

And Friday rolls over again! With everything that’s going on in the world lately, I’ve decided to do something fun this weekend. I believe everyone needs to have more fun because it relieves stress, uplifts your mood and it can even boost productivity and innovation!  So whatever you’ve got planned for the weekend, I hope you’ll find some time to have a bit of fun! If Hillary can, so can we! Since we’re on the subject, here are some fun volunteering opportunities for you to get involved with.

Would you like to help out with our study skills workshop?
We’re looking for volunteers to help out at our ‘Annual Ready, Set Go: Acing Your Exams!’ workshop, which is a study skills workshop to help young people ace their exams. It’s the perfect opportunity to meet our scholars and interact with young people from a range of backgrounds, helping them with some fun skill-building activities. The workshop will take place on Saturday 14th March at Goldsmiths University and will run from 10am – 4pm. Please let me know if you’re available to help on the day!

Fancy featuring in our volunteer spotlight?
We’re looking for volunteers to feature in our next volunteer spotlight video interview series (we promise to film your good side!) We’ve still got a few spots left in our schedule and would love to hear more about your volunteer experience and how you’ve been able to help your scholar! Camera shy? Don’t worry, we can set up a phone interview instead. If you’ve volunteered with us in the last 6 months and would like to feature in our next spotlight, please get in touch! I’ll also be making some calls in the next couple of weeks.

How to make the most out of the volunteering experience!
Enjoying yourself is one of the most important factors in making the most of your volunteering experience. This is why it is so important to engage in volunteer work that is in line with your passion, interests, and personal goals. Volunteering is about giving up some of your time and using your skills to help others. But have you ever thought about how volunteering can make a significant impact on your life as well? To find out how volunteering can impact your life and how to make the most out of your volunteering experience follow this link to our blog.

 

Have a great weekend!

Friends of GT Scholars – Looking for Speakers for Careers Day 2020!

Friends of GT Scholars – Looking for Speakers for Careers Day 2020!

Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

It’s finally Friday! It’s been really busy over here with the launch of the new Inspiring Future Leaders programme, with two back-to-back workshops yesterday and today. Thanks to all the volunteers and workshop facilitators who are helping on these days! You’re the best! There are lots more events coming up this year, so please stay tuned for more details. Let’s start with what’s lined up for the next few weeks.

 

Would you like to be a speaker at Careers Day 2020?
The 5th Annual GT Scholars Career Day at Goldsmiths University is coming up soon and we’re really looking forward to it. It’s one of our most popular workshops and it’s always great to bring parents, scholars and volunteers together. I’m busy planning the panel of speakers for the day and I’m looking for volunteers from different career backgrounds to speak on the day, sharing their career success stories and opportunities available with young people and their parents. If you’d like to get involved, please get in touch with me.

Do you know of a great venue?
We’ve got over 10 events lined up over the next 6 months and we still need to confirm venues for a few of them. The perfect venue for our scholar workshops and volunteer meetups should be central, big enough to host up to 35 people and preferably bright with AV facilities. If you know of a great space at your workplace or local to you that we can contact to enquire about rates and venue availability please let me know. I’d really appreciate your suggestions!

How to make mentoring sessions impactful
The Inspiring Future Leaders programme has officially kicked off and that means we now have two great programmes offering volunteer mentoring opportunities. There’s definitely a lot of mentoring going around! It might not be your first mentoring rodeo or you might be getting ready for your very first mentoring session or perhaps you might be thinking of becoming a volunteer mentor. Whichever the case this blog can help you make your sessions interesting and impactful!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Friends of GT Scholars – Would you like to feature in our Volunteer Spotlight Series?

Friends of GT Scholars – Would you like to feature in our Volunteer Spotlight Series?

Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

Happy Friday!… uh umm… or should I say Brexit day? I’m sure many of us are wondering what will be different now. Anyway focusing on other news, a section of Trump’s ‘’big beautiful border wall’’ between the US and Mexico blew over due to high winds yesterday. At this rate, I wonder if the rest of the ‘’beautiful, unbreakable, wall’’ will be gone with the wind soon? I guess it was all hammer and no nail with this one! Okay, enough chitter-chatter for now, let’s dive into this week’s newsletter!

Volunteer Spotlight
Through the effort and hard work of volunteer tutors and mentors, our scholars are thriving in their academic and personal lives. We want people to know more about our volunteers, the difference they made and what makes them tick. We’re looking for volunteers to feature in our new volunteer spotlight series. The interview can be a telephone interview or video interview. If you’ve volunteered in the last 6 -12 months, then please get in touch with me. I’m looking forward to hearing from you and getting to know your story! 

 

Volunteer and inspire boys to become leaders!
We still need a few more volunteer mentors for the Inspiring Future Leaders Programme. A huge thank you to everyone who confirmed there availability to volunteer with this amazing programme! This new leadership programme will be launched in February 2020 and will work with young boys between the ages of 12 to 14. These boys are at risk of permanent exclusion but have been identified as having great leadership skills, but not reaching their full potential. Mentors will need to commit to 1 hour a month for 6 months and also be available to support at 1 of the 10 enrichment or skill-building days. There will be a training day for all volunteer mentors to prepare them for the mentoring sessions. Please let me know if you’d like to get involved and I’ll get in touch.

 

Partnerships and corporate sponsorships
We’re always interested in forming new meaningful connections and partnerships with organisations that would like to help improve social mobility for young people. If you think that your company or network would be interested in finding out more about partnering with GT Scholars, then please get in touch with me and I’ll fill you in on the details on how your company or network can get involved in our programmes and events.

 

Have a great weekend!

Friends of GT Scholars – Here’s how you can volunteer in 2020!

Friends of GT Scholars – Here’s how you can volunteer in 2020!

Friends of GT Scholars Volunteers

We’re back! I hope you’ve had a great festive season and you’re looking forward to the New Year as much as I am? There’s a lot of new things on the horizon which I hope you’ll be interested in getting involved with, like extra support for volunteers and our new Inspiring Future Leaders Programme starting next month! So grab a cup of coffee, take a quick break and enjoy the first official newsletter of 2020! 

Can you tutor English?
Wow, we have such a demand for English tuition this term and that’s really awesome! We’ve been able to offer a couple of young people a place on the programme. Thanks to everyone who’s confirmed their availability so far. We still have 7 more scholars who need support in English and need your help. So if you’ll be able to volunteer as an English tutor for 1 hour a week from January to April please get in touch! This can make a great difference in a young person’s life!


We’re looking for mentors for the Inspiring Future Leaders Programme!
This new programme sponsored by the Mayor of London & National Lottery Fund will kick-off in February and run until July 2020. The focus will be on helping young boys in London at risk of exclusion, between the ages of 12-14. Young boys joining the programme have been identified as having high aspirations but also struggling with some challenging issues in their personal lives. We’re looking for volunteer mentors to deliver monthly face-to-face mentoring sessions in London. Please feel free to contact me if you’d like more information on mentoring and supporting this group.

Work experience opportunities!
During the last term, I’ve received quite a few enquiries from parents about work experience for young people.  Work experience can help young people build their CV and develop skills and have a life-changing effect on them that can set them on course to a great start and future! We’re hoping to connect our GT Scholars alumni with work experience opportunities. Please let me know if you know of any work experience opportunities within your company or network and I’ll give you a call for a quick chat!


Have a great weekend!

An Interview with a Parent: ”The online maths tutoring sessions have definitely helped her excel in maths. ”

An Interview with a Parent: ”The online maths tutoring sessions have definitely helped her excel in maths. ”

Parent Spotlight Scholar spotlight What's new?

We had the pleasure of interviewing a parent of one of the scholars on the Bright Ambitions Programme this term. It was great to hear about her experience with the programme and to find out if being on the programme made any positive impact on her daughter’s life.

How did you find out about GT Scholars?
We first got introduced to the programme when Laura’s religious (RE) teacher passed on information about a GT Scholars Workshop called the Career Insight: Pre Launch Event. Laura was very interested in going and shared the information with me. Just days before, my friend and I had a conversation about career choices and about the fact that most young people do not have enough in-depth information on different careers these days. After she attended the workshop she was fascinated by the different career choices available to her. This workshop was a real eye-opener for my daughter and after the workshop, she decided she was not completely set on pursuing a career as an architect and wanted to look more into a career in business. Since then, she’s been thinking about a career where she can combine her love for art and her interest in business.

Have you seen any positive change in your daughter since she joined the Bright Ambitions programme?
I’ve definitely seen a lot of improvement in her maths. It’s great because I cannot help her that much with maths since it’s not one of my strong areas. It was important for her to fill in the gaps on areas that she’s been struggling with. Maths is an important subject for my daughter because she’ll definitely need it for the career paths she’s interested in. Since having her regular online tutoring and mentoring sessions she’s become more confident. She recently completed her exams and we are very pleased with the results. My daughter has moved up an entire set in Maths and she is also one of the top two students of her class!

Do you feel that it was worth enrolling Laura to the Bright Ambitions programme?
I would say yes, it was definitely worth it. The online maths tutoring sessions have definitely helped her excel in maths and the mentoring sessions have helped build her confidence and made her more open-minded.

As a parent, how did you find interacting with the tutors and mentors?
I am very pleased with Derek, he is a very nice guy and he’s absolutely wonderful as a tutor. Our mentor, Rachel is also a wonderful lady and my daughter gets on well with her. She really guided her on finding her own career path and keeping her options open.

What do you like about the fact that tutoring is done online?
What I like most about online tutoring is the convenience of it. It eliminates the stress of having to travel to a location for every tutoring session and my daughter can enjoy her tutoring sessions in the comfort of our home. The fact that there is a dedicated tutor that works with her to reach her goals is also great.

Would you recommend GT Scholars to other parents out there looking for a tutoring and mentoring programme?
Yes, I would because I think it works out and is worth it in the end. The results are great!

Apprenticeships should be promoted as a strong alternative to university

Apprenticeships should be promoted as a strong alternative to university

Apprenticeships Parents Post 16 Volunteer mentors What's new? Work experience

One of the main questions asked by recruiters around the world is whether a job applicant has the relevant experience for the role applied for.  Experience can be one of the crucial deciding factors within any job placement. Although there are many companies who still require that employees undergo internal training, they would still like to know whether the candidate has had some previous experience in the field and whether they are familiar with job requirements and responsibilities associated with the position they are applying for.  An Apprenticeship is a great way to give young career enthusiasts the opportunity to gain knowledge in the field even before their career has started. This allows them to apply for jobs with confidence, knowing they have some sort of relevant experience that will count in their favour.

Apprenticeships allow young people to gain practical experience and put their theoretical experience to the test. In the United Kingdom, apprenticeships are entitled to the minimum wage rate for their age, which allows working-class students to set aside their financial worries whilst gaining a degree on the side. Internships are there to give students the opportunity to gain practical knowledge of something they are learning in their academic world. A company will provide them with an opening in a department where they are able to start learning more about a certain career. Experience for post-school careers is then gained, which makes applying for jobs in the future a lot easier.

Young people considering an apprenticeship can benefit in many ways:

Getting to know your abilities & skills
It is one thing to identify your strengths and discussing them with your tutor or mentor.  Putting these strengths into practice and developing them is something completely different. During an internship, you will work closely with experienced people who have already been in the industry for some time. Use this time to observe and learn from them.  You need to use your time to grow, professionally as well as personally. An apprenticeship serves as a window into the working world where one will have to make decisions, take responsibility for them, and facing the consequences that result from them. You will get to know yourself and how you operate under pressure. You will begin to understand how the things you have learnt in the classroom are put to the test in real life. On the job training will provide you with real-life situations to test your abilities and skills.

Gaining Confidence
Being given an opportunity to work in a professional environment with professional people is a great recipe for self –confidence. Your assigned supervisors will contribute a great deal to your internship experience. They know that you are there to learn and gain knowledge, without the pressure and responsibilities of an employee in a new job, where you need to prove yourself, you will be allowed to be yourself without too much pressure.

Each company works differently, but most have performance-based feedback sessions for apprentices or internship employees, as this is a way that most companies evaluate their employees and make them feel important and appreciated within the workplace. You will have constant feedback session on a weekly/monthly basis to see how you are performing and coping in your department. This, in turn, helps you to mould your professional confidence.

Networking Skills
Networking and acquiring new connections within the business world is vital for your future growth within any industry you would like to excel in. Meeting new people and gaining industry-specific insight is a valuable way of building up your knowledge.  At the end of the day it boils down to that old saying, ’’ knowledge is power’’. Apprenticeships allow you the opportunity to gain knowledge in your professional field. One of the other important advantages is that you will also receive a reference letter once your apprenticeship is completed. The reference letter will be an added advantage for your curriculum vitae. During an apprenticeship, you will most likely move between departments so that you can get a better understanding of the company as a whole. Each department works together to deliver the final product or service. Therefore, it is vital for employers to move you around during your time at the company.it also allows you to meet all kinds of different people in different ranks and chains of command.

Future Job Potential
Starting your career at a young age can potentially give you a head start,  especially when you consider that your career would actually be on hold if you were only attending university and not working at the same time. Apprenticeships allow you to have a head-start in the future job market especially when you come from a lower income household.

Gaining Industry Specific Knowledge
There is only so much the textbooks can teach you. Practical experience is crucial.  On the job training will give you insight into things you would never learn in a classroom. You will be able to work with experienced staff members, who you are able to learn from. You can then practise these skills within a professional environment and put yourself to the test. If you are studying for a university degree on the side you can still obtain your degree whilst gaining experience at the same time.

Over the last decade, apprenticeships have fast become a popular new way of climbing up the corporate ladder. It is also a lot quicker than the traditional route of first studying and then applying for jobs afterwards.  A mentor can guide you step by step on how to apply for these positions and help you decide which positions are the best and worth applying for.

The GT Scholars Programme is a not-for-profit social enterprise  that offers various programmes and workshops to provide young people between the ages of 11 to 16 with the necessary skills to set them on a successful career path, improve grades and enrich their mentoring experiences. Our GT Scholars Awards Programme offers one-to-one mentoring sessions and free access to our enrichment or skill-building events. Our mentors provide young people with ongoing coaching so that they are equipped with the strategies and tools they need to achieve their personal goals. This helps our scholars discover their strengths, it develops their resilience and it helps build confidence in their own abilities. Sign up here and look out for our enrichment days and skill-building workshops.

A recap of our Career Day 2018: Finding Your Passion

A recap of our Career Day 2018: Finding Your Passion

What's new? Young Leaders

GT Scholars is a not-for-profit social enterprise that provides tutoring, mentoring and enrichment events for young people aged 11-18.

As part of our Academic Programme and Awards Programme, scholars have the opportunity to attend our a range of enrichment events for young people including visits to universities, visits to the city and career days for young people.

Saturday 24th of March 2018 marked the date for our Annual Career Day. The theme of the day was Finding Your Passion and the day was a huge success.

The panel consisted out of talented professionals from various backgrounds and served for an in-depth overview of various career-focused topics.

With a turnout of over 70 young people and parents, the atmosphere was lively and we had some interesting questions that were submitted to the panel. GT Scholars would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended our annual career day.

The day was very informative and insightful, with plenty of light shed on important questions. The day returned plenty of positive feedback from the young people, who found the event extremely useful and enjoyed learning about different career paths and options. We had speakers from a range of career backgrounds including a project manager at Lloyds Banking Group, an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, a Senior Contract Manager at NHS England and senior software engineer and technologist with over 10 years experience in the tech industry.

We’ve put together a short summary of the discussions that took place on the day and the key messages from the day.

  1. Work experience can help you discover your passion:  Not all young people find deciding on a career, to be an easy decision to make, especially at the age of 13 years old. Young people might find it hard to establish what their strengths and weaknesses are. They might struggle with knowing what they are good at and which field will be best suited for them. We all dream of a career that we can flourish in, excelling in doing what we are good at, something we have a passion for.  Often we set ourselves to believe that we would enjoy a certain task or activity, but when we measure our perception against the practical experience, things don’t always turn out the way we’ve made our minds up to be. The only way to discover your passion and whether it can be a viable career option is to gain some work experience, accept an internship or to talk to someone in a similar field. Young people can gain ‘’behind the scenes’’ information on a particular career that they are interested in.
  2. Embrace your talents, they are limitless: Having a growth mindset is the key to unlocking your potential and talents. A lot of young people have the perceived idea that there is an elite group of people who are destined to be successful and talented and that they do not particularly fit into that group.  That could not be farther from the truth! One of the questions asked by a young person at Career Day was, which career choice would be better: Embarking on a career journey on becoming a barrister or being a Youtube entrepreneur? The panel responded with:’’ You can be both.’’ Young people should not limit themselves, with the right mindset and dedication you can become anything you want to be, and most importantly you do not have to label yourself to fit into a specific category. You can still be a barrister with a Youtube channel and a profitable E-commerce business on top of that! There is no rule that says you need to limit yourself to only one profession. Young people should be free, creative and fearless. Approaching life with a can-do attitude.
  3. Studying Online: There was also a lot of interests and questions about the option of studying online. The discussion touch on a number of online courses available, some even free. While an online course does not carry the same credibility as a degree, they are still very useful and informative. It is a great inexpensive way to brush up on some skills or learn new skills. Not all courses are accredited so it is always a good idea to inquire about that before enrolling or paying for a course or paying for a certificate.
    • Udemy is a great online source if you are looking to enrol in an online course. Udemy courses are not recognised by employers as a qualification but it is still worth adding your completion of the course on your CV. It can show a potential employer that you are self-invested and eager to learn.
    • Coursera and EdX is another great online learning platform. With free online courses and members from the world’s most leading universities, edX offers a verified certificate that confirms your course completion. Another great thing about edX is that you can build up credits that you can put towards your university or college application for professional development.
    • For more websites for online learning, read one of our other blog entries: 10 Websites young people can use to learn anything online.
  4. How to filter through choices: First and foremost it is important to remember that a career does not necessarily have to be a lifetime commitment. There are many career choices available and when imagining yourself being in a certain career field, young people should rather be asking how they can add value to their day to day life and the daily responsibilities that would be assigned to them. Young people should be asking themselves questions such as: What strengths and skills do I have? How can I utilise this to make a difference in my own life as well as others? Another important question young people need to ask themselves is: What will I enjoy doing? As parents we can develop our children’s communication, problem-solving, team working, leadership skills and creativity as these are the skills directly involved in making a career choice or business venture a success.

It was great to see how the young people who attended the event were supported by their parents. All parents who’ve attended our career day gained more perspective on the career and study options available to young people and learned how they as parents could provide the necessary support to young people needing to make these important life decisions.

We’d also like to say a huge thank you to the organisations that supported us to make this day happen: Amazon Foundation, Blackrock Foundation and Goldsmiths University – for giving young people and their parents the opportunity to attend our event and receive impartial information about different careers, apprenticeships, and university. Without the continuing support of our sponsors, enrichment activities such as our annual career day would not be possible.

GT Scholars is a not-for-profit social enterprise and registered charity that helps young people from a range of backgrounds get better grades at school and get into top universities and competitive careers. If you would like to find out more information about GT Scholars and their after school one-to-one private tutoring and mentoring session, register your interest. Please feel free to subscribe to our newsletter and get notified of future events, workshops and opportunities for young people aged 11-16.

The Financial Value of an A grade

The Financial Value of an A grade

Post 16 What's new? Young people

During your secondary school years, you often don’t realise that your decisions and actions can impact your future long-term. Understanding how an A grade translates financially into long-term success is essential for young people. During these years, we start laying the foundations of our lives. The skills you learn in school will stay with you forever. You know to set goals and apply yourself so that you can achieve those goals. School teaches you how to balance life between work and play. You also learn to prioritise, focusing on what needs to be done instead of what you would like to do.

How Good Grades Translate to Financial Value

Often, young people underestimate the value of good grades and their impact on their future. Good grades can open many doors, especially when applying for a tertiary education programme. With good grades, you can translate a solid education into a rewarding & well-paying career. Many students cannot access the tertiary education programme of their choice due to not achieving the required marks in secondary school. Students need to understand this and work hard during school to get good grades. The future is yours, and it can be bright with good grades.

In addition to opening the doors to a stellar tertiary education, obtaining above-average grades in secondary school can also improve your employability. Employers look at secondary school results to determine whether a candidate can perform well academically. They use this information to determine whether candidates can learn and thrive in a specific setting.

If you are unsure about which career path you would like to embark on, good academic results will allow you to secure an entry-level job which pays relatively well while you decide on the career that will be best suited for you. This way, you will discover your strengths, weaknesses, and likes and dislikes.

Scholarships

Universities like Liverpool John Moore University offer full merit-based scholarships, rewarding exceptional students for their outstanding academic achievements. Most of these scholarships offer to settle the tuition fees for an entire undergraduate study programme, freeing the scholarship recipient from any obligation to repay the programme fees. A wide range of scholarships is available, including Masters and Doctoral studies.

Young people who excel academically can also consider applying for a scholarship abroad, opening up a new world of possibilities. Studying abroad will allow you to immerse yourself in another country and its culture.

Education is a personal and financial investment and one of the best investments you will make. It influences your life significantly and can determine which path you take in the future. It can even empower you to make a change in the world as we know it.

Earning Potential

Having a good education with exceptional results can provide a stable career with high earning potential. A recent article in the Telegraph stated that a person without a degree could earn up to £12,000 less per annum than a graduate entering the job market. Furthermore, the report says this amounts to over £500,000 difference in earning potential over an average working life. A survey by the jobs website Adzuna analysed a million vacancies, concluding a widening pay gap between non-graduates and graduates. This demonstrates the difference in earning potential that having a solid education can make when pursuing the career of your choice.

Performance in School Translates to Performance in Career

A proven correlation exists between not doing well in school and not doing well in university or your job. An article by James Rosenbaum on the American Federation of Teachers website states that students who do not perform well in school will probably not graduate from college, and many not progressing further than remedial courses. There is a close connection between high school preparation (regarding the rigour of courses and grades received) and college completion. This information is well-known to statisticians, researchers, and policymakers who follow such matters. High college enrolment rates and low graduation rates are known facts in most open admissions and less selective colleges (both two- and four-year).

Education is a lifelong journey which adds lasting quality to our lives. There are so many different educational pursuits we can follow and many different fields of study. The tricky part is choosing what you want to pursue!

The GT Scholars Awards programme focuses on helping young people understand the variety of career and study options available to them and can assist in making an informed decisions about their future careers.

If you are struggling to achieve good results in school, our flagship programme, The GT Scholars Academic Programme, has helped many students. This unique after-school programme combines tutoring in either Maths or English, Enrichment and Skill building classes. After joining the programme, students improved by two grades within a year. If you are interested in one of our programmes, you can register your interest here, and one of our team members will contact you to discuss things in more detail.

Think you don’t need maths tutoring? Think again!

Think you don’t need maths tutoring? Think again!

Growth mindset Post 16 Private tutoring University What's new? Young people

Imagine for a moment that you are sitting in a restaurant. A waiter walks over to your table to take your order, “One double cheeseburger, a medium chips and a regular coke, please”, the waiter jots down the order and reads it back to you, you nod, satisfied and he walks off. As you sit there waiting for your food, the restaurant starts to fill up, a family of four take the table to your left. A young couple is guided to a table directly in front of you. There is a group of ladies; celebrating a bachelorette party, fourteen in total guided to a collection of tables lined up in the centre of the room.

More people come and a few leave as you sit there an hour later and still no food. You notice that the young couple, sitting opposite from you, is staring lovingly into each other’s eyes over two orders of delicious looking ribs and mashed potatoes. You look at the table with the bachelorette and her posse, where one of the ladies is making a toast as the others enjoy an array of starters.

You look to the family of four, study their frowns, their “plateless” table and think to yourself at least you are not alone; they too, are victims of this appalling service. At least that is until your waiter arrives at their table, their orders on a tray. Fuming now, you wait until they are served and then call your waiter over to your table. “What in the world is going on, where is my food?” you demand. The waiter looks at you as if you are crazy, absolutely bonkers, “What are you talking about sir, the chef is starting on your order as we speak?”

“Starting, he is only starting!” You shout, shocked by the complete disregard for you, the casual dismissiveness of your waiter’s answer and the outright injustice of it all. “I’ve been here for over an hour, most of the people you have served came after me, I was first and yet they get their food before me…” “So what?” your waiter says, cutting you off mid-sentence. Of course, you can’t believe what he just said; you are at a loss for words. Your waiter looks toward three of his colleagues approaching, trays overloaded with soft drinks, ten double cheeseburgers and eighteen medium packets of chips

Your waiter smiles, “Here comes your order sir,” he tells you. “This is not my order,” you say as the three waiters carrying the trays begin to offload on your table. “What do you mean sir?” Your waiter seems genuinely surprised, “Did you not order, double cheeseburgers, medium chips and cokes.” “I ordered one double cheeseburger, one medium chips and one regular coke, not this mess.”  You are yelling now, beyond boiling point. “But sir, what difference does it make, whether we serve you first or last, two cheeseburgers or ten?” Your waiter asks sincerely, “Are you not the one who said, you do not need math?” You just sit there, unable to speak. “Oh yes, and this meal will cost you two hundred and thirty-seven thousand pounds. Now is that going to be cash or card?”

Ok, I admit that this is a bit extreme, or is it? Shakuntala Devi once wrote: “Without mathematics, there’s nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.”

I want you to ask yourself, what do you want for your future? Do you hope to own a house someday, own a car? Well, those come with payments like taxes, mortgage, and insurance and you will need math to calculate those or risk paying too much, two hundred and thirty-seven thousand pounds for a cheeseburger as an example.

How about your career of choice? Math is needed for almost every single profession in the world. If you want to be a biologist, archaeologist, an attorney or work as a cashier at Tesco, it is without a doubt that numbers will be part and parcel of the job. Basically, you will never be able to live without math so accept it and try to make learning math fun.

A friend once told me, “I want to be a photographer, what do I need to know about calculus or trigonometry?” Well, that is quite simple actually, a photographer will need to calculate the depth of field, determine the correct film speed, shutter speed, aperture, and exposure, and so much more.

Do you like playing video games, Playstation, Xbox, Wii, and others? Do you have a few killer ideas that you just know will make great games? If so, guess what? Math is a necessity. Aspiring video game programmers will need to study trigonometry, physics, and calculus.

As a boy, I had dreams of becoming an astronaut, “to go where no man has gone before.” If that’s you, then consider this, astronauts use maths in order to make precise mathematical calculations, from how the spacecraft leaves Earth’s atmosphere to how the astronauts pilot the craft. So no math, no Captain Kirk.

Math is a necessity and when considering the uses and benefits thereof there are a number of reasons to learn math:

  • Develop your “lifelong learning” skills:  Asking others for help, looking stuff up, learning to deeply focus on tasks, being organized, etc.
  • Develop your work ethic:  Not making excuses, not blaming others, not being lazy, being on time, not giving up so easily, etc.  This is more important for “success” than raw IQ. There is no shortcut.
  • Get better at learning complicated things.  You are less afraid of complex ideas and classes.
  • Develop pride & confidence in your ability to understand complicated things.  This is not fake self-esteem, but one that is earned.
  • Certain careers in science, health, technology, and engineering require serious Math skills.

Studies suggest that intelligent & motivated people are generally more interesting and happier. Your frontal lobe is not done developing until the age of  25-27. The more things you can learn before reaching that age, the more things you can learn over your lifetime. A survey concluded that 20% to 40% of college freshmen take remedial courses.  Do you want to retake high school courses in college, or do you want to take real college classes?

If you need assistance with Maths or English, sign up for GT Scholars flagship programme, GT Scholars Academic  Programme. This programme not only has tutoring in Maths or English, but also provides skill-building, enrichment and mentoring.  Keep a lookout for our enrichment days and our skill-building workshops by signing up to our newsletter.

Could a fixed mindset be preventing your child from learning?

Could a fixed mindset be preventing your child from learning?

Growth mindset Parents Private tutoring What's new?

Parents have a direct impact on their child’s mindset, and the same can be said of a carer or teacher, even they can potentially influence a child’s mindset. Children observe their parents’ actions and language and use that to set the bar on what is expected of them. You can manifest a growth mindset in your child by being aware of your daily interactions. Always be aware of how you praise them. Talk to them about how the brain works and how it learns. It is also important to teach them how to deal with failure and transforming mistakes into learning opportunities.

Mental and emotional development
A study investigated the influence a parent’s emotional investment had on a child’s emotional susceptivity and competence. The results concluded that the parent’s emotional involvement does affect the emotional competence and regulation of a child. Much has been said of the relationship between a child and their parent, but a child’s learning capacity does not solely rest with their parents. Teachers, guardians, role models, and even coaches may play a huge role in a child’s learning potential and their ability to fulfil it.

Failure mindset
One of the basic mindsets that may pass on and influence children, is their view of failure, or “failure mindset”. Mindset scholar Carol Dweck and Kyla Haimovitz did a study on ‘’failure mindset and found that a parent who viewed failure as debilitating, was concerned about their child’s abilities. Therefore they focused on whether or not they were successful instead of helping them to learn from their failure. As a parent, your belief about failure can also predict your child’s mindset regarding intelligence. A parent’s perspective on failure has huge implications on how they perceive failures. Difficulties that their children may face and these behavioural differences may affect their children’s view on intelligence and ability. Encouraging parents to adopt a failure is enhancing perceptive, could make a big difference to their children, allowing them to develop a growth mindset about intelligence.

Become more invested
There’s no doubt that one of the most prevalent learning tools available to a child or young person is their parents, guardian or teacher. Without knowing they pass multiple actions and reactions, emotions and mindsets. To ensure that the right attributes and mindsets are passed on to our child we can make an active decision to be more invested. Make time to truly invest emotionally in your child and their development. One effective way to do this is to join a group that share the same focus, as it can remove some of the isolation that may come with the journey of being a parent. It can also help to keep you more involved in your child’s life. Sharing experiences and solutions may also offer a new perspective on the development of a child.

Be an example
Children normally look at their parents and use them as an example on how to act and react to situations, especially on an emotional level. An emotion that can easily be passed on to your child is a positive attitude. This does certainly not mean ignoring the negative, but rather choosing to focus on the possibility of a positive outcome. Someone who is a positive thinker acknowledges a situation and approaches it productively. Positive thinking stems from a neutral situation such as starting a new job, a new school, meeting a new teacher or making new friends, in which the positive thinker chooses to focus on the positive aspect of the situation and aims to make more of it. The best way to foster positive thinking onto your child is to be a role model. The more optimistic a parent is, the better a child can understand the principle and implement it into their own life. Be expressive about it. When in a neutral situation such as the changing to a new school, engage with your child, ask what there is to look forward to? If they reflect a negative attitude, help them re-align it, with aid and advice. Reassure them that the worry they feel is only going to worsen things and that they should rather be open-minded and embrace the change and see it as an adventure with new opportunities and a chance to make new friends. By taking on this approach you will aid them in forming a positive attitude from the situation.

Acknowledge negative situations
Having a positive attitude does not make you oblivious to the negative. Acknowledge the downside but emphasize how dwelling on the negative points will not help the situation. If your child has a broken arm you must show empathy and acknowledge the pain with reassuring statements like “I know your arm is in pain and it’s making you feel upset” but always remember to also offer an alternative to negative attitude as well. You can suggest that you can draw some awesome pictures on his cast and get his friends to do the same. The earlier you teach your child the principle of positive thinking, the more equipped they can become in applying it when they are faced with a negative situation and they are on their own.
Remember that although parents do play a vital part in the development of a child, they are not the single variable that may dictate a child’s learning potential. The environment, peers and teachers contribute almost just as much. The building blocks, however, does start at home and parents can definitely provide a solid foundation that can form the basis of a child’s mindset.

Programs such as the GT scholars programme offers an enriched environment, promoting growth and learning, with high impact courses, workshops and programmes are designed to give young people aged 11-16 the strategies and skills they need to achieve their aspirations. If you would like to keep up to date with the latest enrichment activities and workshops in and around London, sign up to our newsletter.