Award-Winning and Multi-Lingual Tutor from LSE with 4000+ hours in tutoring A-level & GCSE Economics topic contents in Microeconomics & Macroeconomics, essay writing technique and revision strategies

Find out more about Dickson

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  My interest in private tutoring started when I was in high school, where I was tutoring students who were one or two years younger than me at GCSE levels. Ever since that age I found out that this is something that I am very capable of doing and also find meaningful in terms of making a difference to young people's lives. These are people who were struggling academically, who lacked confidence in themselves, who were not getting any help anywhere else. So when I realised the difference I was making in their academia and in their lives, it motivated me to turn this into a full time career.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  In terms of subject tutoring, I'm highly experienced in A-levels, GCSE and KS2/3 Maths and Economics. In terms of UK schools admissions, I specialise in 11+/13+/16+ ISEB & CAT4 Entrance Exam for competitive UK independent and grammar school admissions. In terms of top UK university emissions, I help students pick the right course and school/universities, draft personal statements, prepare for admission tests, create reading lists and super curricular activities, engage in the latest academic research and current affairs, and discuss future career plans.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  My role model would be my middle school tutor. When I first came to England, I didn't speak English very well and I found the culture shock and the academic approach here to be completely alien to me. But my tutor never gave up on me; instead he was patient, kind and gentle and was with me every step along the way until I graduated from high school. The belief that he instilled in me is something that I still take with me today and it is my intention to pass that onto the next generation of students, and do to them what my tutor did for me.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Knowledge, communication skills, motivational skills and the ability to build a close relationship with their tuttees are the qualities of a top tutor. Whilst knowledge is obviously important, the purpose of a tutoring session is not defined by how much a tutor speaks and teaches, but rather how much the tutee absorbs and remembers. So then it begs the question: what does it take for a duty to absorb and remember as much as possible? That's when the other three qualities come in. To build a close relationship with the tutee so that they're willing to listen to what you say, then explaining complex concepts in a manner that they understand, and motivating them to engage with the materials during and after the session in order to maximise learning, improve academic performance and ultimately, achieve the best possible results

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  During World War II, Britain faced severe food shortages. The government had to design a rationing system that would distribute food fairly, efficiently, and keep public morale high—an incredibly complex economic problem. To solve it, they turned to a young economist and mathematician named Roy Geary. Geary applied mathematical optimization and economic modeling to determine the ideal balance of caloric intake, nutritional needs, and supply constraints. His use of linear programming principles saw public health in Britain improve during the war years, with average nutrition levels going up despite the shortages. So Economics and Maths is not just for academia, it also guides real decisions that affect millions of lives.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  The challenge with Economics is that it’s a current-affairs application subject, meaning that both tutors and students will constantly have to be up to date on the latest economic research and macroeconomic trends in order to understand how local and international government policies impact people and the economy. Having said that, it is not difficult to overcome such challenges as long as efforts are put into reading a variety of materials and reports, we will ultimately translate to better understanding of the subject and ultimately better grades.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  Alongside my private tutoring, I'm also a qualified UEFA football coach. I found there to be a lot of overlap between coaching football and private tutoring - both involve me passing on my knowledge and skills that I cultivated over many years to the next generation of young people, with the only difference being the former on grass and the latter in a classroom. To me, they are both equally enjoyable and those moments of satisfaction come when I see improvement in self-confidence, in performance and in results for those that I'm helping.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  As an Award-Winning and multi-lingual (Mandarin, Cantonese and English) tutor, I accumulated over 4000+ hours of tutoring experience, with every student I tutored oversaw an improvement in performance and grades. 97% of my A-Level students achieve at least Grade B or higher, with 72% achieving A*&A. And I boast a 100% success rate when it comes to my GCSE students achieving at least Grade 6. Students I have tutored have gained entry to / are currently studying in top UK schools such as King's School Wimbledon, St Paul's, Dulwich College, Wycombe Abbey, Cheltenham Ladies College etc, and some of the best UK universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, the LSE, UCL, King's College London etc.