Dr. Tilak S. Fernando Interview with Dr. Hector
Perera
Q. From your CV I
note you are a devout mentor. What is your specialised field?
A. I am a Chemistry and Science teacher, graduated in
England with a BSc (Hon), MSc and a PhD in synthetic Organic chemistry. I
have many years of teaching experience in schools in London, Kingston Upon
Thames (Surrey) and in Maidstone (Kent).
Q. During your teaching careers what has struck you
most in students?
A. The main factor was the non-existence of motivation
and abilities - in certain students.
Q. How did you help them in such state of affairs?
A. With my first hand experience, I helped them to
understand the subject easily by giving them simplified work to build up
their confidence. Web site is updated 07.04.2010
Q. As a teacher how do you see yourself different from
others?
A. Being a teacher, I have seen and experienced how
teaching is conducted in certain schools in the UK and what and how
children learn. Believe you me, it is sad to say that in certain situations
the teachers just requests the students to copy the text book -
that’s all to their teaching and learning process by students! This
is what some teachers do, I must admit. On the contrary my teaching is
quite different to such modules. I address students’ difficulties
directly, give explanatory model answers and explain how I came to such
conclusions. In most of the published general model Q & A books what is
given is only brief answers but not in detail. When I was a teacher at
Davies's College, Holborn, London (private) every single student got
through the exam with either an A grading or A Star. I still preserve a
congratulatory letter given to me by the Principal of Davies’s
College to this effect.
Q. Have you not initiated Distance Learning programmes
of late? .
A. On the Internet or Distance Learning as it is now
widely known; I help any student even across the seas. This is the modern
technique to teach whereby students can access my website
www.chemistry4u.co.uk whenever there is a need for them to seek help. In
return I send the work directly to their computer. Some Model Q & A suitable for 2010 Exams are ready now.
Q. How user friendly is your web sites? Model Q&A CD £15.50.
A The tuition work is clearly labelled to make students
identify their individual groups. For personal guidance I can be contacted
by e-mail on: chemistry4u@tiscali.co.uk. I would like more and more Chemistry students to make use of
my E- learning service by accessing www.chemistry4u.co.uk for resourceful
information. Any student can e-mail me.
Q. How is the student response generally? GCSE Chemistry CD only £15/50, book extra.
A. It has been enormous and they come from all over the
world. I am quite enchanted when they come back after their exams and thank
me for achieving higher-grade passes.
Q. Have you not diversified your teaching to other
subjects on the Internet?
A. Why not? Since October 2001, I have a separate
website for GCSE Science, students and it acts as a good guide to help
students in their MOCK examinations. Now they can look forward to 2010 GCSE
exams. I have prepared a selections of topics for this exam.
Q. How much do you charge for that service?
A. I do not concentrate on a fee strictly as the main
criterion in my work. I offer tuition to Primary School Children for SATS
and GCSE students (aged 14-16 yrs) and Advanced Level students aged 17-18
years. Initially students are welcome to access my website easily.
Q. These days the word private tuition is a
money-spinner, especially with science subjects. How & why do you offer
this service ‘free of charge’?
A. There are two types or tuition that I offer.
Distance learning on the Internet and one- to- one private tuition lessons.
I must say one to one private tuition is expensive to parents but Internet
tuition is very cost effective and efficient. I think INTERNET TUITION is a
‘FREEDOM PASS’ for students, whenever they want to learn
without having to queue up for costly private TUITION classes. Revision Model Q & A for 2010 Exams are ready NOW.
Q. Do you mean you conducts fee paying tuition classes
also? Order
your CD model Q&A.
A. GCE Advanced Level private tuition has to be done on
a one- to- one
basis if students are to benefit properly
and not otherwise. If you were to look at other private tutor’s fees
generally, the fee would be in the range £15 - £25 for this
type of tuition. But on the Internet what I do is to give FREE tuition to
begin with, then at a later stage
if and only they really like my work they
are welcome to pay whatever
they can afford. To simplify this let me
say that for Internet Tuition I keep the cost down as low as £3.00 per lesson for GCE Advanced
Level Chemistry; For GCSE Chemistry or Science lessons just £2.00 per
lesson. Who else would you think teach for
this kind of fees? Can I be more reasonable than this? As a dedicated
teacher I make it flexible by offering help from my site on the Internet
(www.chemistry4u.co.uk ) for those who cannot afford to pay such high private tuition fees.
My site is open to everybody at FREE of charge, then if they want tuition
to their requirements then they are welcomed to pay but a small fee. GCSE
CD includes work from more than 30 topics for £15/50.
Q. This is quite incredible in a world where we live in
today as nothing is given free of charge. I am sure you must be the only
tutor who offers this sort of service.
A. As a teacher, in a true sense, I try to be very
reasonable. During the period 1980-1994, I had a lot of students; some of
my past students are qualified doctors today. It gives me the pleasure of
thinking that I have been a success in the vocation I chose as a career.
Q. Apart from being happy with your success have you
not thought of putting all that knowledge and experience in a textbook
form?
A. Actually, positive feedbacks from my students have
made me think that it’s worthwhile to compile my work into a book
form.
Q. So what have you done it so far?
A. Yes, I have compiled two books covering model
questions and answers - one for the GCSE level and the other for the GCE
Advanced Level students and GCE As Level students.
The GCSE book titled The CHEMISTRY GCSE Exam Target,
Model Questions and Answers (ISBN
0 9534669 0 6) is already in print (Printing by Ability Printers.
Middlesex. Harrow). This model Q&A Book
has more up to date questions and answers from all areas of the GCSE
Science Syllabus suitable for 2010 and acts as a good guide to help
students in their MOCK examinations as well as it gives exam techniques,
what to write, how to write with examples and supplementary notes which
makes it different from other similar books. The book explores a rich
variety of possible GCSE Chemistry topics covering more than 35 topics. The
aim of the book is to maximize the students’ achievement, raise their
standard and inspire the confident of passing GCSE Chemistry or the
Chemistry section in GCSE Science, which is made, by the combination of
three science subjects called Physics, Chemistry and Biology. It will help
in preparing for any science exam for 14-16 old children in England or in
whole of UK.
Q. Where is it available for sale?
A. As the printing has been done by me it is available
in some bookshops only at present and I need to find a suitable publisher
to make it widely available. However, one can order the book directly from
the author at a
student-discounted rate by e-mail- the
address is the website www.chemistry4u.co.uk.
The email address: chemistry4u@tiscali.co.uk
I am glad to say a few more bookshops are interested in the GCSE Chemistry
Book for sale. Work may be available in a CD! Email
today to get your model Q&A CD, £15.50, GCSE Chemistry model
Q&A extra.
The GCE Advanced Level Chemistry Model Q&A book is
ready for publication and I am on the look out for a suitable publisher.
Although the book is still pending publication, I give out some of the text
in it to students on request. Furthermore, I would modify this work [CH1,
CH2, CH3 etc] as required by individual students and send tutorials through
the INTERNET or on a CD or may be even in printed form and sent to
students. There is a huge synthetic organic chemistry chart and these
cannot be sent through Internet but can be posted, it is a must for all of
you.
Apart from Chemistry, for GCSE students, I also offer
GCSE Science work on topics such as Humans as Organisms, Darwin’s
theory of Evolution, Electricity and Magnetism, Light and Sound. Some of
this work is accessible on my website FREE of charge. Students are welcomed
to request these work. Get ready for 2010 Exams
from right now!!!
Avoid
disappointment, be confident, it's you have to decide, pass or not pass
your GCSE. I know from my past experience how hard it was but now I want to
help.
Q. What advice would you give to GCSE students who will
read this interview, worldwide?
A. My Chemistry GCSE Model Questions and Answers are
suitable for all GCSE Double and Single Science students and for Chemistry
GCSE separate Science students. You need to ask only one question from
yourselves: Do
you really need to pass your GCSE Chemistry? If the answer is yes, then you are in the right place, please
e-mail me on chemistry4u@tiscali.co.uk.
The web site is www.chemistry4u.co.uk
. This site will be updated regularly with more up to date work for GCSE,
GCE Ad Level and GCE Advanced Supplementary Level students. Some other
topics, which will be included in the GCSE Science work, would be Humans as
Organisms, Darwin’s theory of Evolution, Electricity and Magnetism,
Light and Sound. Also there will be a special slot in the website for some
Primary School science suitable for SATS as well. Try my Internet Tuition for FREE in the web sites then you
decide, buy or not to buy. The CD are made on individual basis, please let
me know what do you want in it.
