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March 29, 2024, 05:24:59 am

Author Topic: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)  (Read 5986 times)  Share 

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JR_StudyEd

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Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« on: May 11, 2019, 08:23:20 pm »
+2
Ok, so during the AN lectures which I attended in the school holidays just gone by, they mentioned AN's aim to be something along the lines of 'leveling the playing field for all students'. I live in the western suburbs of Melbourne, and according to Google Maps, the closest Tutesmart centre to where I call home is Moonee Ponds, a decent drive of ~40 minutes away (add an hour to that by taking public transport).

When they introduced the AN lectures with that line of 'leveling the playing field for all students', I kind of thought to myself, why do the eastern suburbs get TWO centres, and the west gets none, if equity is AN's ultimate goal? (Does Moonee Ponds even qualify as a 'western suburb'?) AN and Tutesmart are pretty new, I know that, however I would like to let those of authority around here (particularly those from VIC) know that AN should at least consider starting up a new Tutesmart centre somewhere in the western suburbs. It's a rapidly growing area, for those in the east who are completely unaware of what goes on at the other side of town.

And yes, I'm aware of the whole online Tutesmart thing, but since I still live in the suburbs (barely), I 99.99% don't qualify as someone who lives in a rural/regional area.

- Written by a western suburbian student who is aware of the rapidly growing population in my neck of the woods, and knows that sooner or later, the future students of Melbourne's outer west will indeed have high-achieving academic aspirations, require that vital support network, and need Tutesmart to be much more convenient and accessible than it is right now.
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jamonwindeyer

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Re: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2019, 01:47:23 am »
+17
Hey there!! Going to answer this as 'those of authority' and as a fellow westie (just in NSW not Victoria). I'm about 1.5 hours west of Sydney, and like you, I'm just inside the suburbs - The 'rural line' is the next street over from me ;D so first off - Feel you. Geographic distance is a significant limiting factor to these sorts of things, I felt it in my HSC as you are feeling it now in the VCE :)

Equity is absolutely AN's ultimate goal. If you look at what we do, that's super clear. Free notes, free lectures, free resources, cheap tutoring - The biggest access barrier to educational resources is financial, and we (even if we do say so ourselves) are doing a damn good job tearing that barrier down. But of course, as you allude to, other barriers exist - Geographic barriers are one of those, and those are harder to overcome.

As you say, Tutesmart is new (relatively speaking) and we want to reach as many students as possible. This means putting centres where most students want them, which inevitably means they'll go into city centres first. I don't want you to think that this is just another "let's ignore the west who cares" scenario - AN isn't like that, it's a big part of the reason I got involved with AN in the first place. But at the same time, I don't expect a Tutesmart centre to open in my suburb - My suburb and surrounds probably host a couple hundred Year 12 students. Our Tutesmart centre in Sydney is close to thousands of Year 12 students. To have the most impact, Tutesmart needs to go to the students ;D

This said, feedback 100% received. As Tutesmart grows, we will be able to do more! I genuinely hope that means we can do things that are a little closer for students in your area, because you are right - You guys deserve it. Fingers crossed we can make something happen down the line! In the meantime, the amount of free online VCE content ATAR Notes offers is unparalleled, and we're pretty proud of that as something that can help any student, anywhere, at any time ;D
« Last Edit: May 12, 2019, 01:50:04 am by jamonwindeyer »

J_Rho

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Re: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2019, 04:45:09 pm »
+1
Suggestion: Open a center down Gippsland way like even Pakenham area would be fantastic cause a lot of my friends want tutoring but the closest tutoring center is like 2 hours away, but I know that a hour drive to get tutoring is more manageable.
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Joseph41

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Re: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2019, 12:58:59 pm »
+3
@JR @Jade

100% loud and clear - reinforcing what Jamon's said in that your feedback has been heard, and we're doing our absolute best to help as many students as possible. ✌️

Thanks so much for the post - I think it was a really good one!

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sowhat

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Re: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2019, 02:23:39 pm »
+2
Just a question but, why is it always Melbourne!?!!
You say Vic but it just means Melbourne.

I know for a fact tutesmart would be well used in Cities such as Bendigo, Shepparton or Mildura...

Joseph41

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Re: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2019, 02:34:57 pm »
+1
Just a question but, why is it always Melbourne!?!!
You say Vic but it just means Melbourne.

I know for a fact tutesmart would be well used in Cities such as Bendigo, Shepparton or Mildura...

I think Jamon's post above covers this, but again, totally valid point and we hear you!

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Bri MT

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Re: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2019, 06:21:34 pm »
0
~I'm not affiliated w/ tutesmart

I've lived in the western suburbs (of vic) my whole life so I get where you're coming from.  I used to wake up super early to catch the vline into the city for lectures and the time waiting on and for the train definitely sucked. One thing I would say is that you can learn to make effective use of your travel time to help your studies when you do need to travel. This could be podcast, educational app, flashcards, even writing up an assignment. Yeah it's annoying & a disadvantage - I'm not denying that - but you can also improve it from being a complete waste.


Until I started going to Monash Clayton for uni I had no idea how many people lived and studied on the other side of the city or how big the tutoring culture was there. Tutesmart is still only fairly new - I remember when it didn't exist at all - and when you're starting an idea like this you need to first focus on making sure it actually works (at all) and picking the places where it's most likely to be successful. This means picking places more students frequent that are easy to access for the tutors (many of whom are uni students & often wouldn't have car access).
Again, I'm not part of tutesmart so idk how they made their decisions, but imo it would've been tragic if they tried at the start for a rural area or the west,  it didn't work, and then there was no tutesmart at all.

JR_StudyEd

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Re: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2019, 07:03:06 pm »
0
Just a question but, why is it always Melbourne!?!!
You say Vic but it just means Melbourne.

I know for a fact tutesmart would be well used in Cities such as Bendigo, Shepparton or Mildura...
I think all us urban dwellers are guilty of completely forgetting the existence of regional and rural areas and people who live in them. I'm sorry for sounding biased and narrow-minded in my OP. I am now much more aware that there are many people out there with the same aspirations to be beneficiaries of the Tutesmart program, but are even less likely to be able to access it than I am due to their geographic location. I was a little too passionate for my little part of the world, and I'm sorry for that.

I'm going to just clarify that I don't receive tutoring from Tutesmart right now. It sounded like my sort of thing until I found out how far the closest centre is, and how I'm technically ineligible for the online program. That put me off it. I don't know if any others are of the same opinion, but regardless of my geographic location, I would benefit much more from a tutoring service that is physical rather than virtual. The real-life accountability this provides would be, imo, a more effective form of help and support.

Also one additional question: How does AN decide where to set up new Tutesmart centres? What considerations have to be made? (other than what Bri MT already mentioned?)

EDIT: OR should I just leave my suggestions to be dealt with by the higher-ups, and just be content with the status quo?
« Last Edit: May 13, 2019, 07:07:33 pm by JR_StudyEd »
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jamonwindeyer

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Re: Future Tutesmart centres? (In VIC)
« Reply #8 on: May 14, 2019, 05:22:58 pm »
+5
Also one additional question: How does AN decide where to set up new Tutesmart centres? What considerations have to be made? (other than what Bri MT already mentioned?)

We decide where new centres go based on where we think they'll be able to benefit the most students - Further details than that are probably unnecessary, because that's what it really comes down to however you look at it!

To pick Bendigo as an example from above - Google tells me population of Bendigo is 140,000. It tells me population of Melbourne is 4.4 million. So when we want to benefit lots of students, ultimately, we have to go to Melbourne first because it means we can impact more people! Just the same, in my state we go to Sydney before we go to Bathurst, because that's what we need to do.

We 100% hear where you guys are coming from, and it's why we put just as much effort into our online resources. Those resources can benefit everyone in Melbourne, everyone in Bendigo, and everyone in between. I work with ATAR Notes because of this - Because they offer the online option for Tutesmart for those who live far from a centre, and because they put just as much energy into free resources and events that can be accessed by anyone. While we can't open a centre in every city in the country, our resources can be downloaded and used by every Year 11/12 student, and you can use the online option for TS if you can't get to a centre. That emphasis on accessibility is unparalleled and something I'm really proud to be a part of  :)