Background
Hello! I am the founder, Ethan, I am 2022 Proxime Accessit of Westlake Boys High School and a New Zealand National Top Scholar. Immigrated to NZ at nine, I found English to be a herculean hurdle. With my parents’ support, I worked hard to retain my Chinese mother tongue whilst studying English; by Year 9, I finally became fluent, and subsequently developed a keen interest in English literature in my pursuit for academic excellence.
Looking back, having navigated these challenges myself, I fully understand the hurdles students face in their studies (particularly with English). I have always had thoughts for food, if only my younger self had the version of me today to help him in high school! Therefore, today I am delighted to have the opportunity to be not just a tutor, but a mentor in my students’ academic journey, university entrance, and career pathways.
My Story of Top in German
Academic Achievements
Westlake Boys Highschool
Proxime Accessit 2022
Top of Subject in Maths Extension
Top of Subject in Chemistry
Top of Subject in Accounting
Top of Subject in German
NZQA Scholarships
Scholarship = Top 3% | Outstanding Scholarship = Top 0.3%
Outstanding Scholarship in German – Top Scholar in German
Outstanding Scholarship in History
Outstanding Scholarship in Chemistry
Scholarship in Accounting
Scholarship in Chinese
Scholarship in English
University of Auckland
Top in Mathematics for Natural Sciences
Top in General Mathematics
Top 250 Undergraduate Students Scholarship
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Principles of Macroeconomics
My Philosophies
On Leaching
Contrary to common practise, the most effective learning strategy is not rote-learning, but rather, knowing what you are learning, develop an unquenchable interest, and cultivate your own study method. In other words, the skill of ‘learning how to learn’. I believe that you have unlocked and sharpened this skill to the level of proficiency, you might not achieve top a subject in the whole country as I have with German, but I am confident you will be ahead of 95% of your peers.
On Teaching
I believe good teachers are those who are expert in their subjects, and great teachers are those who are likewise, but also knows how it feels to fail, to not understand, to not get it, to have made all the mistakes in that subject, and to know the when it clicked. A teacher who can sympathise with their students and lead them out of the valleys in their academic journey. A great teacher is one who can be touched with all the feelings of the student’s weaknesses in that subject, who was once just like them yet has achieved what they want to achieve, that the students can then come to him/her with confidence to receive timely help. The problem with being “too good” at the subject you are teaching (from the perspective of the students), is that it is hard to step into their shoes, because you always just don’t really know what it feels like to not get it. And this is why I am willing to teacher and to mentor, especially, in the subject of English Literature.
