http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,211951,00.html?
Their teacher, their guardian
Tuition teacher, 25, is guardian to 55 foreign students
By Teh Jen Lee
August 29, 2009
TEACHER, COOK AND MORE: Ms Lam Bao Yan (centre, in white dress) surrounded by her student charges. At the age of 25, she runs homestays and plays 'guardian' to more than 50 foreign students. --TNP PICTURE: KUA CHEE SIONG
SHE'S only 25 but already a 'mum' to 55 foreign students.
Ms Lam Bao Yan is the director of Glory Education Services, which provides lodging and tuition services to overseas students.
She's also the 'official guardian' of the students - she takes them to the doctor when they are sick, attends parent-teacher conferences, applies for student passes, goes over their homework and even counsels those with disciplinary issues.
Ms Lam started the company three years ago, when she was still in the final year of her studies for a business management degree with Singapore Institute of Management-Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
She never imagined herself doing all this at such a young age, but a car accident in April 2006 changed everything. She was unhurt, but needed money to repair the car. So a friend suggested she give tuition.
'I began to teach English to groups of foreign students,' said Ms Lam.
Soon after that, her students' parents, who were overseas, asked her to take care of their children because they were not doing well under their guardians.
Ms Lam said: 'The students complained about sleeping on the floor, being cramped in a room of eight people and not getting enough food. When they were sick, no one took care of them.
'Since I was giving tuition in the students' homes, I would see them more often than the guardians.'
Initially, she was hesitant about starting a business with no experience and little capital, but the parents, many of whom were in business, assured her that they would help to market her.
With their encouragement and the help of her teacher, Ms Goh Ai Yat, associate lecturer with SIM, Ms Lam took the plunge, investing $25,000 of her savings.
'It was all the money I made giving tuition,' said MsLam, whose company turnover hit $300,000 last year.
Word of mouth
She started with five students and today has 55 charges from various countries including China, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Israel and Russia.
Most of the students live in the five houses that she has rented - four in Upper Thomson and one in Khatib. The rest live in homestays with families in a mixture of housing types that are nearer to their schools.
The majority of students are below 18 years old and are in secondary school.
The hardest part of Ms Lam's job is convincing parents to trust her despite her age.
She said: 'Some parents were wary because I'm only a bit older than their children. But with word-of-mouth recommendations, I've never had to advertise.'
It also helps when Ms Lam's students achieve good academic results. She arranges tuition for about a third of her students and personally tutors about a dozen of the weaker ones.
She teaches mainly English and the humanities such as geography and literature.
She claimed: 'Eighty per cent of those who were doing poorly would end up in the top five of their class after being with me. I let my work speak for itself.'
In the beginning, it was a steep learning curve for her as she grappled with managing every aspect of the households under her.
'I did everything on my own - including cooking, washing clothes, cleaning toilets, fixing light bulbs.
'Besides the chores, I also needed to know how to care for children psychologically, physically and emotionally,' she said.
She has since hired two domestic helpers, but she is still hands-on, especially when it comes to nutrition.
'I do it (shopping and cooking) myself because I want the children to get a balanced diet,' said Ms Lam, who gets around with the help of a car.
The food is cooked in one of the Upper Thomson houses and distributed to the other three houses. For the Khatib house, food is catered.
The homes have strict rules. Lights are out by 10pm. Smoking, drinking and vulgarities are not allowed.
Ms Lam is not afraid to take drastic action. She once confronted a 14-year-old student who kept sneaking out in the wee hours of the night and told her to shape up or ship out.
'I booked a plane ticket for her to go back to China within two days. Even though it cut into my income, I was serious. It really shook her up and the very next week, she changed for the better,' said Ms Lam.
But she's not just an authoritative figure. When The New Paper visited her at one of the homes on Wednesday, it was evident that she cared for the children.
Without needing to refer to an organiser, she reminded them about their exam dates and orientation schedules.
'I know all their names and birthdays,' said MsLam, rattling off the birthday of her youngest charge, 9-year-old Voice Excelsis from Indonesia.
Said Voice: 'Ms Lam is like my mum. She helps me with my school work.'
Long Le Ying, 15, from China, said: 'Living here is almost like living at home. The environment is good. Plus I get to meet people from different countries.'
Ms Lam, who is single, said the job comes at a cost to her social life.
'My commitment is to the kids. Any time they need me, like if they are sick in the middle of the night, I've to go,' she said.
But she has never thought of giving it up.
'I can't imagine doing any other job. The satisfaction of seeing the children blossom under my care is priceless.'
Their teacher, their guardian
Tuition teacher, 25, is guardian to 55 foreign students
By Teh Jen Lee
August 29, 2009
TEACHER, COOK AND MORE: Ms Lam Bao Yan (centre, in white dress) surrounded by her student charges. At the age of 25, she runs homestays and plays 'guardian' to more than 50 foreign students. --TNP PICTURE: KUA CHEE SIONG
SHE'S only 25 but already a 'mum' to 55 foreign students.
Ms Lam Bao Yan is the director of Glory Education Services, which provides lodging and tuition services to overseas students.
She's also the 'official guardian' of the students - she takes them to the doctor when they are sick, attends parent-teacher conferences, applies for student passes, goes over their homework and even counsels those with disciplinary issues.
Ms Lam started the company three years ago, when she was still in the final year of her studies for a business management degree with Singapore Institute of Management-Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
She never imagined herself doing all this at such a young age, but a car accident in April 2006 changed everything. She was unhurt, but needed money to repair the car. So a friend suggested she give tuition.
'I began to teach English to groups of foreign students,' said Ms Lam.
Soon after that, her students' parents, who were overseas, asked her to take care of their children because they were not doing well under their guardians.
Ms Lam said: 'The students complained about sleeping on the floor, being cramped in a room of eight people and not getting enough food. When they were sick, no one took care of them.
'Since I was giving tuition in the students' homes, I would see them more often than the guardians.'
Initially, she was hesitant about starting a business with no experience and little capital, but the parents, many of whom were in business, assured her that they would help to market her.
With their encouragement and the help of her teacher, Ms Goh Ai Yat, associate lecturer with SIM, Ms Lam took the plunge, investing $25,000 of her savings.
'It was all the money I made giving tuition,' said MsLam, whose company turnover hit $300,000 last year.
Word of mouth
She started with five students and today has 55 charges from various countries including China, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Israel and Russia.
Most of the students live in the five houses that she has rented - four in Upper Thomson and one in Khatib. The rest live in homestays with families in a mixture of housing types that are nearer to their schools.
The majority of students are below 18 years old and are in secondary school.
The hardest part of Ms Lam's job is convincing parents to trust her despite her age.
She said: 'Some parents were wary because I'm only a bit older than their children. But with word-of-mouth recommendations, I've never had to advertise.'
It also helps when Ms Lam's students achieve good academic results. She arranges tuition for about a third of her students and personally tutors about a dozen of the weaker ones.
She teaches mainly English and the humanities such as geography and literature.
She claimed: 'Eighty per cent of those who were doing poorly would end up in the top five of their class after being with me. I let my work speak for itself.'
In the beginning, it was a steep learning curve for her as she grappled with managing every aspect of the households under her.
'I did everything on my own - including cooking, washing clothes, cleaning toilets, fixing light bulbs.
'Besides the chores, I also needed to know how to care for children psychologically, physically and emotionally,' she said.
She has since hired two domestic helpers, but she is still hands-on, especially when it comes to nutrition.
'I do it (shopping and cooking) myself because I want the children to get a balanced diet,' said Ms Lam, who gets around with the help of a car.
The food is cooked in one of the Upper Thomson houses and distributed to the other three houses. For the Khatib house, food is catered.
The homes have strict rules. Lights are out by 10pm. Smoking, drinking and vulgarities are not allowed.
Ms Lam is not afraid to take drastic action. She once confronted a 14-year-old student who kept sneaking out in the wee hours of the night and told her to shape up or ship out.
'I booked a plane ticket for her to go back to China within two days. Even though it cut into my income, I was serious. It really shook her up and the very next week, she changed for the better,' said Ms Lam.
But she's not just an authoritative figure. When The New Paper visited her at one of the homes on Wednesday, it was evident that she cared for the children.
Without needing to refer to an organiser, she reminded them about their exam dates and orientation schedules.
'I know all their names and birthdays,' said MsLam, rattling off the birthday of her youngest charge, 9-year-old Voice Excelsis from Indonesia.
Said Voice: 'Ms Lam is like my mum. She helps me with my school work.'
Long Le Ying, 15, from China, said: 'Living here is almost like living at home. The environment is good. Plus I get to meet people from different countries.'
Ms Lam, who is single, said the job comes at a cost to her social life.
'My commitment is to the kids. Any time they need me, like if they are sick in the middle of the night, I've to go,' she said.
But she has never thought of giving it up.
'I can't imagine doing any other job. The satisfaction of seeing the children blossom under my care is priceless.'
