In 2016 I became a mother, and something shifted. I had spent years as a school teacher, teaching every level, grading exams, coaching students through their struggles. I loved it. But when my firstborn arrived, I wanted something the public service could not give me: control over my time. So in 2017 I left, and shortly after I started Genius Plus Academy.
It was a single 260 square foot unit. No students, no staff, just me. I wrote my own curriculum, designed my own flyers, then went out to distribute them, collected fees, and ran everything solo for a while. Then students started joining, and parents started referring friends.
Around 2019 I decided to build comprehensive textbooks and workbooks for every level: four textbooks per level, three to five workbooks per level, seven to nine books in total per level. My friends thought I was mad. "These books will only benefit ten to twelve students per level," they said. "Why cap your class size? You have a waitlist. Just expand."
I thought about it, and said no. With six to eight students, everyone sits within reach. I can walk around, check their work, give instant feedback, build rapport, motivate them individually. In a larger class I could still do these things, but each child would get less of me. That trade-off was not worth it.
I have four boys. They are completely different from each other. One is athletic, one is artistic, one can solve a Rubik's cube faster than I can scramble it. Some are intrinsically motivated, others need external encouragement. This shapes how I think about curriculum design. In every class there will be stronger students and weaker ones. The weaker students need foundational support, scaffolding and encouragement to keep trying. The stronger students need challenge, or they will get bored. My curriculum has to stretch every child to their potential.
Some principles never change. Students need solid grounding in foundational concepts before anything else. Teachers should teach one, guide one, then let students try one independently. Feedback matters; targeted feedback matters more; frequent feedback matters most. And consistency is key: you plan for success, you do not wish for it.
Beyond mechanics, students need motivation. They need small wins. When they start seeing those wins, it creates a positive feedback loop; they begin to want to do well, not because anyone is forcing them, but because success feels good.
As a mother of four, I will never tell you tuition is necessary. Every child is different, and every family's situation is different. For my own children, tuition is never the default. I always let them try the school system first; I was a school teacher, and I know how dedicated our educators are. When one of my boys needed extra support at school, I saw it as clarity, not failure: now I knew where he needed help. Within a year he was thriving.
Here is what I have learned: when a child does badly at something, they lose interest, and it can hurt their self esteem. Our job as parents is not to panic. It is to help them improve while showing them we love them regardless of the score. Tuition, in this light, is simply support, a way to help your child regain confidence.
Whenever I see your child in my class, I think of my own, and I want to do the same for yours. That is why I keep this centre going. Because it is meaningful work.
Here is to your child's success.
