Blossom Learning that's Fun: How one woman is tutoring to make a difference in Ballarat

When Christine Phillips was a Teacher's Aide it broke her heart daily to see the gap widening between the kids who could and the kids who couldn't. She watched little boys start school as promising little preppies and gradually develop behaviour problems and get left out in the corridor. The kids she worked with had average ability, but for various reasons they were left behind and started playing up instead.

Christine decided to make it her mission to find out how to help such children to learn to read and write and succeed at learning!

Christine's motto greets you at the door

She went on to complete a 4 year Teaching Degree and her own academic research into the most effective methods for teaching reading and spelling, to help those children being neglected by the system. In 2011, Christine dedicated the whole year and her own finances to complete the Reading Recovery Course for Teachers, so that she could develop her skills and also find out for herself what the program was like (she had discovered both positive and negative opinions about the effectiveness of Reading Recovery). During that time, she worked voluntarily at school, with kids from low socio-economic backgrounds, successfully bringing most of them from about a reading level 5 to level 21 in one semester. In addition, Christine believes phonics is extremely beneficial and has completed additional Teacher training in this area.

Today Christine is running her own Tutoring Centre in Ballarat, helping parents change the lives of their children. Having grown up children of her own she knows how tough it is to have 3 individual personalities with completely different needs, and knows it can be a struggle sometimes to work out the problem or the solution. And being a part of the Ballarat Community Christine understands the economic climate of the region and can relate to the tough times families often face. This is when she says she's not in it for the money, it's about helping the kids. (A woman after my own heart!) During the year she funds scholarships through the local schools making tutoring more accessible to the kids who's family might not be able to afford it.

Part of the main room

As a member of the Australian Tutoring Association Christine prides herself on providing only the best quality to her students and with the ATA's strict criteria for membership the Tutors she employs are experts in their field. I made the mistake of assuming that an Accountant would make a great Math tutor...apparently that's not quite so. But all these tutors are highly skilled and love working with kids, hence their Working With Children Checks for peace of mind.

Who doesn't love sitting on a ball while studying? Makes it more fun!

The tutoring centre is not just Christine's business, it's her mission in life to help make the world a better place by educating the kids who need it the most. She is surrounded by a supportive network of teachers she meets up with regularly and can call on any time with any problem and together they will find an answer. That's just the sort of person she is. A Problem Solver.

A beautiful bush walk while you wait.

While I was there chatting I could see the way her eyes lit up when she started talking about why she opened the centre. A beautiful lady with a heart of gold, working to make a difference. You don't find people like that every day.