'I'm your war mate now': The tutors who retake O-Level exams and use TikTok to connect with students
Most people sit for the GCE O-Level examinations once in their lives. Linus Lin has taken them every year for the past decade.
The 45-year-old co-founder of tuition centre Keynote Learning first attempted the exams in 2015, at the suggestion of another co-founder, Ho Meng Yeng, who thought it might help him better understand what their students were going through.
Ms Ho, the centre's head of English, has been sitting the English language O-level paper since 2013.
"So I went and ever since, I have been hooked," said Mr Lin, who's the head of department for Science in the centre.
Retaking O-Levels to relate to students
Mr Lin, who holds a computer science degree but chose to teach instead, has made sitting the annual exams part of his routine.
He started with physics and chemistry, added English in 2016, and later took on biology to experience what it felt like to learn an entirely new subject.
"I wanted to understand my students' anxiety and how they think," said Mr Lin. "So I need to subject myself to that kind of situation where I felt so unprepared, but needed to pass an exam even though I didn't know anything about it, and had no time to study."
Going through the process, he added, helped him better relate to his students' struggles. For instance, he could "really empathise" with them when they complained of heavy workloads and exam stress.
"I can understand them, I can share my story and encourage them. I can also help them with their time management," Mr Lin said.
TikTok and Labubu: Keeping lessons engaging
Other tutors have turned to different methods.
Daniel Tay, 39, founder of Bestminds Academy, uses TikTok videos to "connect with students in a more personal, flexible way".
Inspired by other tutors' short clips, he began producing his own science content, weaving in pop culture elements such as Labubu figurine unboxings to capture attention.
He felt this made lessons more engaging and effective. "Entertainment is the hook, not the lesson itself," he told The New Paper.
With attention spans shrinking, he believes it is "crucial to engage them quickly". He also incorporates polls, quizzes and live interactions into his sessions.
Ahead of major exams like the PSLE, he hosts TikTok Live lessons that often draw large audiences.
These sessions feel like a "combination of study and entertainment - exactly what Gen Alpha responds to", he said.
'War mates', not just teachers
For Mr Lin, retaking O-Levels exams each year has shaped his teaching style, making lessons "less boring and academic, and more real-life related".
When students complain about the exams, he can relate - and join in.
"I began to realise I'm like fighting a war with them. I'm not a teacher anymore, I'm your war mate," Mr Lin said.
He said he hopes to be the kind of teacher students feel at ease with, "someone they know is in the same boat". His own exam experience, he added, also gives them confidence in his guidance.
Similarly, Mr Tay said adopting trends has made him more adaptable to how children learn today.
"I'm always trying to meet them where they are instead of expecting them to adapt to me. It's made me focus on engagement first, then content," he said.
Teachers as 'mentors'
Some parents have questioned why he does not simply keep up with changes using past-year papers. But Mr Lin, who has been a tuition teacher since his 20s, insists working through papers is nothing like experiencing the exams himself.
Teachers "should not be just teachers", he said. "We have the luxury to be mentors."
To be a teacher, Mr Lin said, is to "inspire" and "connect" with students - whether by drawing from real experiences or experimenting with creative ways to keep them invested.
One parent, Rui Ling, whose two daughters are under Mr Lin's guidance, felt his approach gave him an advantage.
"I was surprised, but also reassured, knowing my child is in good hands," she said.
Rui Ling, in her early 40s, told TNP she first enrolled her teenage daughters, aged 14 and 13, in 2023 to prepare them for the PSLE. She noted that the quality of teaching "can vary depending on the teacher's methods and attitude".
While a child's efforts play a big role in how much they benefit from tuition, she believes Mr Lin's firsthand exam experience helps him "relate better" to students, as he stays updated with exam formats and challenges, and understands "exactly what the students are going through".
It is certainly not easy being a tutor, acknowledged Mr Lin. But adopting the mindset of a mentor and role model will "change the way you connect with the kids - and it has an effect on them".
These days, some students even confide in him about non-academic matters. To him, such "little gestures" show they see him as "someone they trust".
"I value that - and that's my trophy, not their A1s," said Mr Lin.
