Founder's Story
Shoot for the moon. If you miss it, you will still land among the stars.
~ NORMAN VINCENT PEALE ~
Teaching and Writing Experience
Mrs Katherine Barg is an NIE-trained English teacher, who has taught in both Singapore and Australian schools. She worked as an MOE English and English Literature teacher before she left Singapore in 1999 for Sydney, where she continued her teaching career under the Department of Education in New South Wales. Upon returning to Singapore in December 2007, she worked at Singapore Management University, teaching writing to undergraduates.
In addition to her extensive classroom experience, she has published English assessment books for primary levels, taught writing workshops, designed language curricula, and trained English and writing teachers in both Singapore and Sydney. Since 2008, all but one of her private tuition students in Singapore who tried out her method have scored Distinction for their PSLE English examinations. The one child who improved his score from "F" to "B" worked with Katherine for less than three months. Katherine's work with students of all ages and backgrounds gives her a unique perspective to understand how students acquire language skills at different stages in their academic careers.
The Success of Her Writing Pedagogy
While living and teaching in Australia, Katherine founded Einstein's Planet, an English literacy centre in the prestigious North Shore of Sydney. Although many native speakers were initially sceptical of a Singaporean-run English school, the effectiveness of the methodology spoke for itself. Einstein's Planet's curriculum was so well received that the little school grew exponentially within three years, just by word of mouth. Students who graduated from the primary school programmes requested secondary school classes, and even native speakers were turning up to learn how to write well for their scholarship examinations.
As high-quality teachers of English are hard to come by, Katherine expanded her school cautiously. Together with her dedicated staff, the school provided broad-based English enrichment classes with a heavy emphasis on writing skills and strategies. As a result, even students learning English as a second language were excelling in the subject in Australian schools.
Many students went from borderline cases to scoring Distinctions and High Distinctions in the annual UNSW Writing and English Competitions. Many of Katherine's students also gained entry into "Opportunity Class" in primary schools, which accepts only exceptional students (much like the GEP in Singapore). The little Singaporean-run English school became an urban legend in many immigrant communities in Sydney, and there were year-long waiting lists for classes at Einstein's Planet.
Her Continued Pursuit of Excellence in Singapore
In 2011, Katherine and her family decided to put down roots in Singapore. With the help of professional Singaporean teachers, curriculum specialists and academics, she further enhanced her enrichment programmes to suit the needs of local students. Katherine opened The Write Connection (TWC) out of her passion for teaching English and writing. Another personal reason was to provide her own young daughters with world-class instruction in English learning.
The programmes at TWC are pedagogically sound and the methods that Katherine has advocated from the start are focused on building bridges to help individuals in their learning and personal development (please see testimonials here). The unique culture at TWC is a result of recruiting teachers who are not only technically competent but also dedicated to their chosen profession. Katherine believes in setting high but realistic standards for teachers and students. She encourages everyone to reach for the moon because, even if they miss, they will land among the stars. This, her favourite encouragement, has stood her in good stead.
