This website was created with the goal of maximising a student's potential in their final exams. We therefore certainly don't mind if students also consider getting additional grinds elsewhere.

However, we encourage both students and parents to be extra vigilant when doing so!

Online grinds can be summarised in one sentence.

The only benefit of online grinds to students is that it is cheaper than in-person grinds.

Any website that is claiming otherwise and thereby charging more than for in-person grinds is being intentionally deceitful and should be avoided.

"Wait, is that statement always true?"

Yes, and it can be easily be demonstrated.

Consider a tutor who has commuted to a student's house. Instead of giving a typical in-person grind, that tutor goes into a different room with his laptop and gives a grind to that student online. That would be the exact same an an online grind, right?

"Well, yes..."

Now consider the last section of that grind where a student is attempting questions. How would an online tutor check the progress of a student answering a question?

"Well, eh, maybe that student could stop writing and lift their answer to their camera? Or stop writing and explain what they've done so far?"

Yes. Most importantly, whatever method is used, that student needs to stop writing. That student needs to break their concentration.

On the other hand, the tutor in the other room could simply walk into the student's room and look over the student's shoulder as they attempt that question, just like a teacher would in class.

"Oh I see! Well, that's a bit of a silly example though..."

Yes, and the reason that silly example was used is because it's so obvious that an in-person grind is better that it shouldn't need to be justified.

"Hmm, but aren't students the ones that sometimes have to commute? Doesn't online grinds save me time?" 

Not at all. You can always find a tutor who who will travel to you. There is not a shortage of tutors. There is not even a shortage of very good tutors. If there was, then why are so many college students working minimum wage part-time jobs instead of earning more by giving grinds in a subject that they know so well that they are studying it in college?

If you look at the notice board in your local supermarket, you will likely find plenty of notices from experienced tutors offering to give grinds in a student's house. Likewise, the overwhelming majority of the teachers that we know do not give as many evening grinds as they would like to.

The majority of grinds websites were set up during the pandemic by greedy people that realised that they could charge high prices for online grinds because in-person grinds were not an option at the time. These people decided to use a global crisis, together with a child's anxiety, in order to extract as much money as possible from desperate parents that had nowhere else to turn. These people are objectively awful human beings.

Now that in-person grinds are back, such people now have to resort to spouting nonsense about why online grinds are better, e.g. "it saves commuting time", in order to continue to justify their ripoff prices.

And yes, they are fully aware that their outrageous claims are nonsense.

"But don't I have to travel to grinds schools and..."

Yes you do. However, the reason that students attend such schools is not because they cannot find a good tutor who will give them grinds at home.

Instead, they attend them because they are a "safe bet". They have garnered a reputation over decades of hiring good teachers (not the best, but good) and therefore will at least have some impact on improving a student's education.

(Unfortunately, this reputation is now somewhat quashed as many of these grinds schools now allow an unlimited number of students to watch their lessons live, thereby greatly reducing the effectiveness of their lessons. However, that's a tale for another time!) 

On the other hand, there are many websites that refer to themselves as "grinds schools" even though many of their "teachers" not only lack those years of experience but also lack even basic teaching qualifications.

In addition, one of the most important distinctions between a school and a "group of tutors" is that schools are regularly inspected by the Department of Education to ensure that their standard of teaching is consistently high.

The quality of tutoring from online "schools" is instead based upon nothing but (potentially fake) online reviews.

"Then why do some parents use such websites?"

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realise half of them are stupider than that." - George Carlin

Many parents are easily enticed by marketing, particularly by a "free first grind". 

"Hmm... but this online tutor says that they will help me in between grinds too!"

And that is nothing unique to online grinds. You can find an in-person tutor who will do the very same. (And of course, you already have such support right here on Teacher Chat!)

"Hmmm. So, should I get additional grinds here?"

When Mr. Kenny used to give in-person grinds, he typically charged €40-€50 for one-to-one grinds (depending on the subject) and €15 for small group grinds (regardless of the subject).

We price our grinds lower than this to reflect the fact that our grinds are online rather than in-person.

However, if you still feel the need to consider alternative online options, we suggest looking out for the following common red flags:

1) Price

If the grinds are being offered in groups, how much does that tutor make in total for each group grind? Does that tutor therefore care more about the student's education, or the parent's wallet?

If you are paying more for an online grind than the in-person equivalent, you are being ripped off. It's as simple as that.

2) Credentials

If a tutor's price is high, that tutor better be a qualified teacher!

"It's ok though, that tutor got 625 points in their Leaving Cert! Wow!"

This is a very common tactic that you'll see on many websites. Such websites hire college students/graduates who got good grades instead of qualified/experienced teachers as their salaries will be less.

However, retaining knowledge is not the same thing as passing on knowledge!

The tutors who did very well on their Leaving Certificate did so because things "clicked" for them. They understood what was going on when each concept was explained to them. They therefore cannot comprehend what it means for things to not "click".

Teachers use different methods to teach concepts based on the abilities of each individual student. Those who did very well on the Leaving Certificate were taught using the methods used for high achievers. They therefore have no experience (or even knowledge) of the methods used to teach middle and low achievers.

They will therefore likely try to teach each concept using the "method for high achievers" for that concept rather than the method applicable to that student's ability.

This is why credentials matter! While undergoing a teaching qualification, new teachers learn about all of the different methods that are used to teach students of varying abilities, something that unqualified tutors simply know nothing about!

3) Professional

There are many websites that give grinds using a very amateur, ineffective setup.

The setup that we use, on the other hand, is the type that you would hope to expect to find from a website that takes education a bit more seriously.

For example, we use a total of six different screens for each grind, all of which serve a purpose (which we won't bore you with!). We also use professional audio hardware and software, professional streaming hardware and software etc.

Many other (more expensive) websites instead use whatever they happen to already have as their setup. In fact, many websites cram a bunch of student's faces onto the same small screen that they're using as their whiteboard. (Remember, these are the very same websites that are claiming that this is a more effective learning experience than an in-person grind!)

4) Fake reviews

Sometimes, fake reviews can be difficult to spot. Other times, they can be very easily spotted.

In particular, we recommend focusing on the oldest reviews of a website as they were likely less careful about hiding who wrote such reviews.

Remember, if you find even one review that you are confident is fake, that means that website cannot be trusted. 

5) Deleted reviews

If their prices are higher than the in-person equivalent, why have so few reviews (if any) pointed that out?

If they lack basic teaching qualifications but are charging more for a grind than a teacher, why have so few reviews (if any) pointed that out?

If they tick one or more of the above red flags, why have so few reviews (if any) pointed that out?

People tend to leave reviews when they've had a bad experience. When they've had a good experience, they tend to not bother. Therefore, even if a service is generally good, you would still expect to see a significant number of bad reviews.

Why can you find suspiciously so few (if any)?

TL;DR: An e-book should always be cheaper than a physical book as it saves both time and money on printing. An online grind should always be cheaper than an in-person grind as the tutor is saving both time and money on commuting.