How not to write tuition ads
Posted by Ray @ 12:04 pmHere’s a private tuition ad that I found profoundly disturbing. This was taken outside my house, just before I left for Vancouver:
I know it’s not really legible, so here’s a transcript of what it says:
I Aspire to Inspire
- To nurture, empower and educate girls during a pivotal time in their lives
- Through empathy, girls grow to set and reach their personal goals
- I create an environment in which girls take risks, expand their horizons and realize their potential
- Swanky and lovely air-conditioned setting
- Geared for students who are average to gifted in ability, I offer courses in Mathematics and English.
- Many TKGS and KC students have improved immensely under my tutelage
Tuition for girls: [phone number]
“Swanky” air-conditioned setting? An environment where “girls take risks”?
That sounds… wrong. Granted, there’s a slim possibility this tutor is the real thing, but think for a moment: he or she purports to teach English, yet the phrasing of the ad would suggest mere technical competence with the language, with no regard for its nuances. Would you want someone like that teaching your girls?
And besides, the ad’s stuck onto the side of a power box in the middle of the sidewalk.
Parents, tread warily. Caveat emptor!
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i’m sure the tutor must be a womain, otherwise wth in the right mind will want to sign up.
Comment by mr lim — Friday, January 6 2006 @ 1:26 pm
must be another one of those pranks like the “call XXXXXXXX for free sex” graffiti on the back of the buses.
lots of effort to do such stuff though. prankster must have too much free time as well.
Comment by thor — Saturday, January 7 2006 @ 2:16 pm
thor: I don’t know, it looks like a genuine ad. Kind of freaky.
mr lim: Somewhere out there, is a desperate person willing to resort to desperate measures to improve their english…
Comment by Ray — Wednesday, January 11 2006 @ 11:54 pm