Academic Tutoring & Test Preparation

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. My teaching/tutoring philosophy (for math and science) is to focus on the underlying concepts, and to get the student to understand what is really going on -- rather than merely memorizing meaningless formulae and reciting rote definitions.  Most of my students find me both "patient" and "tolerant" (check out the student feedback in my profile on the website!) and many wind up actually loving the math or science they initially thought they hated.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I particularly love those "Aha!" moments,
when the student "sees the light" and
embraces the elusive concept.
Often, I hear students say, "why didn't my teacher show me how easy this was?"
Even more gratifying is when a student who claimed to "hate math" winds up loving it and asks, "how come they didn't they tell me it was so much fun?"

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. References:
- Upon request, I would be happy to provide references from several pleased parents or students.
- Testimonials are also available on the website.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. It's amazing how many HS students make absolutely no connection between a "radical" sign (i.e. square-root) and the square (as a geometric figure)! For example, if they use the Pythagorean theorem and find that the area is 3, so many students are unable to say what the side is (but can only grab for a calculator).

Lately, I've been conducting an informal survey, by sketching a square, writing a radical-sign, and asking a student whether any teacher EVER made a connection between the two symbols. Nearly all say, "no," most express surprise or delight at the connection, and some angrily ask why their teachers hid this fact from them.

This is just one small measure of the ineptitude of the current crop of so-called "math teachers" in our public school system. (Sadly, there are many more such measures in my growing collection.)

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. 1. Hourly rates vary somewhat by subject, depending upon the difficulty, amount of preparation.
2. In some cases, there is an additional fee for travel.
3. Rates may be discounted for regularly-scheduled lessons on a extended basis.