Math Made Easy

Introduction: Hello, all! My name is Richard and I have been a math interventionist at a middle school for the past three years now. Initially, I started out tutoring my nephew who was struggling with math. Just recently, he received a "3" on his elementary FCat Math last year. This year, he is in the 5th grade; and I fully expect him to receive a "5" on the FCat Math because his comprehension and understanding has increased tremendously. I coached three sports at my middle school (wrestling, basketball and track) this year, and part of the eligibility requirement is a 2.0 grade point average (GPA). In the past, the team has struggled to keep its best athletes eligible, so I mandated tutoring for all the guys and girls who wanted to participate in the above-mentioned sports. This was a huge success. The extra help with homework, class assignments and test preparation kept the majority of my athletes eligible and able to play the sports they love. The scholastic achievement gained through understanding also cut down on classroom interruption and increased participation, which had an unintended effect on their conduct grades. As far as methodology is concerned, my process is simple: I break problems down to their simplest form and teach students step-by-step how to solve them. Different children struggle for different reasons; so it is imperative for me to solve each problem step-by-step so they know how to organize their work, making it easier for me to diagnose their struggles. There are no shortcuts to math, but there are different ways of attacking a problem. It can be tedious at times, but I require students to show all their work. As a teacher, it is my job to check your process -- not your right or wrong answer. A person can guess on multiple choice questions and get them right 25% of the time. Ensuring that you thoroughly understand the process of solving problems is what I check for, and this method has served me well over the years. I specialize in math tutoring for FCat, SAT, ACT, Algebra 1 EOC, and all middle school math disciplines. Whether you are in high school trying to pass your EOC, or in middle school trying to improve FCat scores or overall math competence, I am the tutor you are looking for. I utilize a variety of online learning tools such as Khan Academy and Tenmarks to assist with the educational process. This is the technology age, and all standardized testing will eventually be computerized, so getting kids use to learning and testing using technology is paramount. I look forward to hearing from you. Good luck with your studies!