BA, Mathematics, Cal State Northridge
Middle and Upper School Math, with emphasis on accelerated students in grades 6 – 10.
Areas of focus
Mathematics – Middle School – PreAlgebra, Advanced Pre Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 1 Advanced, Algebra 1 Honors, Geometry, Advanced Geometry, Honors Geometry
Mathematics – High School – Algebra 2, Advanced Algebra 2, Honors Algebra 2, PreCalculus, Advanced PreCalculus, Trigonometry
Background
BA, Mathematics, California State University Northridge
Masters Work in Mathematics, California State University, Northridge
Former Mathematics Teacher, Chaminade College Preparatory, Chatsworth, California (7 years)
Former Mathematics Teacher, MathCounts, Math Club coach, Harvard-Westlake School, California ( 20+ years)
Private Math tutoring for public and private school students (20+years
Recent outcomes
Honors Geometry | 9th grade | Harvard-Westlake | Grade: B- → A
AP PreCalculus | 9th grade | Roeper School in Michigan | Grade: A solid, AP Score: 5
SAT | 9th grade | Roeper School in Michigan | 1480 → 1560
Advanced Geometry | 8th grade | Harvard-Westlake | Grade: C- → B
Approach
Since I was in a math classroom for over 20 years, my approach has grown to listen more, to share more ideas, to encourage with specific examples and to use some humor to get across some specific topic with examples. I expect students who want enrichment or reinforcement to be willing to try, sometimes struggle with the topic, and try again. Learning truly happens when the student wants to share their work, mistakes, and successes with me. I find that middle students are fun and funny, and I openly accept their uniqueness and try to incorporate their attitudes and experiences into their education.
Q&A
A resource you’d hand a curious student?
The Desmos website, if they have never seen it. It is great for students who want to know more about creative graphing and I really like posing questions to them with “What happens if you change. . .”
The mistake you see most often?
Math tests often produce “careless errors”, so some that I see often are 3x2=5, or the gcf of 4 and 8 is 8, or maybe 6 divided by 0 is 0. I could go on and on. . .
What you look for in a good-fit student?
After a session or two, I hope to see the student is more responsive to my questions and begins to ask more questions. Also, I look to see if they are coming prepared to the session with whatever they need.
What parents or students get wrong about prep?
In math, students sometimes feel that all they need to know are the formulas and that should be enough. Or the question (When will I ever need to know or use this in life?) I have some thoughts and will share them when the time is right!