Services | Math Doesn T Have To

Math is Challenging, but Learnable

There are dozens of new skills introduced every year. Most of them built off last year’s foundation that should be solid, but in many cases isn’t. When new ideas are introduced, it may initially go well, but then the computational difficulty gets turned up, or application problems introduced. The learning collapses, as does your student’s confidence.

It will take some effort, but the cycle can be broken. The math standards are rigorous, as are the textbooks that schools in this area choose. But with some effort, and an expert like me, math can be learned and that broken confidence can be rebuilt. Math is challenging, but it is learnable.

My Services

Whether Needing to Catch Up, or Ready to Excel, Tutoring is Effective For...

-Reviewing targeted elements from the previous year so that next year's foundation is strong.

-Previewing the challenging elements of next years math, especially if skipping a grade, or moving to a more challenging class.

-Keeping math skills fresh, math is a "use it or lose it" subject regardless of talent level, the "summer slide" is real

-Redoing the missed content if there was an illness, vacation, Covid shutdown, or family move.

-Completing the parts of the text that were "skipped" for to a variety of reasons. The skipped part will come back to bite you, but you don't know when.

? Online Tutoring ?

We saw during Covid that learning through a screen isn’t very effective, and there is plenty of data to prove it. Education Week Article New York Times Article

Online tutoring is a great way to connect hungry college students with some quick cash, but not very effective for the student.

In contrast, here is a study, a meta-analysis of in person tutoring programs in reading and math, jointly completed by Brown University, Northwestern University, and University of Toronto. It’s 84 pages long. Here is the most important quote…

"We find that tutoring programs yield consistent and substantial positive impacts on learning outcomes, with an overall pooled effect size estimate of 0.37 SD. Effects are stronger, on average, for teacher and paraprofessional tutoring programs than for nonprofessional and parent tutoring."

Rates and Reality

Rates

This is a cash business, as such I can operate on a bit of a sliding scale. My rate is $40-60 an hour for private, in your home tutoring or at the library. Choosing to pay $60 if you can afford it helps me offer service at $40 to someone who has a bit less. Or, if your student has a couple of friends with similar needs we can form a small group for $80-100 an hour depending on travel time. I prefer to tutor in the afternoon, and on weekdays.

Reality

I am deeply experienced and skilled at what I do, to demystify math, build confidence, and help students excel. But I'm not a magician, I have no wand that will remove dysgraphia, dyscalculia, an IEP, or Autism. Also, as all educators do, I have a kryptonite. It's effort. If your student won't pick up their pencil, there is nothing I can do.