ABOUT ME
I have been tutoring in math, physics, and chemistry since I started my college career. I love math and science and I enjoy teaching. I started out focusing mostly on my math studies while volunteering in the LAP tutoring center at Saddleback Community College. Since then, I have experienced a great deal of education as well as taught a variety of students, from students who just need a few concepts to be clarified, to those who are smart but frustrated with math and science in general, and most especially those with special needs who just require patience and understanding to move forward. Currently, I am the lead instructor at a local math tutoring center where I have been honing my skills and working towards finishing my degree towards a career in scientific research.
My students have always spoken highly of my ability to make difficult subjects seem unusually easy. My method is to approach the student as their personal friend who happens to "just get it." I am not an authoritarian. I'm a friend who wants to help you learn. I often find that many career teachers can even be misunderstanding the simplicity of their own material.
A large part of my education has centered around neuroscience and cognitive psychology, meaning that if nothing else, I can help to point out the patterns of error and misunderstanding that a student is having more readily than the average tutor. Such observations can give many students a better focus on what types of skills they need to practice, particularly basic skills which are never focused on in their course materials, such as common tricks of the mind.
DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES AND SPECIAL NEEDS
The most difficult type of student for any tutor to deal with is one who doesn't want to be there. There are two general reasons why a student would be against learning. Either they have already learned what's necessary and have practiced it to death or it's just too difficult for them and they don't want to waste the energy and attention required on something they feel they can't do. Most turn out to be the latter.
I have ways of working with all kinds of students who don't wish to be there, but those cases tend to require an extra project of delving into the motivations of the student or giving them a test and focusing on the difference between passing and getting 100%. In such cases where the student understands the material and feels worked to death over it, I will be inclined to offer a different program for the student in which I would use their course materials to give them a practice test.
If the student passes with flying colors, then my job is done. Unless the student is expected to move on to new material, I cannot ethically bring myself to mentally torture the student by repeating known material for any price. Nor can I bring myself to knowingly waste your money. If you would like for the student to move on to new material, that would be highly encouraged, as there should never be an end to a person's overall education.
As for students who don't want to be there because it's too difficult, they are much easier to deal with in my opinion and partly why I enjoy the work of a tutor. If any behavioral issues are apparent, they can be talked about openly with the student and the parents and dealt with objectively, with a clear goal of getting around them in the most understanding and reasonable way that can be found. I am also open to any and all advice that might be offered by the student's doctors in the cases of special needs students. Simply put, I have a wealth of patience and insight for any student that is struggling.
LOCATION AND TRANSPORTATION
Currently my transportation is limited to being within bike riding distance of the intersection of Crown Valley Pkwy and Moulton/Golden Lantern and locations within bike riding distance of the Ocean Ranch Plaza. I am also currently available on mornings from 9a-12:45p and on Friday Evenings, Saturday afternoons and evenings past 2:05p, and all day Sundays. We will most often be meeting in local libraries, cafes, or possibly school campuses, but the most prominent location will be Peets Coffee at the corner of Golden Lantern and Camino Del Avion.
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