Algebra with Rossina G.

"The teacher doesn't explain it well."  "When will I ever use this?"  "I just need to pass this math class to graduate."  "I'm just not a math person!" These are some of the things I've heard over the years as a math tutor, with the latter being the most challenging to overcome. It was the first thing I heard from my first student--my best friend--when I started tutoring about ten years ago. It was and still is her core belief that she is not a "math person," but I was delighted to help her with the challenge she faced. My friend was attending college intermittently, and her goal was to receive her Associates Degree. It was actually a frustrating experience for her because she failed the required math class three times, and when I started helping her about 2/3 of the way through the semester of the fourth attempt, she had an F. Long story short, she raised her grade to an A, and I was so proud of her! From then on, I realized that I wanted to pursue math tutoring as a full-time profession. I find great joy helping my students overcome their challenges, and it's also been a great learning experience working with them. The most important things I've learned to do and have refined over the years are: 1. Creating positive rapport with students and families.  2. Communicating clearly about goals and how they can be best achieved.  3. Achieving desired results by adapting to different learning styles.  4. Establishing a strong foundation in basic math skills, so that success in higher-level classes is achieved.  5. Being punctual, consistent, and intuitively attentive to students.  6. Using technology to conduct online lessons. It truly has been a wonderful and sometimes challenging experience being a math tutor, but I take my job seriously, always looking for ways to grow and learn to be a better tutor. At the end of the day, the most satisfying remark I've heard and always hope for from students is, "This is actually kind of fun now that I get it."