Fun Facts

I'll let others tell you a little about me. Recently, I asked 40 of my friends to describe me. Here are some of their thoughts:
"You take everything to a new level of depth and understanding."
"You're patient in explaining things."
"You listen well and care about people."
"If someone asks you a simple question they leave knowing the answer, answers to other possible questions, and a random slice of quantum mechanics."
"You tend to break down things to explain them."
"You could be a personal wikipedia."
"You’re super passionate about most anything you talk about. As far as I’m concerned, whenever you’re telling me about something I don’t know about, I want to know all about it."

About Me

I want to teach, to really teach. I want to speak and watch lightbulbs turn on, to open doors for discovery and to walk beside students as they build their understanding.

I've been detroit">tutoring for years. One of the most telling experiences happened when I was still new to the field. I tutored a student in Math for one session and never got called back for a second. I was a little disappointed until I met up with the student by accident and asked him why he didn't want a second session. He told me, "I never needed it. I've been getting A's ever since. You taught me how to think about Math." I also regularly detroit">tutor University level mathematics at the University of Michigan - Dearborn Calculus lab. There, I help students with the use of mathematical software and with problems in classes ranging from Algebra to Calculus 3. In addition to Math detroit">tutoring, I have tutored in Chemistry, Astronomy, Biology, and Physics.

Teaching or detroit">tutoring is an inherently transformative act. It seeks to make a difference, to change, to shape, and to grow. This happens through communication, interaction, and the transfer of knowledge. All knowledge is structured, connected and built with other ideas, so in order to communicate it, one must somehow reproduce the same structure and connections in another’s mind. The first step is breaking down the concept into its smallest components. These are then communicated through words, actions, visual media, analogies, and connections to prior knowledge or experience. Once students understand all the pieces and subconcepts that compose an idea, they must synthesize the concept by reconstructing it and making the mental connections for themselves. As a detroit">tutor, I model this process and assist the student in creating these connections.