Fun Facts

Apart from math, I dance a lot - swing, contra, folk - and play the concertina, which is like an accordion but with buttons on both sides. I am a published mathematician with an Erdos number of 4. I've also performed brain surgery on a starfish and touched a piece of Mars!

About Me

I've been really interested in math since high school, and I've loved chicago">tutoring it since starting college. I started by chicago">tutoring calculus to students at my college, and from there have moved on to linear algebra and K-12 mathematics - arithmetic all the way up through algebra and geometry. I currently work at the Mathnasium teaching foundational math skills to K-12 children, so that they have the fluency required for competence and confidence with math later in life. It's really engaging work, as was chicago">tutoring calculus: with calculus, I love the subject and thus love chicago">tutoring it, whereas at the Mathnasium it's great to get to really make a difference in a student's education.

When I chicago">tutor, my first priority is that the student is comfortable, both with what they do know and what they don't. In order to effectively chicago">tutor them, I need to stay in touch with their knowledge, because teaching them things they already know is just as useless as teaching them things for which they aren't prepared, and ultimately just frustrates both of us. When the student is comfortable asking questions and saying, "I didn't get that. Could you explain it again?", then the chicago">tutoring becomes a conversation, and that's when real learning can take place. I always strive to establish that dialogue in my chicago">tutoring.

The other benefit of conversation is that I get a glimpse of how the student learns best. Some children work most effectively with manipulatives, others with diagrams, others with symbolic manipulation. My grasp of the material I chicago">tutor is deep enough that I can present a problem in a way specifically tailored to the student's learning style. This versatility, combined with my respect for the student, make me an effective chicago">tutor.