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Mary
- Rate L326
- Response 19h
L326/hr
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- Maths
- Algebra
- Arithmetic
- Geometry
Certified secondary math teacher providing confidence to students near State College, PA for over 28 years
- Maths
- Algebra
- Arithmetic
- Geometry
Lesson location
About Mary
I have been a math classroom teacher for 27 years and am retiring due to a bad knee. I have taught everything from special needs math skills to calculus. In an average year, I teach about 125 students. So here is your first lesson. Roughly how many students have I taught? That's right! I have taught approximately 3375 students in my classroom. That's a lot of kids! In addition, I have owned my own tutoring business where I also do test prep for teenagers (SAT, ACT) as well as for older people who are trying to get their GED or trying to enter the military (ASVAB). In my earlier days, I worked at Sylvan Learning Center and volunteered with Adult Basic Education where I taught English Language Learners the math they would need in order to get their GED. If I had to guess how many people I had taught through the years, I would have to say it would be close to 5000 students. The awesome thing is that I still remember most of their names and what I taught them. And even more awesome than that is the fact that they still remember me and a lot of them are at the age now where they actually thank me for making math fun and for being their favorite math teacher. I love when they write to me and tell me that they are now doctors, lawyers or engineers. I am equally as proud of those who struggled to make it into the military or just get and hold down a factory job. It is nice to know that my hard work has affected the lives of my students positively!
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About the lesson
- Primary
- Lower Secondary
- Senior Secondary
- +4
levels :
Primary
Lower Secondary
Senior Secondary
Post Secondary Education
Higher Education
Adult Education
MBA
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
I tailor my tutoring to the needs of each student. I try to meet them where they are. So many math teachers just present the content and students just think they need to memorize and regurgitate the stuff to be successful. This is not learning mathematics! I try to give concrete examples and if memorization is truly necessary, I try to make it easier. For instance, I wrote an original song to help memorize the steps for factoring. It is sung to Row, Row, Row your Boat. Most teachers teach factoring using a guess and check method, but if you don't know your times tables very well, guessing and checking could take all day. My song definitely makes factoring a lot easier. I am constantly searching the internet for cool and easier ways to do algebra and geometry (these are my favorite subjects to teach). I feel that I don't have to recreate the wheel to be a good teacher so I will "steal" and adapt any good idea that I can find.
I am always evaluating my students' strengths and weaknesses because sometimes their difficulties lie not in the current content they are struggling with, but actually in long ago content that they did not master. Sometimes stepping back a little and firming up those confusions can help a lot in current understanding.
Furthermore, I try to spiral my teaching so that content is not taught in isolation. Many times, students are given "drill and kill" practice worksheets on one topic and can really do that one topic by the end of all that practice, but they have no idea what that skill is used for or when. In addition, while practicing that skill so hard, they have forgotten the previous skills they learned and eventually all of the skills will be needed to do the harder math. I try to keep up all the skills and find problems that will utilize previous skills as well.
And here comes the really cool part of my teaching philosophy. I make my students keep a cumulative "cheat sheet" with all the formulas / concepts etc. that we have worked on so they can refer to it while working on problems and use for review for tests. Then, every once in a while, I will slip in a problem that they don't have the skills to do yet. You truly become intelligent when you realize you don't know what you don't know. It is a motivator when you get to a part in a problem and know that you have to do "something" but you go through your "math toolbox" of skills / procedures and none of those are applicable so you are motivated to learn a new math skill so you can solve the real life problem presented.
I really work hard at establishing trust with my students. I want them to be able to say "yea, I still don't get it." I don't get upset if they don't get it 10 times. I will find an 11th way to explain it, show it, make it real. I truly believe that everyone can learn math if it is taught to their way of understanding it. Teaching is a calling, not a job for me. I live to see that light go off at the "aha" moment in each and every one of my students.
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Rates
Rate
- L326
Pack prices
- 5h: L1630
- 10h: L3260
online
- L326/h
Details
The rate above is for tutoring in my home or on webcam. If I am driving to your home and you are more than 10 miles from my house, I will charge a gas charge which we can discuss at time of booking. I also change my rate based on the level of math that I am tutoring due to my need to prepare materials. I offer discounts for multiple students in the same subject at one time. For instance, if two people from the same algebra class wish to come and get homework help at the same time, it would be $10 a piece. Please reach out to me to get a quote for your particular situation.
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