Every single day, my students teach me something new. Every single day, I learn a better technique or best practice which I then carry forward. I learn new methods of reaching students who have a set of challenges which have never been presented previously. The following is a short description of some of the basics I have learned provide solid results for students, their grades, and their self confidence.
Our first meeting will be both information gathering on your part and mine, as well as we will likely engage in a short lesson, something very specific with which your student or yourself struggle. This meeting will let you get a feel for who I am. I will cover the basics of my teaching style, and I will give you my honest assessment of your unique situation. Hopefully a good connection is made all around, and together we can determine our specific, measurable, attainable goals, and the reality of what it may take to reach these goals.
During this first meeting ( or sometimes subsequent meetings early on), I will ask for your teachers information. Generally an e-mail will suffice. I attempt to be on the same page with your students teacher and if we can establish a joint effort, I have learned that advancement and really focusing our sessions is far easier. I will also ask for your expectations which we can go over to ensure that what you are hopeful for from my services really is something I can provide.
Our second meeting will be our first real lesson. If it is something that is desirable, I offer a “tutoring folder” where we can build your math toolbox, and store homework and testing we do together. This allows you and the student to go over past things we’ve learned together. I will then sit with the student and ask what items they wish to go over. I will usually direct the conversation towards homework or testing that is assigned. We will work together and begin your journey into understanding, less stress, and hopefully better grades.
Depending on the student, a great deal of “tutor homework” can be available. Repetition is often at the heart of learning. I will create a “toolbox” with you which encompasses techniques you’ve learned. This is a stand alone section of your binder which should be easy to access and reference. This tool box will be available to you everywhere, and can be used to aid you in your school lessons as well as homework and time studying with me.
Manipulatives are a very common, and effective tool for early mathematical learning. Things like using pennies, dimes and dollars to actually show with real objects how to add, and subtract can be priceless at cementing the concepts into a young mind. So you can expect me to use them as often as I can fit them in when teaching the core operations.
Motivation. Early on in the process I will be seeking out what interests your students. A student who doesn’t care, is not particularly teachable. Finding an intrinsic motivator is key to learning and growth. I encourage parents to be thinking about your child, and what interests and motivators they have. Monetary encouragement, or giving something as a reward has limited use. But if you are able to find and key into a motivation for the child which is inherent into who they are, such as computer programming or construction or “being a boss”, there is much we can hook into to help them become invested in their own outcome. Finding an effective motivator can easily raise a grade a full letter all by itself.
There must also be a conversation about time spent and a reality check about schedules and money. I have never encountered a parent who is indifferent towards their student’s progress. The very fact you are reading this website means you care deeply. The hope of every parent is that by hiring a tutor, such as myself, you will see immediate improvement, and it will make gains until your student is all A’s and B’s. I have good news! In the vast majority of cases where the student is willing to learn, this is entirely possible and even likely. I also have tempering news. To accomplish this often requires a LOT of work. Generally I have found 5 hours per week, outside of the classroom, will push a student up about 25%. That amounts to about an hour per day. This is not an insignificant allotment of time especially for our busy youth today. I recognize this. But this is often the reality of the situation for many who desire to see substantial improvement in their students. Further tempering this excitement of a 25% increase is the fact that it will not be instantaneous. It takes time to build a staircase solid enough to surmount the high walls of academia. Now, let me leave you with two more pieces of good news. One, not all of the 5ish hours per week need be 1-1 tutoring with myself. In reality 1 – 2 hours a week with tutor guidance will suffice IFF (Mathematical term meaning if and only if), the student puts in the other 3-4 hours on their own regularly. The second piece of good news is that once we’ve worked together to fill in the “holes” in their math knowledge and understanding, that information and math instinct will be with them permanently. Like riding a bike, once it is firmly set in the mind, it comes back with surprising ease. Just think about yourself and how often you do multiplication or division in your daily life and how, even though you have not studied it recently, it is still there. This is the foundation we are building for your student. Once it is built, it will help them forever.
Summarizing: What should you expect from me?
** You should expect someone who really cares deep down. I am passionate about math and physics and teaching these topics. I love my work and I do only this.
** You should expect me to be professional. Arriving on time, making our appointments, keeping up with the journal, maintaining open communication with you, your student and hopefully your student’s teacher are all part of the package.
** You should expect your student to be faced with a decent amount of work from our sessions. They will likely be tired and mentally exhausted. This may impede other more “fun” activities and social events. You should be prepared for this if you wish for the greatest advancement.
** You should expect improvement. Even if all our time together amounts to a single hour a week, your student will start to improve. The more time we spend, and the more time they spend on their own working with the topics we cover, the faster and more pronounced the improvement.
I hope this answers some of your questions. I am absolutely open to further questions you may have. Please reach out via e-mail or phone.
christopherthomasbillman@gmail.com
303-278-3168