Ph.G. Math Tutoring

I offer a free consultation, so we can meet for free before you decide if you want to work with me.  The consultation lasts only a few minutes, and depending on the timing, I might have time immediately after our consultation for our first appointment.

I have a unique set of qualifications and skills.  I have a Ph.D. in Math and I am Secondary Education Certified in Illinois.  I'm also a campus minister, so I spend a lot of time with students both in working and in social settings.  I can discuss theoretical mathematics with university professors, and I can also giggle with 8th graders to make them feel comfortable doing math with me.  (And also because it's fun.)

Rates vary by tutor and frequency of meeting.  All details are at www.phgmath.com.

I student taught at the middle school and high school levels before going to graduate school in math.  During graduate school, I was a teaching assistant or sole instructor for more than 20 classes.  After my Ph.D., I served as a Teaching Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Arizona before starting my professional tutoring career.  I have taught virtually every level of math in the classroom from elementary algebra through calculus through linear algebra.  But I found that I loved working one-on-one with students more than teaching in front of a class, so I left academia and started my tutoring business.  It has been my livelihood since 2010.

I have worked with hundreds of students -- as young as 8 and as old as 60.  The vast majority of my students are in Junior High, High School, or College.  I've worked with students from struggling at the lowest levels to valedictorians to advanced college math majors.  

I love it when my students feel comfortable enough not only to joke with me, but to be sassy in a fun way.  Yesterday I was working with a 9th grade girl.  After I pointed out a mistake she made, she pointed to a 2 that I had written sloppily and said, deadpan, "Is that a Z?"  She then bent over laughing.  It's one of those things where you have to be there for it to be funny, but it's so great to be there in that space with the student.

I would suggest that you think about the cost of not getting the help that you need.  Certainly there is a financial cost -- having to retake standardized exams, retake classes, or even delaying getting a degree.  These costs are thousands and thousands of dollars.  And scholarships are often dependent upon standardized test scores and GPA.  Spending several hundred dollars for a superior tutor might sound like a lot of money until you consider its value.

But there are other benefits to succeeding that can't be measured in dollars.  What if you actually enjoyed the material?  What if you gained confidence and felt like you could do it?  What if started seeing how you can use what you're learning in your life?  What if you learned something significant about yourself and your ability to overcome hardship and do difficult things?  You're much more likely to have these things happen with a tutor than in a classroom.

Talking to teachers who are giving you lessons and grading you is very different than talking with a tutor.  With a tutor, you can (and should) be totally, thoroughly honest.  If you haven't understood anything in class for the past month, you're not going to want to admit that to your teacher, but your tutor needs to know it to help you the best.  Same if you missed class.

A tutor is someone in your corner: there for no other reason but to help you with no authority over you.  This relationship allows you to be free of other considerations, like grades and peer pressure.