About Me

Why me?

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We need math teachers who have experienced and navigated the frustration and struggle many students often face when learning math. Today I have a good grasp on math, but it took me until senior year to really understand how to chunk math into digestible bits. When I learned how to learn math, a lightbulb went off for me and I unlocked a potential I didn't know I had. This is the lightbulb moment I work towards with my students. For many students, learning math is not inherent or innate, it is a process that takes dedication.

 

Why am I tutoring?

 

I left the school system because of the bureaucracy. I was spending most of my time prepping for premade lessons instead of using my methods and materials that I know work.

I know that students need individualized and intentional support, not the latest scripted curriculum. I want to be able to help students reach their potential with plans catered to their strengths that work to build the skills they still need.

 

Why math?

 

Around 8th grade, when I started learning algebra, math got hard. Like really hard. No matter how much work I put in, I didn’t understand it. I’d get help during lunch or after school, but it didn’t get easier and I felt like I learned less and less, so I just checked out and stopped trying. I did just well enough to pass my classes, but I wasn’t learning the material and I got further and further behind.

 

It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that math finally clicked like it had in elementary school when I would breeze through problems. My teacher, Ms. Butler, didn’t just teach me the content in a way that made sense; I learned how to learn math. I finally had the chance to catch up. I spent the next few years finally learning the math that I had glossed over and then some. At that point, I knew I wanted to become a math teacher.

 

This story is not unique to me. Many students hit a wall with math around algebra I and some never make it over. I want to change that. Now, I use my own toolbox of strategies and frameworks to help students learn how to learn so they don’t go through the same frustrations that I experienced. 

 

Starting in pre-algebra, math skills build on each other.  If students miss key concepts, they won’t be able to complete new content.  If students don’t properly learn how to solve one step equations in pre-algebra, they will struggle with two step equations and will be completely lost with multi-step equations in Algebra I.

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