3 Fun Questions From Moms About Tutoring

Mom #1
My son is starting to scare me because he isn't doing his school work. This is a lot like someone else in my house. What should I do?

This is actually a really great question. Usually moms get frustrated with boys when their bad behavior reminds them of the person they are, or were married to for many years. There is no simple answer to this question, but here are a few tricks that work.

1) Own that you are upset with your husband. We are men it is in our DNA to do annoying things. If we didn't then we wouldn't need women to help us see the right path. Talk it out with your husband and ask him if he would like to try to handle the issue. Don't be surprised if he jumps at the chance.

2) Ask the child directly if he knows who else in the house does that same behavior? When he answers correctly tell him to go talk to the dad. Tell the child to ask the dad what happens to him when he gets caught with this behavior.

3) Use the phrase, "I wish you the best of luck with that behavior."

Once the humor breaks up the tension then simply ask them what they are struggling with tyring to learn. This is when you can jump in and help.

Mom #2
The person who teaches my daughter is a moron. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is let your daughter know that her problem is real and not her fault.

Second remember we can't change morons. If someone could they would be rich and never out of work. The moron won't see it because they are stuck in a mindset of "I'm right and everyone else is wrong." We all get caught in this trap during our lives.

Third is of course the massively used word - acceptance. Acceptance does not mean inaction.

Fourth create an action plan with your child where interacting with this person becomes a fun game between the two of you. You want to be the safe and loving place for them to land. You want your daughter running to you with the story of the moron. Then ask your daughter what was the moron trying to teach you today. Let me see if I can help you.

Fifth go shopping, or eating.

Mom #3
Why are they giving my child so much homework?

Simple. Teachers are teaching to the test. This means during class time they briefly go over the subject during class and shift the learning process to the student. We all know how crazy making this can be.

The best solution is to sit with your child and make sure they are understanding the core concept versus doing busy work. With math for example what is the concept behind a word problem? It is a game to see if you know what words mean addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Bottom line try your best to make each annoying homework assignment into a fun project. Your child simply wants to connect with you. Don't always do homework at home. Go to a coffee shop, mall or other hangout place. Enjoy it rather than making it a trip to the dentist.

Send your questions to mathttuor.roger@gmail.com

A Child Doesn't Get Left Behind

Meet Wilson. This is a smart child that just needed some one-on-one attention. To help children like Wilson take a moment to offer your support by visiting this link http://tinyurl.com/l27eej


Donate time, cash, old computers, books to help children learn math.

Bad Attitude, or Bored?

I was working with a child over the past few weeks who has a problem. The problem is they are "smart and bored." This translates to having a bad attitude. The child is always in conflict with everyone including themselves.

The challenge with a child like this is to hear them and give them a pathway out of their turmoil.

The first thing to do is to not react. Reacting only becomes a confrontation. This then takes time and delays doing the actual work.

The next thing to do is to test them on something they know. It does not matter if they are doing the test with a bad attitude. What matters is they do the test and then see their score. In this case the person scored 80%. This allows us to know that even with a bad attitude this is a B student.

When you look at the test the questions they missed were at the beginning and the end. This means once they get to the middle they are functioning at their highest level.

Show, ask and notice. After the test show them the results. "Hey, you did 80% and why do you think the questions you missed were at the beginning and end of the test?" Let them answer. Then ask, "Why do you have a bad attitude?"

They will always answer that they don't. Then ask them what you think to be true. In this case I said, "Are you just bored?" The answer was a yes.

Then set the new performance bar. In this case the student does sports. If they don't get a certain grade level then they can't play. I have to meet with their coaches next week to give a status report.

I said look, "I'm going to send you three tests. They are all on subjects that you know. You need to get 80% on all of these in order for me to give a positive report to your coach."

The student smiled and then said, "Thank you. I will do them today."

Follow Up. The follow up will be tomorrow and I will update this blog through the process. I am rooting for this child.

Update #1: Went to check to see if the child had done any of the online tests. They did not. This of course was not a surprise nor was it something to get upset over. Avoidance is of course part of the process. I sent a supportive email explaining the agreement. This was now the second time the work was communicated (1) Yesterday verbally and (2) Today in writing.

This information went to the student first and I will give them about three hours before it is communicated to the parent. This is of course where we always have to hope for the best, but accept that the worst may evolve.

Next Day Update #2: All three test were taken. The average score was 82% and this included one test that the student only got 50%. The high scores on the other two saved her and the truth is even when she doesn't know a subject she gets more than half right. That is pretty good.

Final Update:  We had the meeting with her mother, coach, myself and her.  Her coach was all about academics and makes all the athletes sign a GPA contract.  This one had to sign one for a 3.0 average.  She had wanted it to be a 2.5.  When we went around the table I explained, "I'm not worried about your abilities.  I know you are smart.  I am worried about your attitude.  I know you get bored."  She smiled.  

I really hope we never have to bench this kid for bad grades because she is really smart and on track for a serious sports scholarship.  I'll keep you posted.

Double Check Progress Reports

     I had an experience today tutoring a child that is worth sharing.  He had gotten his final progress report for the year.  I look at progress reports more from a perspective of where the "teacher and child" had a disconnect on learning together. 

     This is neither the fault of the child, or the teacher.  It is just simply the area where the two stopped connecting on concepts.  I noticed the teacher had said the child needed help adding, subtracting and dividing numbers that were three.  This means 123 + 549 = ?  would be a challenge for this child.

     I noticed he was having trouble with two numbers in a row like 12 +9 = ? because he was trying to do it in his head, or on his fingers.  Counting is the first math concept most children learn.  Sometimes there is a pressure for a child to do too much in their head.

     The child didn't like subtraction, but loved addition.  I thought to myself, "I don't believe this progress report" and I offered the kid a challenge to add larger numbers.  He started right in on problems like 1244 + 4345 = ? and got excited.  He learned the concept of 1 thousand, 10 thousand and 100 thousand.  He got so excited that he wanted to add numbers over a million and he did.  Remember this is a 2nd Grader going into 3rd.  

His teacher said he had trouble with addition of numbers in the form of 3, but he had no problem solving 984,723 + 323,931 = ?

     He was proud.

     His mom was proud.

     The moral of the story is it was easier for this child to add a larger group of numbers because it was more like a puzzle.  It was easier for his head to see adding numbers once there were 4.

What Is Algebra?

Algebra is basically a collision between the alphabet and numbers.

We go along for years just having to deal with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9.  Then all of a sudden we got an X, Y, N and other letters crashing the party.

In its simplest form we are just trying to find something.  The something is always a letter which ultimately becomes a number.

Algebra is about relationships.  When one number does something to another number it has an affect.  Just like if a person does something to another person it has either a positive, negative or neutral outcome.

People that are good at relationships and social settings usually do well in Algebra because they like the journey of how things are connected.

People that are not good in relationships usually do superior in Algebra because they enjoy observing people without actually interacting with them.

When people find a challenge in Algebra it is usually because there is a new concept being introduced.  

When you see a set of numbers and letters like X - 6 = 3 that is the new concept.  If someone explains to you that this is "just a PUZZLE" then you get it.  There are two pieces of the puzzle that we know ( 6 & 3).  In order to complete the PUZZLE we have to find X.  In this case X is 9 and that completes the PUZZLE.  The concept is "WE ARE SOLVING A PUZZLE."  Then every time you see one of these you enjoy it if YOU LIKE SOLVING PUZZLES.

What To Watch For ...

If your child is struggling with something in ALGEBRA first find out if the ACTUAL CONCEPT was ever TAUGHT.

All math is learned first and then becomes intuitive over a period of time.

Tips For Parents

I find when parents have to help their kids with math it brings up lots of issues.  If the parent was not good at math during school then it is even harder to support the child.  This is an opportunity for you as a parent to heal any bad math experience you encountered.

MATH IS BASICALLY 4 THINGS

• Growing a number by ADDING
• Reducing a number by SUBTRACTING
• Expanding a number by MULTIPLICATION
• Distributing a number by DIVISION

Regardless of the complexity of a word or math formula these are the only 4 things we really ever do.

Even in a complex math problem all we are doing is using a combination of those four things.

When you hit a wall with a problem ask yourself which one of the four basic things am I to do next?  That is how we get the answer.

This is true whether the language of the number is a whole number, a fraction, a percentage 

My Math Story & Approach (Correct, Connect & Collect)

My Math Story

I was always good at math as a kid, but the truth is I hid this because it was not cool. I would always test well, but I never really wanted anyone to know I was good at math. It just did not seem like something that would be very cool.

I was also a fat kid at this time. I already had the being picked on as a fat kid under control, but to add "good at math" on top of that? Forget it.

Somewhere along the way I got taller and lost the weight. In high school my Algebra teacher made me an offer. I could do whatever I wanted during math class and he would give me an A if I joined the math club.

I agreed under two conditions. 1. Nobody could know I was in the math club and 2. Nobody could know I was in the math club.

He agreed.

The problem arose after the Math Club Team went to the State competition. A few weeks after the competition the teacher informed me that he had some good news and some bad news. The good news was I finished 5th in the Ohio State Math Competition. The bad news was everyone would know I was in the Math club.

My Approach To Tutoring Kids & Math

CORRECT
I find out how their math teacher missed passing on the skill set to them?
This is the first wall that has to be broken down. If we don't break this down then as a parent the cycle will never end.

CONNECT
Math then has to be connected to something they are excited about in the world. This can be anything from a sport to shopping at American Girl. Everything in the world has a math componet attached to it and that is the key. We all have to learn math whether we want to, or not.

COLLECT
Fun. It has to be fun. Once it is fun then we all collect the results.

Does Your Child Need A Math Tutor?

Is your child in need of a MATH TUTOR?

Did you know that most kids do not really have a problem with math?

If they are not introduced to math in a creative way then they will shut down. Most teachers simply DO NOT HAVE TIME.

I tutor in a way that allows you as a PARENT to PARTICIPATE and take the PAIN out of doing HOMEWORK.

The service is $40 per hour + Travel Expenses (Los Angeles Area)
Webcam rates are $40 per hour (Outside Los Angeles)

Most students only need 3-5 sessions to get on track. The key is not to get them addicted to tutoring, but to open up their own abilities to do the work.

I have a 100% money back guarantee after the first session. If you are not satisfied all money is returned. No questions asked.

All ages.

Test Prep is also available.

Email mathtutor.roger@gmail.com or call 310-492-3121 and ask for Roger