"I’m Ryan! I graduated Birmingham-Southern College with a Bachelor's Degree in Science, majoring in mathematics. I am very passionate about math, because when I was in school, it never felt like a chore to me, but rather like puzzles to solve. At Brentwood High School, I was part of their mathematics honor society. While I was a member, I participated in several math contests. One contest I achieved 6th place out of several dozen participants. (Which was 2nd place from my school). More importantly, though, I tutored other students one on one in a learning lab to meet the honor society’s hourly quota. Most people I tutored were below or at my own grade level, ages 14 to 16. With most students, the subjects I tutored included Algebra, Geometry, and even Chemistry. In addition to these accomplishments, I took AP classes in Calculus and Physics my last two years of high school.

I find tutoring and teaching in general to be very gratifying. I begin by explaining the math problem and establish a step by step process to solve it. It is important to me that the student fully understands each step before moving forward. Then observe them attempting to solve the problem. If they don’t quite comprehend, I identify the part where they struggle and have them practice that part independently. It is always extremely satisfying once they fully grasp the concepts and work more independently. Even in my non math or non teaching jobs I always enjoyed helping co-workers understand a task that needed to be done, as evidenced in former managerial roles.

I look forward to being able to tutor again and help make a difference in a student’s life. Math is a difficult subject for many students. I hope that the students I can help will see math as a lot more approachable and how math can be applied in the world around them." less...