"My college degrees are in Liberal Arts and Electrical Engineering. So I learned Spanish, History, Shakespeare and James Joyce, Post-Modern Literature, and Greek Philosophy while also studying Engineering Physics, Statistics, Circuits, Differential Equations, and Microprocessor Design. I kept taking elective courses on Neuroscience in undergrad, so I pursued a PhD in Biomedical Science specializing in Neuroscience. This meant coursework in Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Sensory Science, and Electrophysiology. None of this education makes me a good teacher in itself, perhaps. But, frankly, teaching is my knack. I completed my Master's degree and ended my graduate work to raise my first daughter full-time while my wife completed her graduate school. And I've taught part-time ever since as a hobby and personal passion, both as a professional, as a volunteer instructor, and of course as a parent.

Math is often confusing to us because we don't know what tools we can use to figure out the "unknown." So I work to ensure my students know what tools we are using (a principle, theorem, postulate, operation, etc.) and how each tool transforms the initial problem into something that gets us closer to revealing an answer. I help my students find the confidence to apply those tools and to practice with them until the student achieves mastery of their use. Math is a series of puzzles, and it can be quite fun! I also like the portability of this skill to other subjects -- identify the tools that you must learn to use, then apply those tools to the topic at hand.

I fell in love with teaching in graduate school when I took a teaching assistant position for a Cell Biology course. Since then, I have taught adults in math, computer science, and applied software. I have taught work skills and basic education to adults who never graduated high school (with the ghosts of their old terrible teachers hovering over every lesson). I volunteered in elementary school and middle school teaching co-curricular enrichment courses" less...