A lot of students from Palos Verdes and Peninsula High School come into our Redondo office despising math, and I don’t blame them. Mathematics is a tough subject that takes a lot of time to understand, and students often try to get by by memorizing the rules, proofs, and theorems without ever perceiving how they work. After all, it’s a nasty subject that I’ll never really need. Who cares about the directrix of a parabola? When do I need to know how to calculate the area of a n-sided polygon? What’s the point of being able to do basic arithmetic in my head? I can just use my iPhone calculator to get the answer, or Google search it. That’s good enough.

It’s tough to argue against these points, but I believe that putting your best foot forward when tackling math builds a solid foundation, not only in regards to academics but to life as well. If a child is willing to put in the time to genuinely understand how trigonometric identities work, they’ll be more likely to work for things in life, whether it be a job, sport, or relationship in the future. If a student understands that they need to address their poor grades in math head-on instead of ignoring it, they won’t run when life gets tough. On the other hand, if that student resorts to taking short cuts in math or gives up after trying only once, they’re likely to throw their hands up in the air whenever they face adversity. Just like there are no short cuts to becoming a great Sea King or Panther athlete, there are no short cuts in academics, especially math.

So please, help your child develop good life habits by spending some extra time one or two nights a week helping them with their math. Make sure they show their work and don’t just guess the answer. Ask them questions to see how well they really grasp the material. Tell them, “Good job!” or “Nice work!” when they’re trying their best. Teach them the joy of hard work. As a math tutor, there are no secrets to help these students. I help them first understand the basics and then build on those basics. I teach them how to systematically analyze a problem and try various approaches instead of looking in the back of the book for the answer. I encourage them to ask questions when they don’t understand something. These are all good habits that people need to succeed in life, and mathematics is a great place for children to start developing them.

At The Hut, we know that all students learn differently and come to tutoring with unique expectations. For those high achieving high school students who are immersed in Advanced Placement courses, SAT practice, and extracurricular activities, time management is key.

Junior and senior year of high school are the most academically demanding years of the four. This is the time when students are mastering those tough classes (AP Euro, Bio, US, Chem, Spanish…) and special skills (soccer, music, community service…) that will make them competitive at the university of their choice. With little sleep and less free time during the day, what these teens need is a schedule.

Mira Costa junior Danny came to The Study Hut in need of a little planning. With a full schedule of electives and extracurriculars, Danny had no trouble learning the material; he just needed to find the time to do it. During tutoring sessions, Danny and I spent time organizing his schedule for the week – ensuring that he would have time to do the activities he loves as well as the focused studying that he needs to ace information-dense AP Biology. With a realistic amount of time blocked out every day for biology review, and the creation of specific goals for the completion of assignments, Danny’s test scores immediately improved. With the continued use of these organization techniques, as well as weekly concept review at The Study Hut, Danny’s grades are steadily improving. By the time of the AP Biology exam, he had drastically improved his grade in the class and his ability to retain large amounts of information.

One hour of one-on-one tutoring for high school students is not only an excellent way to clarify difficult concepts, it is also a way to keep busy students on track all week long. Short-term study techniques will prepare a student for an upcoming test, but organization and planning skills with a long-term focus are the key to improving a student’s ability to learn information, retain information, and succeed in the analytic-based learning that is in their future. The commitment to a regular schedule allows students to anticipate assignments and plan their schedules accordingly. This reduces stress, which in turn makes test-taking less of an ordeal. Less panic means better decisions and higher scores. Period.

If a student can stick to a study plan and stop relying on last-minute cramming, they are guaranteed to see positive results. And a little more sleep never hurts either…

One-on-one tutoring has many advantages over group tutoring. One-on-one tutoring is more focused and versatile than group tutoring. With group tutoring, tutors focus on more general concepts. They often have to teach material some of the students already understand. Its hard for the tutor to explain the concepts in a way each student can understand. With one-on-one tutoring, the tutor can develop a study plan to strengthen the students’ weaknesses . If the student is having trouble understanding a concept, the tutor can spend more time explaining the concept in a way that the student can understand. The tutor also helps to build an infrastructure for studying at home that best suits the student own preferences for learning. Students can also get help with more than one subject with one-on-one tutoring. If they have and a math and a chemistry test the next day, but feel strongly on about math, they can quickly go through the math concepts that aren’t understood and spend the rest of the time focusing on chemistry.

One on one tutoring keeps students focused and engaged in the lesson, allowing the students to use their time more efficiently. When in groups, many kids are overly self-conscious of what their peers think. They do not ask as many question and they do not engage in the conversation for the fear of feeling stupid or being laughed at. As many teachers would contest, students are also more likely to get distracted by their friends and engage in side conversations. One-on-one tutoring cuts out these distractions, giving students more bang for their buck.

Another benefit of one-on-one tutoring is that each student can choose a tutor that best suits his or her liking. The session is a lot more enjoyable and more can be accomplished if the if the student likes the person who is tutoring him/her. The students will stay more focused on their work rather than how much they dislike the tutor.