March 7th, 2011
As a parent, you care about the success of your child. If you read any of our posts you will hear about the children that have found inspiration as part of the Study Hut family to live to their fullest potential. What you may not know is that we hire tutors not only because they are from some of the top universities, Columbia, UC Davis, UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley, but we also hire our tutors because of the unique, worldly perspectives they bring to our students. Our tutors are highly sought after medical school candidates. They are people who have traveled all around the world, living in places like Ecuador, Costa Rica, Japan, France, Spain, The Netherlands and West Africa. They are accomplished musicians, teachers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists and engineers. They have not only succeeded in the top educational institutes our country has to offer, but have brought these lessons to fruition through the country and throughout the world.
Many tutoring places offer a number two pencil, practice tests and flash cards. Study Hut offers the inspiration needed to fuel students’ dreams over and beyond the high school classroom. Our tutors still have the memories of college and high school fresh in their minds. We understand where your student is coming from. We understand that learning is an objective that requires us to live both inside and outside a textbook. We understand what they need to be their best. Why do students still come to Study Hut when they aren’t in a tutoring session? Why do you see students smiling when you walk into Study hut? Why do students decide that they want to be here? It’s because we offer more students more than just learning we offer them success.
Tags: global success, Smart tutor, study Hut, top university, travel, UCLA, USC
Posted in 6-8, 9-12, Comprehension, El Segundo, elementary school, General, General Articles, high school, K-5, Learning, life skills, middle school, retention, Self esteem, Teaching, Test taking anxiety, Tutors |
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March 5th, 2011
Through my experiences tutoring at Study Hut Tutoring Center I have learned a great deal about kids, how they learn and how they cope with their educational struggles. I have one particular student that forced me to think outside of the box and come up with a plan to start from the basics. Sara came to me with what she described, unabashedly, as “straight F’s.” She plopped down in the chair and swung her backpack onto the table like a ton of bricks. I instantly felt overwhelmed as I opened her backpack and found loose papers coming out of everywhere, crumpled and shoved into books. She had a separate mid-sized sack just for her pencils, pens and various other small objects. She objected the whole time as we went through her pencil sack and attempted to eliminate all of the items that were not necessary for her success (our definitions of this were very different). We weeded through all of the loose papers and began to organize them. I quickly learned that her deficits were not in conceptualization but rather organization, motivation and discipline. She breezed right through the assignments and proved to be very smart; however, she often lost her homework before she brought it to class and was distracted by criticism from her teachers because she was labeled as a trouble maker. Her assignments, when she left me after our sessions, were not just about finishing her homework and studying for upcoming tests, but were also about practicing filling out her planner completely, keep all assignments neatly in their own folders, getting to sleep by 10 pm and staying focused in class. Before working with this student I had taken these basic skills for granted and did not recognize how they play a pivotal role in a student’s success. Despite my assumptions some students do not learn these skills along the way and need to be taught how to stay organized, disciplined and focused on academic success. Since I began working with Sara she has improved by leaps and bounds in learning these skills. As a result, her confidence has soared. Her grades are up from “F’s” to “C’s” and she is warming up to the once implausible idea of getting “A’s” and “B’s” even in her weakest subjects. This has been an extremely gratifying experience for us both!
Tags: academic success, academic successes, confidence has soared, grades up, improvement through tutoring, staying focused, student success, tutor success, tutoring success, tutoring successes
Posted in 6-8, Learning, life skills, Manhattan Beach, middle school, Poor Test grades, Self esteem, study skills, Tutor Tips |
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February 21st, 2011
The Hut
I’m sure there are plenty of tutoring spots in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and countless more in the south bay but I’m in inclined to believe that few can measure up to The Study Hut in Manhattan Beach. Many parents struggle with where to send their children to get some help. They try to give their children a leg up so they maybe they won’t have to struggle as much in the future. The choices for giving a child an advantage can be mind boggling at times. There are so many places making claims about improving grades and how they will accomplish this amazing transformation in your child. They make promises of making them an “A” student over night. The truth is there is no magic formula. There is no making your child an overnight genius. Change comes with work and constant work to boot. The work is a communal project; it can’t come in a tutor session alone. Now, this is the place where the real separation comes into play. Other places say they will change the culture your child has developed but only care about what occurs in the tutoring session only. However the dedicated folks at the study hut aka the hut make sure to communicate with the parents on the work which is accomplished and needs to be accomplished on a nightly basis. They call home and let parents know their child still have 3 hours worth of work left and work to develop strategies to make sure this isn’t the norm. They make sure the culture created at the hut also becomes the culture the student sees at home. Because it takes a village to raise a child, no matter how big or small the village might be.
Tags: developing strategies at study hut tutoring, hut, hut study, study Hut, studying at the hut, The Hut, tutor at the hut, tutoring at study hut, tutors at study hut, tutors at the hut
Posted in 6-8, 9-12, General, General Articles, Learning, life skills, Manhattan Beach, Poor Test grades, retention, Self esteem, study skills, Teaching, Testing, Tutor Tips, Tutors |
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November 29th, 2010
If Study Hut isn’t already in your daily vernacular, well – it should be. We’ve been called lifesavers and superheroes, among other superlatives, but we prefer the term tutors. When we are not solving multi-variable polynomial mysteries, we are working hard to make sure our students excel in school.
Hut superstar Kate, a student at Mira Costa High School, is the epitome of a Hut student. Kate comes to the Hut regularly to study, refine and reinforce concepts she is struggling with in her academic classes. Beyond prepping for tests and finishing homework assignments, she is inquisitive about the topics she is learning and asks thought-provoking questions to master the material beyond textbook knowledge. She is never afraid to seek help and is ever ready to do extra practice problems to ingrain these concepts. Her high grades are evidence of her diligence and a testament to our competency and commitment.
The encouraging and nurturing ambiance at Study Hut is vital to the success of students like Kate. We aim to advance and cultivate the students’ desire to learn and grow. By incorporating analogies, interactive videos, worksheets and personal anecdotes into our lesson plans, the tutors are able to provide exciting insight and applicability to the seemingly humdrum topics. I personally enjoy using Math, Biology, Chemistry pick-up lines/jokes to teach the material. While you may not ROFLOL when I ask you `Why did the bear dissolve in water?’ and respond with an enthusiastic `because it was POLAR!’- You will definitely remember the solubility rules of polar compounds. This personal touch catered to the needs of each student is forte of Study Hut. The focused 1-on-1 tutoring, coupled with our unique style, develops these young’uns into self-motivated and hardworking students and avid learners.
Tags: Chem tutor, chemistry tutoring, Chemistry tutors, manhattan beach chemistry tutor, Manhattan Beach Chemistry tutoring, Mb chemistry tutors, mb tutor, mb tutoring, mb tutors, Study Hut's student of the week, tutor in mb, tutoring in mb, tutors in mb
Posted in 9-12, Chemistry, high school, Learning, Manhattan Beach, Self esteem, study skills |
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October 29th, 2010
I am currently an academic tutor at Study Hut Tutoring in Redondo Beach. Every week here at the “hut” is a new experience. Last week one of my students absolutely blew me away! She started with us this summer and attends Redondo Union High School. When she came in the first few times for math tutoring it was obvious that she wished she were elsewhere. As the summer progressed she opened up slowly when we talked about music, or clothes, or yes, boys! (I went there!) Last Tuesday she walked in holding a can of whipped cream and exclaimed “I’m gonna be here for while!”. She went to kitchen filled two cups with coffee and told me “You have to try this”, as she packed on the delicious whipped cream. We sipped our indulgent treat as we tackled her math homework. Near the end of her hour it became evident that she still had more work to do. She asked if she could stick around even though I had another kid coming. She sat at the other table throughout my next two sessions, drinking sweet coffee and working steadily. Three months ago she would NOT have chosen to stay here for two additional hours! Now she sees Study Hut as her place– a place she can hangout at– and she has changed her mind about school.
Throughout my four years in college I was a tutor, now a grad student, I can honestly say that I have never seen anything work as well as Study Hut’s approach. Everything from the relaxed decor to our energetic tutors make this place conducive to truly enjoying tutoring.
Tags: Math tutoring, Redond beach tutor, Redondo Beach Tutoring, Redondo union high school tutoring, Study Hut Tutoring
Posted in 9-12, Redondo Beach, Self esteem |
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May 10th, 2010
April has been the boldest month of 2010 at the Hut. To motivate students to finish out the year strong, we have turned up the heat and let loose the competition. Study Hut’s “Student of the Month” award has just been instituted and the first draft winners have been chosen. Our high school winner was one of my most successful students because she has shown such vast improvement in the short amount of time I have tutored her. Paige first came to me with unspeakable grades in her algebra class. At first, I was confused because she understood most of her homework but showed a plethora of poor test grades.
Through talking to her about her thought process, we discovered that she had a mild form of test-taking anxiety. After consulting my boss about an effective approach with Paige, we went to work. She increased her visits from one to three sessions per week with me in order to allot time for timed practice tests. My approach was to do her math problems alongside her and compare our answers instead of watching her do all the work by herself. She worked exceedingly well with my “team” approach because it helped her correct her own mistakes and take control of the session.
After working with Paige for several weeks, I have seen rapid improvement in her comprehension, retention, and esteem. She craves the practice problems because she has seen the positive results for herself. After she brought in her first ‘A,’ I jumped at the chance to nominate her for this award. Since then, she has walked through the door with two more ‘A’ test scores and higher expectations for herself. I look forward to our sessions and when she brings in her tests, I vicariously feel like an ‘A’ student all over again. Students of the month keep this job rewarding and engaging. Keep the good grades rolling!
Tags: Comprehension, manhattan beach tutoring, math tutor, math tutors, MCHS Student, mchs tutor, MCHS Tutoring, mira costa high school tutor, Mira COsta High School tutoring, Poor Test grades, retention, Self esteem, Student of the month, Test taking anxiety
Posted in 9-12, Algebra, Comprehension, high school, Manhattan Beach, math, Poor Test grades, retention, Self esteem, South Bay, Student of the Month, study skills, Test taking anxiety, Tutor Tips, Tutors |
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