Every day of my life, people ask me “How is it that every single tutor at the Study Hut is a genius? Is it even possible for one building to hold that much knowledge?”
Ok, maybe they don’t say that, but I can tell they were thinking it. It certainly felt that way to me when I first started working here. I looked around, and I saw all of the different things the kids were studying, and how well the tutors knew the material, and I started to worry a bit, because I couldn’t believe I had to live up to such awesomeness.
Then, I started to see how exactly the Hut dynamic worked. It turns out that, while they are incredibly intelligent, Hut Tutors do NOT, in fact, know everything. It’s so much better than that. The Study Hut has an incredibly diverse body of tutors. Every single one of us comes from a different background, from different areas of study, and we’re all focused on one goal: helping any kid that walks through our door. I’m confident, that there’s not a single problem that your kid can come in with that at least one of us couldn’t solve.
And it’s great to see. There’s such a community dynamic here that you just don’t see in other places. I’ve seen three tutors team up to tackle a math problem, while two other tutors talked about the best way to write an essay, while another worked with two SAT kids on vocabulary. When one tutor can’t figure out a problem, there are 20 other people around them perfectly willing to help. We’ve got tutors that have lived overseas, worked in laboratories, taught classes full of students, and a million other things. And we’ve got all of these different types of people working together in the same place.
So, as individuals, we may not know everything. But as a group, there’s not much we can’t do.
The key to being a well-rounded student and perhaps even more importantly a well-rounded person is achieving balance in the elements of your life – academic and personal. With spring break being over for most students it is time to get back into the swing of things and hit the ground running. It is wise during breaks from school such as spring recess to keep your mind active so as to make the returning transition to school as fluid as possible. Even though it may be the last things most students may want to do during spring break, practicing a little bit of math and science or perhaps reading an interesting novel can help keep your mind active and help from forgetting valuable concepts learned prior to the break. That being said, it is also good to use the opportunity of spring break to get outside, be physically active, take in some sunlight, and so on. Actually on a biological level, exposure to sunlight is very important to us because sunlight participates in an important chemical reaction that produces the active form of vitamin D in our bodies. Also, being physically active is a great way to relieve stress through the release of endorphins in our brains. It can certainly be tough, especially for busy students to achieve a good balance in their daily lives. Always try and be efficient with your time and remember the law of diminishing returns. Studying efficiently and more often for shorter periods of time is undoubtedly more beneficial than exhausting several hour long study sessions. Its important to set aside time for social activities, but make sure to also set aside an appropriate amount of time to get your school work completed. It is wise to develop habits like these because they will without a doubt come in useful when you transition from being a high school to a college student.
It may seem a tad premature to write about summer programs, but here at The Study Hut we are always thinking ahead of schedule. The sunny California weather also helps put in a good summer mood. This summer we are excited to introduce new programs for all ages!
Summer is a great time to get caught up on SATs, college apps, and enrichment for the younger ones. The Manhattan and Redondo Beach Study Huts are soon to be equipped with programs for each of those areas.
For starters, we will have reading and writing programs for kindergarten through 8th grade. For the youngsters, we will have reading workshops that target phonemic awareness to prepare them for reading. 3rd-4th graders will have the opportunity to participate in fluency workshops. 5th-8th graders will have the opportunity to take a writing workshop that will be geared toward writing perfected five paragraph essays. Each student will be provided with a private tutor that will guide them toward success.
As for the students at the High School Level we will have both math prep (Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 3/4) and SAT courses. These classes will be in a group setting and will give each student a preview on each of these subjects prior to enrolling so they can have the benefit of starting out with flying colors.
Finally, we will be offering one-on-one tutoring sessions specifically geared toward helping students with their college applications. Such topics to be covered are their personal statement, financial aid, the actual application, resume, and interview skills. Summer is always a great time to get ahead of the game with college apps. Who better to help your child prepare than a tutoring center that has helped numerous students get into college?
Although we just got finished with ski week, we are geared up for the future and can’t wait to implement our new programs! Stay tuned for more info!
It’s not uncommon that we witness nervous and frustrated 7th and 8th grade students walk in with one test on their minds. The independent school entrance exam at a first glance can appear not only intimidating but overwhelming. While some students find themselves lost and perplexed as they glance through what seem to be infinite pages of preparation in many booklets sold in bookstores, others take the easier route of denial and try to forget their woes of test taking anxiety. It covers extensive material in English, math, and uses these subjects in a critical thinking manner that can be a perplexing to many students. The English alone covers vocabulary words that have never been seen by most students, as test consultants we are familiar with test tactics that send students crying to their parents and do our very best to ease their minds. Here at the study hut, we succeed in not only planning a method to conquering the ISEE, but make it easy enough that any student can overthrow this test. Our tactical schedule of tutoring preparation gives the student the ability to do better than well in their weak subject matter and strengthen other subjects they are already confident in.
Our tutors are very understanding, and understand on a personal level the obstacle that each individual student is facing in relation to the ISEE. As recent college graduates we comprehend the pressure and are fresh on test taking strategies and are more than happy to pass on the wisdom. At the Study Hut we breakdown the ISEE preparation to a science. Offering an extensive personalized study plan, we allow each student to change bad testing behaviors and confront each fear they will face during the test. In a nut shell, we are here to help your student, not make a cookie cutter plan for everyone and offer extensive knowledge to each student in test taking skills and want each of our students to rule the ISEE.
Ah, the SAT. No matter where you live, where you go to school, or what kind of grades you get, the SAT is an experience that bonds American students of all ages. It’s changed over the years, but the idea is the same: find a way to accurately gauge a student’s level of education through completely standardized means. Now, whether it’s an effective gauge is another debate entirely. What matters to you is how well you do on the test. And that’s what we’re here to help with.
First of all, you should understand what you’re getting into. The SAT is divided into three sections: Math, Writing, and Critical Reading. The Math section covers nearly everything you’ll learn in the first two years of High School, plus a little bit of Junior year. Basically, expect to be tested on all of Algebra and Geometry. Not to worry, though; nothing from Trig or beyond will be on the test. The Critical Reading section involves two main parts. First is Reading Passages, in which you’ll be given passages to read (duh.) and will have to answer questions based on the content of the reading. Second is the Fill-In-The-Blank section, where you’ll have to school SAT vocabulary words to complete sentences, based on context. Last but not least, there’s the Writing section. This begins with an essay, followed by MORE reading paragraphs (now based more on grammar and sentence structure than content), and correcting sentence errors.
The test runs just under four hours. This involves 6 25 minute sections (two from each subject, including the essay), two 20 minute sections, and one ten minute sections. You’ll receive breaks after each two sections (3 breaks total).
NOW, how do you prepare? This is going to sound weird, but studying the material is NOT the biggest way to prepare (but still important). What we do here in our SAT Prep Courses is teach you STRATEGY. We teach you how to solve any problem, and how to do it in a quick and efficient manner (which, on a timed test, is priority one). We’ll teach you when to skip a question, when to guess, how to mark up a paragraph, and how to write a proper essay that the graders will love. We’ll show you how to raise that grade.
SO, this is how to do it. Come in for a free diagnostic. This let’s us see what level you’re at. Then, sign up for either our group classes, or private SAT tutoring sessions. This is dependent entirely on you, and how you learn best. Either way, we’re gonna work hard to make sure you know what you’re doing when that SAT rolls along.
Many people think math is really boring. This is because, for the most part, teachers are lame and don’t make the material interesting. There is a lot of cool and weird mathematics out there that kids unfortunately are not exposed to. Here are a couple of interesting mathematical oddities that will hopefully spark some interest in math:
You want to find the sum of the infinite series 1-1+1-1+1-1+1-… This pattern repeats forever. At first glance, you would likely say (1-1)+(1-1)+(1-1)+… = 0+0+0+0+… and conclude the sum is 0. At second glance you may say the 1+(-1+1) +(-1+1) +(-1+1) +(-1+1) = 1+0+0+0+0+… = 1. Turns out both of these are wrong and the sum turns out to be ½. Here is why:
Let’s call the sum of the series S, whatever it may be. So, S = 1-1+1-1+1-1+1-…
Now, look at 1-S. We get 1-S = 1- [1-1+1-1+1-1+1-…] = 1-1+1-1+1-1+1-… = S. This is the same as our original series. We just showed that 1-S = S which means that 1=2S or that S=1/2. Pretty crazy that you can add 1 and -1 infinitely many times to get ½.
Here is another cool little proof why 1=2:
Let a =b. Then a2 = ab.
So, a2+ a2 = a2+ab or 2a2 = a2+ab.
Now, Subtract 2ab from both sides of the equation. Doing so, we get:
2a2 -2ab= a2+ab-2ab
So, 2a2 -2ab= a2-ab
Now, we factor out a 2 from the left side of the equation which leave us with:
2(a2+ab) = a2+ab
Divide both sides by a2+ab leaves us with:
2=1.
Take a close look though. While everything seems to be right, we all know 2 does not equal 1. Can you find the erroneous step? If not, come to the Study Hut and we can show you what’s up.
Attention Palos Verdes students: Are you struggling with math, or more specifically with algebra? Well at Study Hut Tutoring, we have plenty of well qualified tutors that can assist you with this difficult and frustrating subject. Study Hut Tutoring has assisted several students from Palos Verdes High School in all areas throughout a year’s worth of algebra 1 and 2. Whether it’s analyzing inequalities, graphing linear functions, or the dreaded factoring of polynomials, Study Hut Tutoring will not only teach students the proper steps to solving problems, but will help point out more efficient approaches to problems, so that algebra students don’t get stuck working on a problem for five minutes when it could have been done in 30 seconds!
Here at Study Hut Tutoring, students typically bring in their daily homework and work one on one with an experienced algebra tutor. Read the rest of this entry »
Palos Verdes students flock in droves to the Redondo Riviera for coffee, food, and knowledge. Local tutors who have been in students shoes call Study Hut Tutoring, “…a refreshing breath of fresh knowledge, tailored one-on-one instruction, and chill environment.” Located in the heart of the Redondo Beach Riviera, Study Hut Tutoring provides service to students who attend Palos Verdes High School, Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Prep, Chadwick and Redondo Union High School.
The local and experienced tutors work with middle school and high school students on math, science, reading comprehension, test preparation and study skills. Study Hut tutors are Palos Verdes Estate tutors. Study Hut tutors are local Peninsula tutors who have been there and done; they know how to help in the most effective, directed way.
All of the local Palos Verdes tutors at Study Hut tutoring tailor to each individual student. If help is needed with the SAT or ACT test, the best knowledge is dished out at the Hut.
Give Study Hut Tutoring a call. Study Hut focuses on the needs of each student. Results are achieved through interacting on a one-on-one level.
The kids that come to Study Hut Tutoring in Manhattan Beach, CA agree that local, recent college grads at Study Hut are the best El Segundo tutor they’ve come to know, learn from and love. El Segundo Tutoring makes sense in Manhattan Beach because Study Hut offers a great location near the northern edge of Manhattan Beach, and the southern end of El Segundo.
Despite the smaller school district, El Segundo education is on the rise. Students who attend El Segundo Middle School and El Segundo High School are smashing test scores and earning top grades- according to the results of Study Hut goers from El Segundo.
If your not an El Segundo Eagle quite yet, come to the Hut to work on learning how to write a structured essay. The experienced tutors at Study Hut know the El Segundo curriculum, so they know how to gear you up, and get you going in the right direction. The Study Hut Team is dynamic; all of the experts are in one location to help.
