fbpx
 
 

Why Do I Have to Know This?

December 1st, 2011

I’ve been tutoring for a while now. Before coming to the Study Hut, I
worked as a private tutor and substitute teacher in New Jersey for
about 4 years. During that time, there was one question I was asked
over and over again. It had nothing to do with sines or cosines. It
had no relation to bicameral legislature. And it bared no resemblance
to anything in chemistry. The question was a simple one: WHY DO I HAVE
TO KNOW THIS?!

And parents, let’s be fair; we’ve ALL asked this in the past. We’ve
all experience the study session where we have to answer 14 questions
relating to alternate interior angles, and we couldn’t think of a
single instance when we’d use the information in real life. We were
usually given the same excuses as well:

-“Maybe you’ll have a job with a lot of math.”

-“You’ll need to know it to get into college.”

-“You need to know it because it’s ON THE TEST.”

-“Because I said so.”

All valid. All true. But none of these speak to the average Manhattan
Beach student. And, let’s face it, how often DO you use trigonometry
and chemistry in your real life? (Engineers and doctors, put your
hands down, I was being rhetorical.)

This is how I try to explain the value of education to my students:

When you go to the gym, you do pushups. Are you doing this because of
how often you push yourself up in real life? No. You do it because it
trains your body, and allows it to do other physical activities when
you need to. It makes your body strong. And to get strong, your body
needs to do a variety of exercises. Just doing pushups wont cut it.

It’s the same thing with your mind. You’re not going through Trig and
Chem and Bio and History because of how often you’ll use them in real
life. You’re taking these classes in order to TRAIN YOUR MIND HOW TO
THINK. You’re making your mind strong, so that, later in life, it will
be ready for when you really need it. By studying so many different
subjects, you’re practicing the fine arts of thinking analytically and
critically, which is beyond important in any career.

Plus, memorizing the state capitals is a great trick at parties.

The Study Hut is THE place to do school work

September 29th, 2011

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.

 

 

Study Hut is Unique from its tutors to its Environment

September 20th, 2011

Study Hut is the greatest tutoring center in Manhattan Beach because it’s not like school. When I first walked into the Study Hut, I was expecting off-white walls and a silent ambience; I was expecting bored students and tired tutors. These were my past experiences when I tried out various tutor centers back in high school. But when I went through the front door of the Study Hut, all my stereotypes were immediately crushed. There was a cozy feel to the rooms, each with a different theme, from a jungle room, to an India room, to a beach room. There were young fresh tutors who were teaching with passion and patience while keeping students entertained with a friendliness so often absent in tutors.

Students often need a change of pace from school to effectively do their homework and learn the concepts. The Study Hut offers this unique environment, where students can unwind, do their homework, work out the kinks before a test, and of course munch on a few snacks. Most importantly, aside from the fun that both the students and tutors have, there are immediate results with the students. Owners Rob, Sean-Patrick, and all other managerial staff do an amazing job of keeping track of students’ progress and keep open and honest communication with both the student and the parent. This keeps everyone from the tutor, to the student, to the parent accountable and produces results.

So again, why is the Study Hut the greatest tutoring center in Manhattan Beach? Because everyone has fun, everyone learns, and everyone earns better grades.

Most truthfully from a newbie tutor

Sports and tutoring are Similar

June 14th, 2011

When I’m not tutoring at Study Hut in Manhattan Beach, I like to volunteer my time as a baseball coach at Westchester Babe Ruth. I see a lot of similarities to coaching and tutoring. One of the most important aspects to both is being able to relate to players and students. I was never very receptive to the old, over the hill baseball coaches because it’s hard to relate to them. Besides baseball, there’s not too much we have in common and it’s very hard to build a rapport with them. I feel the same can be said with tutoring, because I’m not too far removed from high school its a lot easier for the other tutors and me to relate to the students. When you are in a comfortable environment, it just provides a solid learning experience. Another very interesting relationship is the amount of work both students and baseball players put into their respective fields. No one is born an All Star or brainiac, it takes a lot of effort and hard work. The best players on the field and the best students in the classroom share a common characteristic and that’s work ethic. The ones that put the extra effort in more often than not are the ones who excel in sports or school. One thing I try to stress to my students from Mira Costa and Manhattan Beach Middles School is that they should never sacrifice their schoolwork for sports. A few of my high school students think that just because they play sports they can just cruise through high school. This is most definitely not the case. If they have ambitions to play collegiate they first must have the grades to get in college, and they will also need strong study skills. Road games in college drag student athletes out of classes for days if not weeks. If they haven’t established strong study skills in high school, they are doomed in college. Luckily the student athletes have a resource like Study Hut at their finger tips, and can learn the skills to succeed in the classroom.

Study Hut Tutoring in Manhattan Beach Congratulates Kendall D. for Crushing it at Tutoring

May 16th, 2011

There are some students who come into the Study Hut every week in Manhattan Beach with such a great attitude and work ethic that you have to take the time to give them a shout-out. The Manhattan Beach Study Hut wants to give these students that stand out on a regular basis by attacking their work, staying organized, and accepting challenges with a smile.

Kendall D. is one of the stellar students who happens to also have a very busy life. She’s in a challenging math class. She has club soccer practice twice a week and games on Saturdays. She has family commitments almost every weekend. Coincidentally, she also maintains a planner that most Study Hut tutors only dream about. Kendall’s planner is color-coded, complete everyday, and looks like it was written in Times New Roman. As a Manhattan Beach tutoring student who has many commitments every week and limited time to do homework, she has realized that time-management is her key to academic success (granted, if she is like most students, this may change when she gets to college- but until then, we appreciate her efficiency!).

Not only is she incredibly neat and organized when she comes into Study Hut Tutoring in Manhattan Beach, Kendall is also a very positive, ambitious student. Her recent math assignments have involved complicated logic problems that elicit groans from students young and old (tutors included). Even though this is the most difficult concept that Kendall has encountered in her math class, she tackles every problem with the knowledge that she can conquer it if she works through it methodically. She attacks problems at the end of the hour with as much vigor as the first five minutes and has incredible focus.

All of these stellar qualities make Kendall a pleasure to work with and a Manhattan Beach Study Hut Star. Great job and keep up the hard work!

Trick Questions: How the Manhattan Beach Study Hut Tutoring tutors reveal these secrets

May 12th, 2011

On an exam, the last thing you want to see is a trick question. They’re insidious, deceitful, sneaky, and frankly below the belt. It’s simply unfair for a teacher to hit you with a slippery question and then slap a permanent demerit on your report card just because you didn’t think to suspect that your kindly old professor, benevolent font of all knowledge, was out to make you look like a fool.
Luckily for us here at Study Hut Tutoring in Manhattan Beach, you’re not being graded and we’re not your teachers. So I throw trick questions around like it’s my job, ’cause it sort of is. Let me explain.
In a standard classroom situation, teachers need to make sure that everyone is on roughly the same page. Concepts are still being introduced, and the most basic, standard forms of the subject matter are being pounded into your head. At first, there is little room for nuance or exceptions; the core ideas need to be learned by everyone, and the teacher doesn’t have the luxury of taking her students down interesting tangents.
However, the benefit of having your own Study Hut tutor in Manhattan Beach is that we work one on one with your kid; and can tailor our pace and content moment to moment based on how they’re doing. That means that the instant that I feel my student has really grasped the core idea and is starting to coast, you better be sure I’m going to throw them a curve ball to keep their minds active and open. Now, this does not mean that every second of the class is spent trying to fool and confuse them; that would be counterproductive. I use trick questions sparingly to mix up the pace and refocus their attention if they ever seem complacent.
This might mean asking them for the maximum value of an upward facing parabola when they’re used to me asking for the minimum (the answer’s infinity, not the y value of the vertex), or what tense of subjunctive will follow the phrase “No dudo que…” (which won’t take the subjunctive at all, as it indicates certainty). In any case, the student will be required to examine the full breadth of their knowledge, and not just the obvious pattern in front of their eyes.
So if you’re content with just learning the basics and coasting by, you have plenty of options. If, however, you want a tutor that won’t stop at a passing grade, that will help you not only understand but actually master the material, Study Hut is the place for you.

Study Hut’s Student of the Week

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.