Tutor New York City

Number Sense

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:21:00 +0000

Some people are just better with numbers than other people. The people who are better with numbers have something that math teachers sometimes refer to as number sense. It’s like common sense, but for math.

Your friend who can reliably estimate which brand of peanut butter is the least expensive even though they come in differently sized jars probably has good number sense. Likewise, the fifth grader who makes a calculation error on a test but then notices that the answer doesn’t look right. Number sense is useful throughout life and generally makes all things mathematical much easier. The question is, how can we help children (or teenagers, or adults) develop number sense?

In the most basic terms, people who think more deeply about math are more likely to develop and intuitive sense of how numbers act. But that just begs the question of how we can encourage children (who are often reluctant) to think deeply about math? One method is to expose them to a wide variety of problems, especially problems that are genuinely interesting.

Here’s an example. Pick a number from 1 to 9. Now multiply that number by 3. Finally, multiply it by 37,037,037. What happens? Why? (Can you figure it out? Hint: what is 37,373,737 times 3?) Thinking about problems like this, and especially talking about them can be a great way to develop number sense. You can find more interesting math problems like this by doing an internet search for terms such as “math magic” and “surprising math”.

Certain games are good ways to develop number sense, too. “24” comes to mind. “24” is really a family of games designed specifically to hone mathematical thinking, and they’re well worth checking out. I’ve had good luck getting even reluctant learners to enthusiastically participate. Other games might not have been designed with math in mind, but they rely heavily on probability and therefore can provide great exposure. Examples of this type of game include tabletop strategy games made by the Games Workshop or Wizards of the Coast. An older, better known game that can also serve this purpose is Risk.

Math problems that have a serious bearing on real life rather than the silly, unrealistic problems that most students are usually exposed to can be stimulating too, especially for older kids. Studying compounding interest and the way credit cards, bank accounts and other financial instruments work come to mind as an example. Edward Zaccaro’s book 25 Real Life Math Investigations is another rich source for this type of problem.

A related strategy is to study the mathematics of interesting physical phenomenon. For instance, if you have the opportunity to build and launch rockets with kids, it’s possible to use all sorts of math in exciting ways (combined with physics, of course). For example, you can use algebraic formulas to calculate how high you expect the rocket to fly and trigonometry to actually measure the path it takes. The topic you investigate doesn’t need to be as spectacular as rocketry- there are a wide variety of amenable subjects (primarily from physics). Using the density formula while designing model boats is one of my favorite projects using math.

Developing a strong number sense isn’t quick or easy, but it also isn’t magic. Anyone can do it with practice and it is certainly worthwhile. Done right, it might even be fun.

A Tutor's Perspective on the High School Application Process in New York City: Part II, the ISEE

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:14:00 +0000

I’ve been a tutor in New York City since 2004, and since I specialize in working with middle school age children, I have become quite familiar with the high school application process. There are many categories of high school and the application process is by no means the same for each category- because of this, the whole process can sometimes feel even more complex and draining than applying to college. This essay will be about applying to New York City Independent Schools, with particular focus on standardized testing. Other essays will address applying to Specialized Public High Schools and Selective, Non-Specialized Public Schools.

Applying to private school at the middle or high school levels is a lot like applying to college. Students submit transcripts, teacher recommendations, and an essay. They list their extracurricular activities and go on interviews. Instead of taking the SAT or ACT, they take the SSAT (or, much more commonly) the ISEE. Every portion of the application process counts and different schools grant different weights to the various aspects of an application. Perhaps the most difficult part of the process is recognizing that in addition to all of the elements that families can control, there is an element of randomness and luck as well.

It’s a stressful process, for sure. Try to remember that just as children need schools, schools need students. Do your best, but try not to let it take over your life. Also, remember that going to the right school is important, but there is no one right school, and what a student makes of his or her education is at least as important as the school he or she attends.

As a tutor, I am far more familiar with the ISEE portion of middle and high school applications than I am with any other part of the process. Fortunately, many of the long-term strategies that lead to a good score on the ISEE also promote good grades, strong teacher recommendations, and well-written essays. (Hint: If you’re reading this essay, there’s a pretty good chance that you want to know what to do about the ISEE now. Skip to the end for short-term suggestions.)

Long-Term Strategies

The ISEE rewards students who are avid readers. Most obviously, kids who read a lot do much better on the reading comprehension part of the test. No matter what any testing company or private tutor may tell you, there is simply no way to compensate for the hundreds of books reluctant readers haven’t read compared to their enthusiastically reading counterparts. Of course, certain test taking techniques can help book-avoiding students, but they can never fully bridge the gap. In addition to reading comprehension, the test contains straight-ahead vocabulary questions, many of which are quite sophisticated. Reading is certainly not the only way to develop vocabulary, but it is probably the single most consistantly effective way.

But what if your kid isn’t a reader? There are several approaches you can try to encourage reading. First, of course, it helps to read to children extensively when they are little and have them read to you when they learn how. What many people don’t realize is that older children often enjoy reading with their parents almost as much as pre-schoolers do. Even if your child is in middle school, you may be able to start a habit of reading together as a family. It’s also very helpful for children to see their parents reading regularly. “Do as I say, not as I do” is rarely effective.

Nothing can replace reading, but other activities can support vocabulary development and the acquisition of background knowledge, both of which are important components to reading comprehension generally and success on the ISEE particularly. Activities to consider include watching more sophisticated films, listening to books on tape, and partaking of the many theatrical offerings we’re lucky enough to be surrounded by in New York City. I can’t prove it, but my instincts tell me that acting in school plays and being on a debate team are also beneficial activities.

The ISEE also rewards students who are thoroughly comfortable with math. Obviously, doing well in math class in school is critical. Students who pay attention in class, ask questions, study, and most especially think about what they are learning do far better on the ISEE than students who don’t. Some math curriculums give students insufficient practice working with thought provoking, non-routine problems. If you suspect your child’s school is using this type of curriculum, joining a math team is a really good idea, if it is at all possible. Other students don’t get enough practice with basic calculations. If you suspect this is the case, I would suggest putting the calculator away for a good long while, no matter what the teacher allows.

Outside of school, it’s a good idea to involve children in the math that you do on a daily basis. If you go to a restaurant, tell your kid what percent you want to tip, and have him or her do the calculations. If you go shopping, look for sales and have your child calculate the actual price of items. If you’re comfortable with it, get your child to balance your checkbook for you.

One important aspect of doing well on the ISEE, and in academics more generally, is to deal with small problems before they become big ones. If you sense that your child is struggling in a particular subject, take action before the situation becomes dire. Talk to your child’s teacher- maybe you’ll find out that extra help is available. If extra help isn’t available or doesn’t seem to be doing the trick, consider private tutoring. Sometimes, even a short course of tutoring can get a student back on track.

Short-Term Strategies

There are three basic ways to prepare specifically for the ISEE: independent study, group classes, or private tutoring. Some families combine one or more of these methods while other families choose not to do specific test preparation at all. (Not doing any specific test prep is actually a perfectly valid strategy for students who are very strong academically and proficient test takers. I would not recommend it for any other type of student.) Each method of preparation has strengths and weaknesses.

When a student prepares through independent study, he or she simply gets one or more of the commercially available ISEE test prep books and works through it, perhaps with a bit of help from a parent or older sibling. One great advantage of this method is the cost, which is extremely minimal. Another advantage is that if the student succeeds in getting a good score, he or she can take full ownership of that accomplishment. Obviously, independent study only works for highly motivated students. Perhaps less obviously, they also have to have a strong skill set to draw on. This method will not work for kids who don’t already have command of the fundamental academic skills the ISEE tests. If you want to try independent preparation, I suggest starting early so that you have time to move on to a plan B, if necessary. One final note on independent study- it should be relatively easy to evaluate how well your child is doing simply by examining their sample test results. However, in my experience the vocabulary sections in the commercial prep books are very difficult for almost all students. Therefore, I wouldn’t necessarily worry too much if your child is having trouble on that one section.

In general, group classes are my least favorite way to study for the ISEE. There are many places you can go to take a group class, and some are obviously better than others. Unfortunately, the big players don’t seem to get very good results and they do seem to take a big chunk out of their students’ quality of life. Sitting through wearisome 3-hour classes with a bunch of other kids, slogging through huge piles of homework, and getting little personal attention is drill and kill in the worst sense. It’s mind-numbing and not particularly educational. It’s cheaper than private tutoring, but I would call most group classes a false economy.

On the other hand, there are a few group classes that are actually quite good. You should look for small groups (no more than 8 students per teacher) and individual classes that are a reasonable length (perhaps 1.5 hours). The teachers should be experienced and should be able to produce excellent references. Homework and practice tests should obviously be part of the program, but you should not feel that a class takes over your child’s life or your family’s life.

For most students, private tutoring will be the most effective option. The individual attention makes a big difference when working on challenging and potentially tedious material. It’s more efficient, because a good tutor focuses on exactly what an individual student needs and it’s easier to remain motivated when accountability is provided by one-on-one lessons. Unfortunately, tutoring can be quite expensive. Rates vary widely, but $85-$150 per hour is the general range you can expect to pay for an experienced, effective tutor in New York City. Tutoring is expensive largely because tutors must spend a great deal of time traveling between appointments and you are paying for their travel and lesson planning time as well as the time they actually spend with your child.

If one-on-one tutoring is prohibitively expensive for you but would otherwise be your first choice, there are a few strategies you can try to lower your rate. If you know another family that lives very near to you who also wants tutoring, you might consider looking for a tutor together. If you can arrange to have lessons back-to-back, with only 5 minutes or so of transportation time in between, you’ll very likely be able to arrange a discount. Likewise, semi-private lessons (with two or perhaps three students and one tutor) can be much more affordable and still very effective. Most tutors don’t advertise semi-private lessons, but if you ask, you’ll find that many tutors are amenable.

A Favorite Math Project

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:01:00 +0000

A number of years ago, I had a student who was assigned an algebra project called “Grid Co.” I don’t know if her teacher invented it or got it from someone else. I don’t even know the teacher’s name, so I am unfortunately unable to give proper credit. Regardless of where it comes from, it is one of my favorite math projects for students studying algebra.

The premise of Grid Co. is that you (the student) are a consultant hired by Grid Co., the nation’s leading supplier of fine grids for industrial and home use. (Kids always want to know what the grids are for- sometimes I have them come up with a fun use as a small creative writing extension to the project.) The people at Grid Co. want a rapid, accurate way for their sales staff to quote prices when customers call up to purchase custom grids, and it’s your job to make that possible.

Of course, what I am really looking for here is a student-made formula that can correctly spit out a price when you insert information on the dimensions of a grid. It’s a great way to help demystify formulas, which often seem like magic.

I break down Grid Co. into two portions: 2D grids and 3D grids. The 2D grids are considerably easier, so I always start with them. To give you a better idea of how I structure the project, I have included an example of the worksheet I give students at the end of this article.

Some students are pretty much able to take the assignment and run with it. However, most students need some guidance. One way I provide this is by giving students data collection tables. I find this provides focus and gets them thinking about what details are important and what details are not. (Sample data collection tables are also included at the end of this article.)

It may seem obvious, but it is critical that students actually build models and count the parts carefully. Some students run into trouble early by trying to cut corners when collecting data. For 2D grids, I usually have students just draw grids out on paper. Using dot paper (like graph paper, but with dots instead of lines) makes drawing grids easier, but it is a luxury, not a necessity. If kids want to, I’ll let them build actual 2D grids, but it does take more time than using drawings. For 3D grids, I always have students build physical models. A very wide variety of materials can be used for building grids- use what is convenient or what will appeal to your particular students. In the past, I’ve had particularly good luck with toothpicks and stale prunes (fresh prunes are a little too soft). A grid built with toothpicks and large gumdrops was a little less stable, but far prettier. If they’re available, commercial model building sets can be nice, and they won’t attract ants.

Students can almost always come up with portions of the formula on their own. For example, it quickly becomes apparent that every 2D grid contains the same number of 2 hole connectors (i.e., four- one at each corner of the grid). From there, it’s easy to see that simply multiplying the price of a 2 hole connector by 4 will obtain the total cost of the 2 hole connectors. On the other hand, figuring out how to model the number of 4 hole connectors is significantly more difficult. I let students mull it over for quite a while- usually I let them toy with the problem over the course of several days. At first, I give virtually no clues beyond the data collection chart, but after a while, I will gradually start suggesting ways to look for patterns in the data (interesting, but they don’t usually get the algorithm from this). Then, I will start helping them look at the grid from a more functional point of view. In other words, I’ll ask questions such as “Why is the number of 3 hole connectors on a given side always fewer than the length and width as measured in beams?” and “How does the number of 4 hole connectors in a row relate to the number of beams in that row?” After a while, this type of leading question will lead to the breakthroughs that students need to finally crack the algorithm.

Finally, a note for classroom teachers. I am a tutor and I also teach small groups of homeschoolers. My student who originally clued me into this project went to a small, exclusive independent school. My point is that I don’t need to deal with classroom management issues, and neither did that teacher. If I were teaching in a traditional classroom, I would structure this project somewhat differently because in its current form, the students have to deal with a lot of frustration. In the environments in which I currently work, I can manage that frustration, and I think it is educationally valuable for students to sometimes really struggle (especially when they ultimately succeed and end up with a result that really wows the people they show it to). However, in the classrooms I used to teach in, that level of frustration could easily have led to a classroom management disaster. I would still tackle this sort of project, but to head off a crisis, I would probably break the project into smaller bites and announce in advance that clues would be given out at certain pre-determined times.

P.S.- I know I haven’t given the algorithm here- I’m confident that you can figure it out if you try!

Student Handouts

Grid Co.

The Situation

You have been hired as a consultant by Grid Co., the country’s leading manufacturer of fine grids. They have hired you because they are having a difficult time quickly and efficiently quoting prices when potential customers call. Your job is to construct an algorithm that will allow any employee at Grid Co. to quickly, easily, and accurately tell a customer how much a grid of any given dimension will cost.

The Grids

Grid Co. sells both 2- and 3-D grids. In the first part of the project, you will develop an algorithm for pricing 2-D grids and in the second part of the project you will expand the algorithm for 3-D grids.

A two dimensional grid consists of connectors which may have 2, 3, or 4 holes. Because it is expensive to drill the precise holes that Grid Co. prides itself on, the connectors with more holes are more expensive. Grids also have beams which are uniformly priced.

Price List

2-hole connector:………. $0.20
3-hole connector:………. $0.30
4-hole connector:………. $0.40
5-hole connector:………. $0.50
6-hole connector:………. $0.60
beam:……….....…………... $0.15

Requirements

1. An algorithm (in the form of an algebraic expression) that can be used to calculate the price of any 2-D grid. You may use as many variables as you feel is appropriate, but you must define all of your terms.

2. A data table showing how many of each type of grid component is required to build various grids. Your table should show a minimum of 10 different examples.

3. An instructional manual for employees of Grid Co. explaining simply and clearly how to use the algorithm to compute the cost of any 2-D grid.

A Tutor’s Perspective on the High School

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:41:00 +0000

Application Process in New York City:
Part I, the SHSAT

I’ve been a tutor in New York City since 2004, and since I specialize in working with middle school age children, I have become quite familiar with the high school application process. There are many categories of high school and the application process is by no means the same for each category- because of this, the whole process can sometimes feel even more complex and draining than applying to college. This essay will be about applying to New York City Specialized Public Schools. Other essays will address applying to Independent Schools and Selective, Non-Specialized Public Schools.

The most straightforward of the selective schools to apply to are the Specialized Public High Schools. As I write this, there are nine Specialized High Schools that base admissions on the SHSAT. Three of them are the old, storied behemoths: Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, and Bronx Science. Six more are newer and (mostly) smaller: The Brooklyn Latin School, The High School for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at City College, The High School for American Studies at Lehman College, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, and Staten Island Technical High School. There are only two considerations for admission to each of theses schools: New York City residency and SHSAT scores.

Applying is simple, but getting in is hard. The SHSAT is a 2 ½ hours long, multiple choice test with a math section and an English section. The math section bears a distinct resemblance to the math section of the SAT. Granted, it only assumes an introductory knowledge of algebra, but the “flavor” is the same. The English section of the test is more unusual. In addition to challenging (but run-of-the-mill) reading comprehension passages and questions, there are also logical reasoning questions and scrambled paragraphs that students must unscramble. As far as I know, the scrambled paragraphs are unique among standardized tests.

Not surprisingly, the best way to prepare for this test is to be a good student. Kids who get in are virtually always kids who pay attention in class, do their homework thoughtfully, and study. Reading far beyond school assignments is also a significant predictor of success. No matter what anyone may tell you, no prep course, no prep materials, and no tutor can fully compensate if these factors are not already in place. (Beyond which, a student who is not academically inclined and interested in working hard is unlikely to be happy in a specialized high school, even if he or she did manage to get accepted.) Unfortunately, being a good student is not enough. It’s an unfair, even tragic fact that many middle schools are not rigorous enough to give their students a fair shot at doing well on the SHSAT. I will address some long-term strategies for students going to sub-standard middle schools at the end of this article. If your child is already doing all of the right things, and going to a rigorous school, there are a number of steps you can take to further improve your child’s chances of doing well on the SHSAT.

Your child can:

•Study on his or her own, using commercially available prep books;
•Take a prep class;
•Study with a tutor;
•Or, a student can do some combination of the above.

Each one of these study methods has its pros and cons. I recommend that parents
and children look at the options together, and make decisions about how to prepare as a family.

Independent study is the cheapest way to prepare, by an enormous margin. All that is needed is a few test prep books- they’re not expensive and they can even be borrowed for free from a library. For highly motivated students who have a strong academic foundation, this can be an effective way to study. I’d recommend selecting one prep book (Barron’s is my favorite) and working through it, from beginning to end. You’ll be able to gauge your progress and decide whether you are on track to meet your goals. Ideally, you would start this process in the spring or early summer before the test so that you have plenty of time and can add in other study methods if they are indicated. When self-guided study is effective, it’s wonderful how students can really take full ownership of their success.

Taking a group class to prepare for the SHSAT is generally my least favorite option. There are many places you can go to take a group class, and some are obviously better than others. Unfortunately, the big players don’t seem to get very good results and they do seem to take a big chunk out of their students’ quality of life. Sitting through wearisome 3-hour classes with a bunch of other kids, slogging through huge piles of homework, and getting little personal attention is drill and kill in the worst sense. It’s mind-numbing and not particularly educational. It’s cheaper than private tutoring, but I would call most group classes a false economy.

On the other hand, there are a few group classes that are actually quite good. You should look for small groups (no more than 8 students per teacher) and individual classes that are a reasonable length (perhaps 1.5 hours). The teachers should be experienced and should be able to produce excellent references. Homework and practice tests should obviously be part of the program, but you should not feel that a class takes over your child’s life or your family’s life.

For most students, private tutoring will be the most effective option. The individual attention makes a big difference when working on challenging and potentially tedious material. It’s more efficient, because a good tutor focuses on exactly what an individual student needs and it’s easier to remain motivated when accountability is provided by one-on-one lessons. Unfortunately, tutoring can be quite expensive. Rates vary widely, but $85-$150 per hour is the general range you can expect to pay for an experienced, effective tutor. Tutoring is so expensive largely because tutors must spend a great deal of time traveling between appointments and you are paying for their travel and lesson planning time as well as the time they actually spend with your child.

If one-on-one tutoring is prohibitively expensive for you but would otherwise be your first choice, there are a few strategies you can try to lower your rate. If you know another family that lives very near to you who also wants tutoring, you might consider looking for a tutor together. If you can arrange to have lessons back-to-back, with only 5 minutes or so of transportation time in between, you’ll very likely be able to arrange a discount. Likewise, semi-private lessons (with two or perhaps three students and one tutor) and be much more affordable and still very effective. Most tutors don’t advertise semi-private lessons, but if you ask, you’ll find that many tutors are amenable.

A note on what to do if your middle schooler goes to an academically weak school:

If your child is stuck in a school that leaves a lot to be desired, you can do several things to ameliorate the situation. Of course, switching to a better school is an ideal option, but that is not always possible. Assuming that switching schools isn’t realistic, I strongly recommend that you make sure that your child is getting supplemental enrichment. Exactly what you do will obviously depending on your budget, time constraints, and interests, but you should start as soon after realizing that there is a problem at school as possible. The list that follows is not exhaustive, but it will give you a place to start.

•Read. No matter where your child goes to school, it’s important for him or her to read independently. This becomes extra-important if the school is poor. For middle schoolers, a book a week is a reasonable rule of thumb. If your child doesn’t like to read, read together. Let your child choose his or her own books, and don’t be judgmental about them (unless you feel a particular book is morally unacceptable).

•Do math. Do actual math, not just test prep materials. If school math is severely lacking, consider working through a curriculum or enrichment materials at home. I very much like all of Edward Zaccaro’s books- they are challenging and thought provoking, with good explanations for home study.

•Go to cultural events. Museums, theater, concerts, walking tours, poetry slams, and book readings can all be fun, cheap, and enriching. They are opportunities for exposure to literature, history, art, and science, all of which add to the store of background knowledge which is critically important for effective reading comprehension.

•Take up a hobby. There are a variety of hobbies that provide opportunities to use math and reading in meaningful, concrete ways. Consider robotics, model railroading, building radios, or working in a community garden. You may want to look into joining a club where you and your child can meet more experienced hobbyists and become part of a community.

•Take classes. It is sometimes possible to take classes that will help fill in the gaps that a weak formal education can leave. Be careful though, that these classes are thought provoking and useful rather than just a series of drills.

What Makes Word Problems So Hard?

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:32:00 +0000

It’s an old story- kids have been having trouble with word problems for a long time, probably since word problems were invented. Elementary school children have trouble with word problems and high school seniors do, too. This problem plagues public schools, private schools, and parochial schools. It’s found in wealthy areas and poor areas. It seems to be practically universal. Why is this?

Sometimes it’s very easy to see why a particular student is having trouble with a word problem. Let’s invent a 4th grader named Bob. Bob likes getting good grades and praise from his parents and teacher, but he doesn’t much care for homework. He’s got better stuff to do! So when it’s time for him to sit down and do his homework, he rushes through it as fast as he can. He skims the word problems, looking for the key words that his teacher taught him. Let’s look over his shoulder for a moment and see the problem he’s working on:

Sally is making lunch for 4 people. She wants each person to get two sandwiches and 3 cookies. What is the difference between the number of slices of bread and the number of cookies she must have?

Ahah! He sees the word “difference” and knows there must be subtraction in the problem. Easy. 4-3=1. Moving on to the next one..

And so Bob gets the problem wrong.

It was probably easy for you to see that Bob got his problem wrong because he didn’t read the problem carefully enough. Of course, as any parent knows, just saying “Do your work more carefully!” is unlikely to get results. As a tutor, I have a variety of techniques to force students to be more careful. One of my favorites for elementary school children is to have them draw pictures of the problems that they get wrong or have trouble understanding. In this case, after drawing a picture of the situation, Bob would almost certainly understand his mistake and how to correct it.

Or maybe the situation is a little more complex. Let’s look at a fictional 10th grader, Lisa. Lisa is a conscientious student, but she never especially liked math and as the years have gone on, she’s become less and less confident in her skills. Her class is reviewing rates and she’s working on this problem:

If Curly can paint a fence in 8 hours and Moe can paint the same fence in 4 hours, how long would it take them to paint the fence if they worked together?

Lisa thinks for a minute, and then writes down 6 hours, since this seems kind of like a situation where an average would be appropriate. She’s a little bothered by this answer, but she’s used to not feeling very sure about math so she just shrugs off the feeling and moves on to the next problem.

As a tutor, when I see this type of mistake I speak to my students about the importance of estimating- and then paying attention their estimates. Lisa’s key error here (and it is a very common one) was that she didn’t trust her own judgment. If you think about this problem for a moment, it’s probably not hard for you to see that the Curly and Moe should finish painting the fence together more quickly than either of them could working alone. So immediately, it becomes clear that the answer must be less than 4 hours.
(If you’re having trouble solving this problem here’s a hint - What fraction of the fence could Curly paint in one hour? What fraction could Moe paint in one hour? What fraction of the fence could they paint together in one hour?)

There is no single solution when a student struggles with word problems. Undoubtedly, that’s a big part of what makes this such a challenging area to teach. It’s also the reason why tutoring can be particularly effective in this area- students really do benefit from individualized attention when there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Welcoming a New Spanish Tutor

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:21:00 +0000

Leaning a second language can be hard - I know this from my own personal struggles to become bilingual. The right teacher can make the task more approachable, enjoyable, and rewarding as well as making the student more successful. The wrong teacher can make learning another language feel downright impossible. The best teachers possess fluency in the language they are teaching, a solid understanding of grammar, detailed knowledge of educational techniques, good humor, and boundless patience. That’s a lot to ask for. People with all of this in abundance are rare - which is why I feel so lucky to have found one of them.

She’s an experienced teacher, a Fulbright Scholar, and incredibly enthusiastic about learning and teaching. Our new Spanish tutor is Katie Gordon, and we’re very excited to have her!

Review of "The Last Slice of Rainbow"

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:59:00 +0000

As an English tutor, I am regularly faced with the problem of assessing a student’s reading skills when I am also meeting her or him for the first time. This is a difficult task, because I know little or nothing about the student, yet an effective assessment relies on using materials that are near the student’s actual reading level. A further complication is that I want to start out with something enjoyable, because it is important for me to make a good first impression on my students.

The short stories collected in The Last Slice of Rainbow by Joan Aiken have turned out to be some of the best assessment tools I’ve found, especially for middle schoolers (the age group I work with most frequently).

These stories have the excellent quality of being able to be read on multiple levels. Taken literally, the tales are simple and almost fairy-tale like. For the more sophisticated reader, however, the stories are filled with thought-provoking ideas that can be teased out and discussed. Likewise with the vocabulary: on the whole, the vocabulary is quite basic, but the stories are peppered with enough unusual words to allow me to assess a student.

None of this would work if the stories weren’t really good. I’ve had my copy of The Last Slice of Rainbow since I was a child, and it is one of the few books from my childhood that I have elected to hold on to through multiple moves and bouts of clearing out my apartment. The stories are charming, but not saccharine; sweet, but not gentle; fairy-tale like, but not predictable. The protagonists are boys and girls with problems, hopes, flaws, and successes that are easy to relate to, but magical enough to be an escape from everyday life. Also, they are short enough to fit comfortably into a one-hour lesson.

The Last Slice of Rainbow is a book that I heartily recommend to students and teachers alike. Frankly, if adults were to read it, most of them would enjoy it, too.

Is Long Division Disappearing from Elementary School?

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Traditionally, long division is one of the things every elementary school student learns. Way back when, I remember learning it in the 5th grade, Singapore Math introduces it in the 3rd grade, and the New York City core curriculum indicates that students should learn long division in 4th grade (although I couldn’t actually find the term “long division” in that document). So why are so many students entering middle school completely unaware of how to do long division?
In New York City, many public and some private schools are using a curriculum called Everyday Mathematics. This curriculum has some strong points- it is good at promoting critical thinking skills and connecting math to real-world situations. But, the creators of this curriculum seem to have a fear of algorithms. They try to avoid the tools that everyone uses for calculations because these shortcuts don’t promote understanding of how numbers work. Unfortunately, this leaves students crippled when it comes time to solve problems.

I find that many of my students who have studied this curriculum are very good at identifying the actions they need to take to solve a word problem. In other words, they know that they have to divide, and they know what numbers to divide, but they have no idea how to get the division done in an efficient manner.

This is clearly a case where tutoring can be very helpful. As a tutor, I’ve introduced many students to long division and a wide variety of other mathematical tools (i.e., the rule for dividing fractions or the traditional method of multiplying multiple-digit numbers). I believe it is very important to teach these methods in a way that will help rather than hinder students in their schooling. For example, some teachers do not allow their students to use traditional algorithms as their primary means of solving problems- in theses cases, it is necessary to show students how traditional methods of calculation can be used as a compliment to non-traditional methods.
I find the trend of skimming over calculation techniques to be quite disturbing. It seems to be the result of “math wars” that pit different teaching methods against each other. Often, the crux of the argument seems to be computation skills vs. conceptual understanding. These positions become ideological in nature and one unfortunate result is the formation of camps of extremists who don’t like to acknowledge the value of the other side. It’s a false dichotomy, and the consequences for students can be quite serious.

Computational skills are necessary for real conceptual understanding and without conceptual understanding, computational skills become mere parlor tricks. When computational skills are taught without context (these days, this is a problem most prevalent in parochial schools), students have poor retention and can’t figure out how to effectively solve word problems or relatively complex, open ended problems. When computational skills are glossed over, students tend to go into calculations correctly, but get terribly bogged down by the mechanics. The solution seems clear: students need computational practice and drills as well as thoughtful investigation of mathematical concepts. The disappearance of long division from many elementary schools is only one symptom of a deeply unfortunate trend.

Test Preparation for Gifted Children

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:17:00 +0000

Recently, there was an article in the New York Times that discussed an Asian-style cram school preparing students to take the Hunter College High School entrance exam. Although the article was generally favorable and the school sounded reputable, I nevertheless found the whole thing a bit disturbing.

Before going any further, let me state clearly that I value academic excellence and I believe in stretching kids intellectually. I am not afraid of hard work and I think it is important that children learn its value. However, I also strongly believe in the value of free time, play, daydreaming, sports, and arts. That goes for everyone, but most especially, it goes for children. Cram school may have academic value, but at what cost?

My approach to tutoring children for the Hunter High School entrance exam (and other tests such as the Anderson School Entrance Exam, SCAT, SHSAT, and ISEE) is much more moderate. On the one hand, I give my advanced students sophisticated, stimulating material. Often, it is the most challenging material that they have ever been exposed to. I also give homework. On the other hand, I don’t want my students to study excessively. In the long run, excessive studying is harmful because it pushes out too many other valuable activities and, in its most extreme form, it can even be cruel.

Moderation is key. I vary the amount of work I expect from each student depending on his or her other commitments, goals, and abilities. In test preparation situations, this usually breaks down to one (perhaps two) lessons per week and one to five hours of homework spread out over the course of a week. This regimen gets results without sacrificing childhood or risking burnout in the process.

Review of The Official SAT Study Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:11:00 +0000

My SAT students often ask me what book I recommend, and there is one SAT prep book that is the clear winner: The Official SAT Study Guide. This book is published by the College Board, which is the organization that makes the actual SAT exam, so the tests are the closest possible match to the real test in terms of difficulty, style, and content.

There is only one disadvantage to using The Official SAT Study Guide that I am aware of: it does not provide answer explanations (although it does provide answers). For my students (who obviously have a tutor), the lack of answer explanations is not a big deal. Providing those explanations is part of my job, after all. On the other hand, students who are studying on their own might want to consider one of the other SAT prep books, since having answer explanations is key to learning to do difficult problems.

Advanced Placement Biology

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:24:00 +0000

When I was in high school, Advanced Placement Biology was one of my favorite classes. I was hungry for an intellectual challenge and deeply curious about the biological world. I saw the class as a way to answer my questions about that world.

My AP Biology class was tough. It was probably harder than most AP Bio classes, since I don’t think I ever got better than a B in the class but I got the highest possible score on the AP exam (a 5) and found the test easy. As difficult as the class was, it was also tons of fun. I looked forward to it every day and never resented the massive piles of homework because I was learning what I wanted to learn.

In my mind, this is what an Advanced Placement class should be- a challenging course for high school students who want to take learning to the next level. And when I tutor AP Biology students, my tutoring is informed by these views.

I don’t treat the exam as an opportunity to use test-taking tricks to “game” the test. Instead, I treat studying for this test as an opportunity to explore a rich and deep curriculum.

There are several teaching tools I rely on very heavily with my AP Bio students. The first, and perhaps most important, is essay writing. Some AP Biology teachers have their students write essays regularly, but many do not. This is unfortunate for several reasons. For one thing, writing essays on topics such as “Compare and contrast situations in which new species are likely to arise and situations in which speciation is unlikely to occur” or “Describe two situations in which heredity is non-Mendelian in nature and explain what these situation reveal about the physical structure of the genome or the physical process of meiosis” is a great way to synthesize and solidify knowledge. A collection of finished essays also forms a valuable review tool to use just before the exam. And, of course, all this essay writing makes writing the essays on the test itself a breeze.

I also spend a great deal of time with students discussing important experiments that have been done. This serves several purposes. It’s a great way to reinforce content knowledge and it also promotes scientific thinking and an understanding of experimental design. Conveniently, it also helps students greatly on the data interpretation section of the test.

Finally, even the best students have areas where they struggle. I identify these areas for each of my students and make sure that they spend extra time studying those topics. Of course, part of this time is spent simply talking through the details but I often expose my students to a variety of supplemental materials that present the information in different ways. For example, I’ve got some favorite videos that show various biological concepts in highly visual and very accurate ways and I just love Dragon Genetics (possibly the coolest study tool ever invented).

Advanced Placement Biology isn’t easy, but it should be interesting and fun. As a tutor, I’m not going to hide the challenge, but I will help students tackle it in an efficient, effective, and positive way.

When Is Math Tutoring The Right Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Many students struggle a little bit in math class, just as many people struggle in any endeavor that requires abstract, rigorous thinking. A certain level of struggle is a normal, natural part of education and does not necessarily indicate a need for tutoring. After all, one of the most valuable things students can learn in school is how to overcome difficulty by relying on themselves. However, in certain situations, tutoring can make a tremendous positive difference in a student’s education.

In my opinion, the most clear-cut situation in which a student ought to have tutoring is when that student becomes so frustrated that learning math feels like a hopeless, impossible task. Some symptoms of this situation are regular tears shed during math homework, serious avoidance of anything having to with mathematics, or an ordinarily open, honest child or teen lying about math class or refusing to discuss it. If any of these symptoms are present, the student is clearly in a place where he or she will simply not be able to pull themselves out of their difficulty on their own. A patient, understanding, non-judgmental professional tutor can make all the difference. Of course, math tutoring is not math therapy- when I am working with this type of student, we talk about fractions and variables, not emotions. Nevertheless, a sensitive and thorough tutor can effectively remove the emotional blocks that sometimes prevent success in mathematical success.

Of course, in an ideal world, no one would get to the point where they are utterly petrified by math. There is always a period of time when a student is beginning to flounder but has not yet become chronically discouraged. As I said earlier, I believe strongly that a certain amount of struggle is a valuable part of education. It builds resilience and self-reliance. The trick for parents is to see when their child is crossing the line from wrestling with a subject in a healthy way to losing the match. If a student appears to be putting a good amount of effort into his or her studies, but is nevertheless bringing home anemic test scores and the essential concepts don’t seem to be sticking, tutoring may nip the problem in the bud and prevent the student from beginning a downward spiral.

One situation in which tutoring can be counterproductive is when a bright student is floundering in math class strictly because he or she is not putting in any effort. Has your child’s teacher called you to complain that your child is spending his or her class time launching spitballs? On the one hand, tutoring might actually help with behavior problems if the root cause is that the child is trying to hide a lack of knowledge. On the other hand, if the behavioral difficulties have any other root cause, tutoring can just give the child a further excuse to not pay attention in class. (“I don’t need to listen to the teacher. I’ll just learn this stuff later with my tutor.)

Sometimes tutoring is necessary because finding good math teachers is a difficult task for schools, and they don’t always succeed. On more than one occasion, I’ve had parents call me because, although their child was doing fine in terms of school grades, there was clearly a major problem with the math class. Maybe your child reports that his or her teacher often becomes confused when trying to explain material. Maybe your child has observed that his or her math teacher isn’t fully fluent in English. Maybe you have noticed that math problems your child has copied as part of his or her class notes are often solved incorrectly. You can’t always rescue your child from a bad class, but you can make sure that he or she doesn’t fall behind by hiring a tutor to make up the difference.

The final situation that I will discuss is enrichment for the gifted or simply curious student. It’s wonderful to have a child who wants more math! However, it is important to think enrichment through carefully. Often, the first impulse is just to teach the student more advanced material. That might be fun (and it’s relatively easy for the teacher or tutor) but it’s not a tactic that I endorse. The problem is, if your student gets ahead of his or her class, when the class catches up, he or she is going to be quite bored while the rest of the class learns something that he or she has already mastered. A much better approach is to teach students math that doesn’t normally make it into school curriculums. After all, math is an enormous domain, and standard school curriculums only cover a small portion of the possibilities. By teaching unusual math, it’s possible to keep a child highly challenged without causing future problems. Better yet, that student will then have a wider and deeper range of mathematical experience to draw from than they would otherwise have had. Of course, because this approach to math tutoring is relatively difficult, it is most likely to work with an experienced, professional tutor.

Math tutoring is not a panacea, but it is nevertheless a very useful tool for a wide range of students. There are many more situations in which a parent may consider math tutoring than I have mentioned here. If you are trying to figure out if math tutoring is right for your family, I would recommend thinking about what the root cause of your difficulty is. Would highly individualized attention from an educational professional get to the root of the problem? If so, your student is a good candidate for math tutoring.

When Does It Make Sense to Get An English Tutor

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:27:00 +0000

No one would deny that strong English language skills are a critically important tool in America and across the world. Unfortunately, many students suffer from underdeveloped reading and writing skills, weak vocabularies, and questionable mechanics (such as punctuation and spelling). There are many ways to improve English skills, some of which can be done independently and others which work best with guidance.

Perhaps the simplest and best way for anybody to improve their reading, vocabulary, and even writing skills, is by reading widely. I always become concerned if I find out that a student of mine is reading less than one hour a day. It doesn’t have to be a solid hour of reading- breaking it up into two or three chunks is fine. In New York City, many high school students spend at least an hour each day on the train- reading during their commute to school is a great way for busy students to make time for reading. By the way, reading doesn’t have to mean books- newspapers, magazines, and other short forms are equally valuable.

As an aside, reading is not the only way to enlarge and enrich one’s English language skills. Any activity that exposes a person to rich vocabulary and complex ideas is going to be helpful. Here in New York City, we have a wide range of opportunities that are often overlooked. For example, I recommend attending theater, literary readings, and even some of the more sophisticated walking tours. There are easily dozens (maybe hundreds) of vocabulary-rich activities to choose from each day. Many are even free or inexpensive.

Sometimes, I am approached by parents who just don’t know how to get their child or teenager to read more. With young children, the task is easier. First of all, I would suggest creating time for the whole family to read. This could mean reading to your child, having your child read to you, or just sitting near each other while you both read. I would also suggest being very non-judgmental about what your child chooses to read. Comic books may not be particularly sophisticated and reading The Chamber of Secrets for the twelfth time may seem dreadfully boring, but reading is one area where quantity really does seem to be more important than quality. Of course, if you have a moral issue with something that your child selects, you have to step in, but other than that, I would not pressure a child to choose books that appeal to you.

It’s much more difficult for parents to influence whether or not their teenager reads than whether or not their pre-adolescent child reads. If you are concerned about your teenager not reading, you may want to consider finding the right tutor to help you. I have had significant success by forming small book clubs (sometimes just myself and the student, sometimes myself and several students). In general, I arrange these book clubs so that we meet once a week for about an hour. In my experience, starting out with the expectation that students will read about 100 pages per week and gradually work up to reading about 300 pages per week works well. Selecting the right books is obviously critical. In order to be successful, the books selected have to be carefully tailored to appeal to the students involved. This is one of the areas where tutoring becomes more of an art than a science.

Just as the only way to become a strong reader is to read, the only way to become a strong writer is to write. Unfortunately, it is difficult for school teachers to teach writing because grading dozens or hundreds of essays or papers is astonishingly time consuming. For this reason, many students simply do not get the writing practice they need in school. Especially with elementary school age children, parents can do a great deal to encourage writing. Making writing a letter to grandma and grandpa a tradition is one great way to encourage regular writing in a deeply meaningful way.

Some students struggle with writing much more than other students. If your child has a particularly hard time with writing or you’ve recently realized that your teenager can’t put together a sensible essay, tutoring may be the way to go. Because writing can be so personal, I often find that it is much easier for a neutral adult to help children with the editing and drafting process than it is for parents.

As a tutor who has helped quite a few children and teenagers dramatically improve their reading and/or writing abilities, I have come to the conclusion that, in most cases, practice really is the answer. Of course, in situations where dyslexia or some other learning disability is present, additional treatment by a learning specialist is in order. Most of the time, though, the way to get results- often dramatic results- is just to make a habit of reading and writing. Getting there without tears and fighting is where the challenge lies, and that’s where professional tutoring can sometimes make all the difference.

ISEE Test Preparation

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:13:00 +0000

The ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) is a test used by the admissions offices of almost all independent schools in New York City. There are three levels of ISEE given, which correspond to students applying to lower schools, middle schools, and high schools. All versions of the ISEE have multiple choice math, reading comprehension, and vocabulary questions. In addition, there is an essay which is ungraded but sent to schools. The ISEE is given many times throughout the year, but a student can only sit for it once in any six month period.

As with other standardized admissions tests, doing well on the ISEE requires a combination of real academic achievement and test-taking savvy. In the long run, the best preparation for the ISEE is being a good student and an avid reader. In the medium term, focused test preparation can also be a great help. In the short term, just get a good night’s rest. Cramming is not useful.

Many, perhaps most, students who take the ISEE will encounter at least some material that they are unfamiliar with. Sometimes, they haven’t learned the material in school and other times they have studied the concepts, but the ISEE presents them in a way that they don’t recognize. In either case, as a tutor, my first goal is to teach students whatever curriculum that they may encounter on the test but which is new or unrecognized by them. For many students, this is where they will make the majority of their gains, at least on the mathematics portion of the test.

There are two primary test-taking techniques that are very useful on the math sections of the ISEE. One of these techniques is called “plugging in”, as in “plug the answer choices into the question, and see which one works”. The other is called “picking numbers” as in, “pick a number, plug it into the question and then plug it into the answer choices, and when you have something that matches, you have the right answer”. Of course, with the students I tutor, I go into these methods in much greater detail.

On the reading comprehension portion of the ISEE, students who read a lot always have an advantage. However, there are certain test taking techniques that benefit all students. One of my favorites is the process of elimination. When faced with a tough reading comprehension question, it often helps students to turn things around and ask themselves, “Which of these do I know for sure is a wrong answer choice?” In this way, they can eliminate the worst answer choices and focus more effectively on the choices that might actually prove fruitful.

Writing the essay is easy for some students and difficult for others. This is an area where practice really is the answer for kids who have a tough time. Also, I feel it is important to prepare students to write on any type of essay topic. In particular, ISEE essay topics can sometimes be uncomfortably personal. I coach students in how to successfully write on topics that they are not particularly comfortable discussing with strangers. The exact approach depends on the student, but one that often works is to write an obviously fictional and humorous response to a deeply personal and serious question. For example, if the topic were to discuss a conflict the student has had with his or her parents, I might suggest writing about the time your mother made you share your bedroom with the pony she brought home two Thursdays ago.

The ISEE is a timed test, and I have found that the time limit is a real difficulty for many students. For this reason, it is important for any student studying for the ISEE to observe the time limits given on practice tests and pay close attention to pacing. Also, it is important for students to be realistic about whether or not they can complete each section of the test. I guide my students in making this assessment - most of the time, students can complete the test, but occasionally it is better to be strategic and leave several questions undone at the end of one or more sections.

At all times, it is important to remember that the ISEE is only one portion of Independent School admissions. Schools look at test scores, but they also look at grades, personal essays, teacher recommendations, interviews and extracurricular activities. It is worth working hard to prepare for the ISEE exam, but it is just one test- it doesn’t determine the path of anyone’s life. Keep it in perspective, and do your best.

Is Homeschooling Right for Your Family?

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:14:00 +0000

I’ve been a private tutor in New York City for the past five years, and in that time I have worked extensively with eight different homeschoolers and had contact with a number of others. Some of these families are providing their children with absolutely magnificent educations. Others are doing a very poor job of it. I’ve given a great deal of thought to the characteristics that set successful homeschooling families apart from unsuccessful ones, and I believe I have some useful ideas for helping families determine whether or not they ought to take the plunge. Of course there are both academic and non-academic considerations to take into account with education, but my topic here is to primarily discuss the academic issues.

My first question for any parents considering homeschooling is: Why? There are many possible answers to this question, but I think most of the time, the answers fall into one of three categories. First, there are families who simply feel that they can provide their child with a better education than they could get in any available school. Next, there are families who find themselves in a difficult situation, and homeschooling seems like it might provide a solution (although it was never a first choice). Finally, there are families with children who work (usually as actors) and who can’t reasonably go to regular school, too.

All of these categories contain both successful and unsuccessful homeschooling families, although the most common the pitfalls seem to be different. Among families who want to try homeschooling because they believe they can provide a truly superior education, I’ve noticed one major downfall- parents who assume that their interests form the core of a good education. For example, I had a friend in college who was rather bitter about the fact that her parent’s (both math majors from Harvard) version of homeschooling led her to be rather competent at beginning calculus by the age of 11, but sadly unable to write more than a simple sentence or two until she entered public school in the 6th grade.

On the other hand, I now have a homeschooling student whose parents know they can’t do math or science justice- that’s why they’ve hired me and it’s why they make a great effort to make sure a variety of adults who are fluent in math and science contribute to her education. That child is getting a great education in the humanities from her parents and a great education in math and science from me and other people.

Unfortunately, no one is fully competent in every subject that a child should be exposed to, especially as they get older and material gets more complicated. Have you thought about how you will address all of the subjects that your child should be studying, and not just the ones that are your own personal favorites? Have you considered what the implications are of potentially passing on your own academic weaknesses or prejudices to your child? Do you have a plan to avoid, or at least ameliorate, this potential pitfall?

In my experience, families who consider homeschooling because of a difficult situation are perhaps the most diverse group. These are also some of the families who have the most trouble making homeschooling work, for the simple reason that they are already under some sort of intense stress, which makes everything more difficult. The questions I would pose to these families are: Why do you think homeschooling will improve your situation? Do you realistically have the time and energy to devote to this important project? I have seen families who were forced into homeschooling make it work very well and I have also seen homeschooling degenerate into something quite awful.

My favorite example of a family that was forced into homeschooling by circumstance but made it work well for them is a family consisting of an aunt and uncle who adopted their very troubled and severely school-phobic nephew. By the time they adopted their nephew, he had already learned to associate school with failure and responded to it with a mixture of indifference and aggression. It was bad enough when he was a prepubecent child, but as he entered adolescence the situation became absolutely untenable. For this student, homeschooling has been a wonderful second chance that has allowed him to begin learning without having to carry the baggage from his previous failures around. He has made enormous progress in the years since I began working with him. I truly believe that he could not have made this amount of progress in any other environment.

On the other hand, I once participated in the homeschooling of a boy whose mother was terminally ill. The situation was even worse than you might think because she was on medication that made her quite literally and dramatically insane. The poor woman had many frightening hallucinations and became so fearful that she sometimes didn’t allow her son to leave their apartment for stretches of several days. Although homeschooling by a team of professional educators allowed him to more or less keep up academically, the emotional cost of being isolated from his friends and the outside world while he was trying to deal with his mother’s illness made a terrible situation even worse. I truly believe that it would have been better for him to go to school. Even if he had failed every subject, just getting outside of the house and seeing his peers would have been an improvement.

Finally, there are families with a professional child. In these situations, the relevant questions aren’t so much about homeschooling, they’re really about the child’s career. Can this individual child handle a career? Is the desire for a career truly coming from the child? If the career doesn’t carry over into adulthood, will he or she have the skills necessary to make a life in another way? I’ve only known one professional child personally, and she was a charming 8th grade girl who truly loved acting. I homeschooled her while she was performing in an off-Broadway play. She was quite driven to succeed in all aspects of her life, and she was able to do remarkably well in terms of keeping up with her academics as well as her career. I had a lot of admiration for the way she handled all aspects of her life. I also respected the fact that her parents supported her desire to pursue a career in acting, but they absolutely did not push her. Her situation was close to ideal. On the other hand, she told me some disturbing stories about other professional children that she knew who were essentially coerced into pursuing acting careers that they did not want for themselves. Obviously, that is a deeply unethical choice for parents to force on their child. Homeschooling is really beside the point.

In my experience, homeschooling families generally do pretty well (and often extremely well) when they enter into homeschooling with their child’s interests truly front and center. They often run into problems when homeschooling is more about the parents than the child. Ask yourself why and how you want to do this before you start. Be as honest as you can with your answers. The way you think about your child’s education will undoubtedly change over time, but if you keep those questions in mind, your chances of making the right choice for your family is quite good.

Improving Biology Education

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:58:00 +0000

Everybody agrees that education is important. Likewise, it has become a commonplace to say that we aren’t educating the nation’s children as well as we should. Improving education is an exceptionally complex task, but one part of the problem is that we’re having trouble as a society defining what a “good education” actually is. This is a particular problem in subjects that are politically and emotionally charged. One of the most acrimonious areas of education is the one that is also nearest to my own heart: biology. Allow me to lay out some thoughts on what a sound education in biology ought to look like, and what the benefits of this might be on both the individual and the societal level.

First, and perhaps most importantly, it is critical that all sciences, including biology, are taught as a process and a way of thinking, rather than a set of facts that are “true” and must be memorized. For example, one of the more startling ideas in biology is that much of the weight of an oak tree has actually been pulled out of thin air. If someone just told me that, and I had no idea where the information came from, I’d think they were a bit loopy at best or trying to sell me a bill of gods at worst. [i] Equipped with an actual understanding of the scientific inquiry that went into this discovery, I not only believe it, but more importantly I understand and remember it as well. Now, replicating even the simplest of the experiments scientists used to unravel the question “How do plants gain weight?” would be difficult in the average classroom and probably not the best use of precious time. But looking into case studies like this one is a fabulous way to learn about both scientific facts and scientific thinking.

Once we start thinking about biology as a process of acquiring knowledge about living things and biology education as an opportunity to understand that process and hone critical thinking skills at the same time, we will be in a much stronger position to improve science education than we are in now. At that point, we’ll be well placed to reliably turn out scientifically literate high school graduates and also to tackle teaching more politically charged aspects of biology education.

Without question, the most politically charged aspect of biology is evolution. It is also among the very most important scientific ideas ever elucidated. If we present evolution in the classroom as “ great man, Charles Darwin, discovered evolution, and now we know that people descended from apes without the help of God” we have only ourselves to blame if 65 % of American citizens are creationists[ii]. Evolution education might not be quite that bad in most schools, but I’ll warrant that it’s not too much better. What do we lose if evolution is understood by only a minority of Americans? Well, from an aesthetic point of view, it seems a shame that so many of us don’t understand one of the big ideas about how the world works. From a practical perspective, it’s just plain scary that most of the farmers who use antibiotics to help their livestock gain weight and most of the patients who don’t follow their doctor’s instruction when it comes to taking antibiotics don’t understand the role they are playing in promoting the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

One frequent complaint I hear from students in high school biology classes is that there is so much memorization. This is more closely linked to the failures of our educational system than you might think at first. True, there is a significant amount of new vocabulary that students must learn if they are going to be able to speak, think, read, and write about new concepts. However, a biology class should never feel like a pile of memorization to slog through. The most important thing we can do to change this is to focus on the how’s and why’s of biology rather than just the conclusions that biologists have drawn over the years. In this way, students will be making connections and developing big picture concepts rather than just memorizing niggling little facts. An important result of this type of education is that years after high school is over, a student who actually developed a genuine understanding of biology is far less likely to be the person frivolously abusing antibiotics.

Another way to greatly improve this situation is to eliminate pure survey classes and require students to study one or two areas in much greater depth. One model that I have seen work quite well at the introductory high school level is to have a traditional survey-style class supplemented by two significant research projects. One of the research projects was a hands-on experiment (or series of experiments), much like a traditional science fair project. The other was an in-depth library-based research project, much like a term paper more traditionally seen in history classes. These types of projects are not without costs. Most notably, they are very hard on the teacher. It takes a tremendous amount of time and energy to coordinate a hundred (or usually more) projects, each on a different topic. This is daunting for a teacher even under the best of circumstances and can be impossible in more difficult situations. Nevertheless, the benefits are clear and significant. Not only do these types of projects give students an opportunity to develop a real understanding of scientific thinking, but they also give the students a library of interlinked facts to refer to when they are trying to make sense of the big picture in biology. For example, a student who chooses to do a research report on handedness and brain asymmetry in humans will undoubtedly learn about neurology, evolution, and epilepsy as well. As an added bonus, if the projects are structured properly, students get much needed practice making visual and oral presentations and writing non-fiction papers. Rather than just throwing up our hands and saying that this type of education is too difficult to organize, we need to structure our schools (and exert peer-pressure on parents) so that this type of higher-level learning becomes feasible.

A good education in biology should be a routine part of the education that every American student receives. We need to structure curriculums and classrooms so that science is taught as a process and method rather than some sort of received truth. This type of science education is an important part of teaching students to have strong critical thinking skills and for ensuring that they have the tools to not simply negotiate the modern world, but also thrive in it.
[i] In the 17th century, Jean-Baptiste van Helmont carefully measured the weight of the soil in a large pot. Then he planted a willow seedling in the pot and allowed it to grow for 5 years. Then he once again carefully measured the weight of the soil and the willow plant. The willow had grown into a tree weighing over one hundred sixty pounds but the soil had lost much less than one pound of weight. He hypothesized that plants got most of their weight from water. Much later, as scientists became generally more aware that air is made up of matter, they began to suspect that plants might grow largely by absorbing material from the air. In the 1950’s, scientist used radioactive isotopes to label water and carbon dioxide that plants took in and finally demonstrated that the carbon in plants comes from atmospheric carbon dioxide while the oxygen and hydrogen come from water molecules. Of course, there were many experiments studying the question of where plants get matter from in the years between these two particular experiments. Some of them are quite interesting and accessible, but they are nevertheless beyond the scope of this footnote. To learn more, you might want to start by looking up Stephen Hales and C.B. van Niel.

[ii] Angier, Natalie. The Canon. New York: Mariner Books, 2007
[1] In the 17th century, Jean-Baptiste van Helmont carefully measured the weight of the soil in a large pot. Then he planted a willow seedling in the pot and allowed it to grow for 5 years. Then he once again carefully measured the weight of the soil and the willow plant. The willow had grown into a tree weighing over one hundred sixty pounds but the soil had lost much less than one pound of weight. He hypothesized that plants got most of their weight from water. Much later, as scientists became generally more aware that air is made up of matter, they began to suspect that plants might grow largely by absorbing material from the air. In the 1950’s, scientist used radioactive isotopes to label water and carbon dioxide that plants took in and finally demonstrated that the carbon in plants comes from atmospheric carbon dioxide while the oxygen and hydrogen come from water molecules. Of course, there were many experiments studying the question of where plants get matter from in the years between these two particular experiments. Some of them are quite interesting and accessible, but they are nevertheless beyond the scope of this footnote. To learn more, you might want to start by looking up Stephen Hales and C.B. van Niel.

[1] Angier, Natalie. The Canon. New York: Mariner Books, 2007

Advice for the SAT Bound Student

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:55:00 +0000

The SAT is perhaps the most feared and misunderstood test in our culture. It’s not an IQ test, but it helps to be smart. It’s not a content test, but it helps to know your stuff. Many people with great scores never studied for it, but almost anyone can do better with practice. In some ways, it is a deeply flawed exam but it nevertheless tells colleges something useful about their applicants. More to the point, it is here to stay. As a tutor who works with many standardized admissions exams, including the SAT, I have thought about the test quite a lot over the years. Here is my advice for how to handle this quintessentially American coming of age ordeal.

First of all, let me be very clear: the single best way to prepare for the SAT is to be a good student over the long haul. No tutor or prep class can replace the benefits of paying attention in all of your classes and doing all of your homework (thoughtfully). It’s even better if you choose more challenging classes rather than easier ones. And of course, reading is critical. The books assigned in school are not meant to be a complete reading diet for any student; achieving highly in many areas, including the SAT, will be much easier if you read independently and voraciously. Being a good student and an active reader have many benefits that go far beyond getting a good score on the SAT. But it is also true that you are unlikely to get the foundation you need to score highly in any other way.

Being studious is the best SAT preparation that anyone can do, but if you are reading this, you are probably looking for more specific ways to prepare. In the medium term (roughly one to six months before the test) the best thing to do is to set a schedule for yourself and practice taking SAT sections and whole SAT exams regularly. The amount you study will depend on how busy the rest of your life is and what your goals are, but a decent rule of thumb is to do one SAT section a day, five days per week and to take one full-length test per month. Of course, grading yourself and going over the answer explanations for the questions that you got wrong is as important as actually taking the practice tests.

But what about test taking tricks? Many people are under the impression that the key to doing well on the SAT is to know a bunch of magic codes that somehow crack the test wide open. While there are genuinely valuable test-taking techniques, they aren’t magic. They also aren’t secret. I would summarize the most important techniques as follows:

1) Especially for math problems, view the answer choices as an important tool to help you find the answer.

2) If there is a variable in a math question and variables in the answer choices, you can plug your own number into the question and generally figure out the answer.

3) In many sections, the early questions are easier than the later questions. If a late question seems easy, be suspicious that there is a trap that you haven’t noticed.

4) The process of elimination is your friend.

5) For the essay, make sure that your essay has paragraphs, a beginning, middle, and end, and try to fill up most of the space you have been given.

6) Pace yourself. Don’t linger on a particularly tough problem.

I know that these suggestions aren’t as specific as you might like. To fully elucidate and explain them is outside of the scope of this article. However there are several ways you can get more detailed explanations. The least expensive option is to get a few SAT test prep books and begin a course of independent study. If you are not disciplined enough for that to work well or if you learn better through verbal discussions with another person rather than reading a book, you may want to consider tutoring. Working with a good SAT prep tutor is much like working with a good personal trainer: you get very specific, individualized advice and you also get built-in accountability and motivation.

No matter how you prepare for the SAT, remember that your SAT score can be important, but it will not define your life. College admissions depend on far more than just your SAT scores, and where you go to college will hardly be the most important thing about your life. While I admire and encourage hard work and high achievement, excessive worry and cramming is simply counterproductive. Likewise, if you score well on the SAT but don’t put in the necessary effort in other aspects of your life, your SAT score won’t get you that far. Study hard, but maintain a sense of perspective.

Spanish for the Homeschool Student

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:55:00 +0000

Parents choose homeschooling for vastly diverse reasons, but one of the most common is the desire to provide a better education than it is possible to get in any available school. It is my belief that including foreign language study can be an important part of making this goal a reality, especially at the elementary school level.

The facts are clear: starting second language instruction earlier leads to better results. When young children learn a language they can naturally acquire a native-speaker accent and a completely natural relationship to the language’s grammar. Adults and teenagers simply have to work harder for results that will never be quite as good. Unfortunately, second languages are rarely taught in elementary school, so this is one area where homeschooling can really stand out.

Our instruction is always age-appropriate and can be geared towards your child’s interests. Spanish lessons for young children are very playful- you might see your child singing songs in Spanish, playing games in Spanish, reading Spanish picture books, or just chatting with his or her tutor (in Spanish, of course!). Lessons with older children are more structured, but still geared towards conversation and natural language acquisition. With all of our students, but especially with older children, we integrate study of Hispanic cultures and countries into our studies.

We most often work with students one-on-one, but we can also provide small group lessons. These groups may consist of siblings or several unrelated homeschoolers. Working in a small group is lots of fun for kids and it’s also a great way to make Spanish lessons affordable enough to continue with them regularly for the extended period of time that it takes to truly become fluent in the language.

Homeschooling a Reluctant Learner

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:54:00 +0000

I’ve been working with one particular homeschooled boy for the past two and a half years, and my experiences with him have convinced me that, under certain circumstances, homeschooling can be a great option for school-phobic students. It’s not necessarily an easy or quick solution, but it can still hold great promise.

When I first met this boy, he had been recently adopted by his aunt and uncle. I don’t know much about his pre-adoption life, except that he had been left back twice and was significantly more than two years below grade level in terms of academic achievement. Also, he hated school and dealt with the classroom by being alternately passive and surly.

When I began working with him, he could add and subtract reasonably well, but couldn’t multiply, divide, or solve word problems with any degree of accuracy. Fractions, decimals, graphing… forget about it. His ability to read independently was almost non-existent and even with guidance, his reading comprehension was exceptionally low. Not surprisingly, his knowledge of history, science, and current events was negligible.

After five semesters of instruction by me and others (both professionals and family members) this boy has made great progress. Although he is still behind grade level, he has achieved far more than two and a half years of growth. His mathematical skills have progressed to the point where he can use and understand the compound interest formula. (Wow! Does that ever make me proud!) His English skills have progressed so that he can not only read books, but he can do so well enough (albeit, still with guidance) to become genuinely involved with the characters.

This boy’s academic struggles are not over, but his situation has gone from looking quite grim to being filled with potential. It has taken intense, hard work on the part of many people, but it is as rewarding as anything in education could be. I’m proud to be a part of his burgeoning success and I hope to have the opportunity to work with more students like him in the future.

Review of Singapore Math Curriculum

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:51:00 +0000

I’ve used Singapore Math’s elementary level math books (through grade 6) extensively, and I think that they are an excellent basic curriculum, but only if they are used in conjunction with materials that provide a dose of more open-ended and inquiry-based math.

Singapore Math is very well thought out and thorough. It covers topics in an extremely logical sequence and, with the exception of long division, introduces topics in a way that makes even tough topics accessible. The books have a very clean, almost spare feel to them. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles but the exercises are really well done. I can imagine that Singapore Math books might not sell well if they were placed side by side in a bookstore with glossier books, which is a shame because they are really very solidly built.

On the other hand, I think that the elementary series of Singapore Math has one significant flaw and one relatively minor flaw. The significant flaw is that the series does not do enough to foster creative problem solving. True, the series present a great many excellent problem solving strategies and in the supplemental books there are problems difficult enough to challenge nearly any student. But, the problems generally have the same “favor”. I can easily imagine a student raised on Singapore Math becoming quite flustered when presented with messier, more real-world style problems. (Of course, this is true for most other curriculums, too.) When I teach homeschool students using Singapore Math, I simply make sure to periodically supplement their studies with more open-ended and inquiry-based math from other sources.

The minor problem that I have identified with Singapore Math is the way in which long division is introduced. For some reason, Singapore Math jumps directly into long division problems with remainders which is an unnecessarily confusing, even traumatic, way to go about things.

In a nutshell, I use and recommend the elementary Singapore Math series, as long as the instructor is conscientious about regularly supplementing the basic curriculum with open-ended and inquiry-based material from other sources.

Review of the Impact Math Curriculum

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:50:00 +0000

One of the math curriculums commonly used at the middle school level in New York City is called Impact Math. Impact Math is not your grandmother’s math curriculum: it strongly emphases exploring mathematical principles and understanding why they work. It goes to great lengths to connect areas of math that are commonly thought of as abstract to concrete, physical reality. On the other hand, it does not give very much practice performing calculations relative to many other math curriculums.

In general, the more time I spend with Impact Math, the more I like it. All too often, even conscientious students who do well in school don’t really understand what the purpose of the math they learn is. While Impact Math doesn’t fully bridge this gap (in part because it may be unbridgeable- the math needs of adults vary wildly by career) it does solidly connect numbers to physical reality.

When students ask me why they need to know math, I often tell them that they might or might not use the particular math concepts that they are studying as a adults, but regardless, learning math is great brain exercise and it will make them better, stronger thinkers. This isn’t just a platitude; I truly believe it. Impact Math gets high marks from me when it comes to really getting kids to think. It would be difficult indeed to stumble through the curriculum by rote memorization of a few algorithms.

I do have one major complaint about Impact Math: it doesn’t provide enough calculation practice for most students. In my experience as a math tutor, most students really do need quite regular practice with calculations. Impact Math shies away from drills in favor of much more interesting math, but the plain truth is that many kids need both. On the other hand, it is really quite easy for teachers to add in supplemental calculation practice through regular drills and games.

Changing New York State Math Standards

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:08:00 +0000

Up until recently, New York State high school students took the Math A and (sometimes) the Math B Regents exams. This is in the process of changing. The Math A and B Regents are being fazed out and replaced with a new series of three exams: Integrated Algebra I, Geometry, and Integrated Algebra II/Trigonometry. The primary stated goal of the reorganization is to allow classes to study topics in greater depth and with more focus.

Collectively, the content of the old and new exams seems to be quite similar. The format, which consists of a multiple choice section and several free-response sections, is also similar. From the students’ point of view, the greatest difference appears to be the more tightly focused nature of the new Regents exams.

From a tutoring perspective, I don’t expect there to be much difference between the old Regents format and the new one. My job is to help students master math content so that they can achieve well both in class and on standardized tests. Since I generally don’t make choices about the way that content is organized over the course of a year, the difference in what I do will probably be minimal.

Spanish Tutoring and Young Children

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:47:00 +0000

One unfortunate feature of the American educational system is the way in which we normally teach foreign languages. The evidence that we use generally ineffective methods is clear: very few students acquire a working knowledge of a second language in our schools. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. There is no reason that students can’t actually learn the languages that they study- and one of the easiest and most effective ways to promote learning a second language is to start as young as possible.

The younger a child is, the easier it is for her or him to learn languages. Babies learn language automatically; children under twelve can usually learn to speak without a foreign accent, and teenagers struggle less than adults. Because we are aware of the importance of age in language, we offer Spanish instruction to students of all ages, including young children.

Young children learn best through play, and we keep Spanish lessons for pre-schoolers and elementary school students very light-hearted and fun. In any given lesson, children might learn to sing songs in Spanish, read Spanish-language picture books, or play games in Spanish with their tutor.

With older children (upper elementary and middle school age), lessons remain enjoyable and child-focused but more formal elements, such as study of grammar and discussion of idioms, are added as appropriate.

With any age child, Spanish lessons may consist of one-on-one tutoring or small groups. With very young children, we use a mommy (or daddy or nanny) and me structure. Of course, we work exclusively with fully bilingual tutors who are experienced educators and who posses a love of children.

The SAT: What Does it Really Test?

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:00:00 +0000

There have been many studies investigating various aspects of the SAT, and my purpose here is not to summarize or evaluate these studies. Instead, I am going to give my subjective assessment as a professional tutor. The SAT clearly rewards academic achievement in math and English, strong logical thinking skills, and an ability to focus. On the other hand, it also rewards the ability to think inside the box and a willingness to perform many hours of drills. Worse, it can severely penalize students who are thorough, methodical thinkers and those who suffer from test-taking anxiety, no matter how gifted, accomplished, and motivated they are.

Occasionally, I encounter students or parents who desperately hope that getting a good score on the SAT can be done simply by learning enough test-taking techniques. Sadly for these families, this is simply not possible. Solid academic knowledge and skills are necessary prerequisites for scoring highly on this test. It just isn’t possible to use test taking tricks to determine the meaning of a vocabulary word. This is clearly one of the big strengths that the SAT possesses- there are clear and significant limits to the degree to which an unskilled student can get a higher score than he or she warrants.

So how can students improve their SAT scores by improving their overall academic prowess? It’s a simple, but long-term proposition. First, take care of the basics: have excellent school attendance, pay attention to every class, and do all homework. Second, read. Simply doing school reading assignments is not enough. Find material that interests you and then aim to read approximately 200-300 pages every week (books, newspapers, magazines, and poetry all count). Third, get help if you need it. This could take the form of staying late after school to meet with teachers, forming a study group with friends, or working with a professional tutor.

Having strong logical thinking skills and the ability focus unwaveringly on a task clearly helps with the SAT. To some degree, both of these skills are innate, but they can also be cultivated. Regularly solving a wide variety of math and logic problems over an extended period of time is probably the best way to cultivate logical thinking skills. Likewise, the ability to focus can be developed by practicing. Try doing homework efficiently and without distractions or daydreaming breaks.

For me, one of the most desperately frustrating aspects of the SAT is the way in which it can punish careful, methodical thinking. Students who like to work through problems in multiple ways and look at situations from several different directions are at a severe disadvantage because of the strict time limits that the SAT imposes. It’s a terrible shame that a test as important as the SAT penalizes such valuable qualities.

A related and also unfortunate aspect of the SAT is that it rewards conventional, minimally creative thinking. True, on the math portion, there is almost always a clear right answer. However, on the reading comprehension section, creative thinkers can often make reasonable arguments for more than one answer choice. Likewise, on the grammar section, good writers can frequently tear the correct answers to shreds. It might be impossible to create a standardized test that rewards creative thinking. In any case, the SAT certainly doesn’t.

One final problem with the SAT is the high level of test anxiety that it creates in many students. Some people deal with this well but for others, it is a serious problem, akin to stage fright. True, success in both college and life requires the ability to perform under pressure at least occasionally, but for most people, SAT-style pressure is rare indeed. This pressure seriously affects the ability of the SAT to accurately measure academics potential in some individuals.

Often the SAT is criticized because it rewards students who go to excellent schools and whose families have the means and desire to support their education. It’s absolutely true that underprivileged students have a much, much harder task in the SAT. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s really fair to blame the SAT or the College Board for this problem (that would be much too easy). Rather, it’s a symptom of a much broader failure of American education. Blaming a test that reveals educational discrepancy for the gap feels uncomfortably like blaming the messenger.

2009 SAT Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Tutor New York City) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:55:00 +0000

The SAT and SAT Subject Tests are offered 7 times each year. The “regular” SAT is offered on every test date. Most of the SAT Subject tests are offered on every test date except March. The Language Tests with Listening are offered only in November.

The SAT will be offered on the following dates:

January 24th, 2009
SAT & SAT Subject Tests

March 14th, 2009
SAT only

May 2nd, 2009
SAT & SAT Subject Tests

June 6th, 2009
SAT & SAT Subject Tests

In addition to these test dates, the SAT and SAT Subject Tests will also be offered in October, November, and December.