312 Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02144
617-335-5552
Somerville, MA 02144
617-335-5552
I love mathematics, I love physics, and I love teaching.
I went to MIT for physics and got my degree in 1992. A year later, I developed chronic hand pain and found myself looking for work that did not overtax my hands. I gave tutoring a try at Boston College, where I was working on my master's degree in mathematics. To my surprise I found that I loved teaching, and with my background I was soon helping the other math tutors. Eventually my health problems subsided, but I've never wanted to stop tutoring.
Knowledge on Call has been my sole source of income since 1993. That is my single best qualification; I had to be good at teaching if I wanted to make a living, and so I learned rapidly: I learned a lot about all the many different ways people can think and feel about math and science. I learned where most people tend to get stuck, and how to help them get unstuck. I learned how to explain in a variety of styles, and to adjust the level of detail to what the student needs and wants.
I can explain in pictures for the visually oriented, and in words and analogies for the auditory learners, and in formulas for the analytical. I even have some physical models for those who really like to see things in 3D. I stress gaining understanding of the fundamental concepts, giving my students the ability to solve new problems they encounter. I can also create rote recipes for those who really need to learn that way. I know tricks for mental arithmetic and schemes for memorizing important information. I relate the knowledge to the real world and to other classes. I point out the connections and the patterns, and show students the big picture.
Over the years, I added many subjects to my repertoire. Students came to me for help with their freshman calculus, physics, or chemistry, and then when they moved on to more advanced subjects they sometimes talked me into learning the material with them. I am able to absorb new material quickly, well enough to stay ahead and tutor it as I go, and I added many engineering subjects, organic chemistry, biology, and even biochemistry that way. Eventually, however, I realized that I didn't want to spend so much time studying and reviewing subjects at random, and I decided to cut out half of my offerings in order to focus on the mathematics and physics that I teach and love the best.
I have no desire to teach in a traditional school setting, nor to become a professor at a university. Instead, I prefer to focus strictly on teaching willing and eager students how to master the material to the best of their capability. Being a lecturer for college courses is something I would very much like to do one day; after so many years of tutoring, I have a lot of ideas about how to make introductory physics clear, interesting, and exciting.
I tutor full time, and I am actively interested in organizing classes for groups, because I would like to help more students than I can fit into my workweek in individual sessions. I have begun to teach entire courses of physics, unofficially, in parallel with a local university's lectures, and I look forward to adding more classes.
I love my job, and it is part of my mission to help my students not only do well in their classes but also enjoy the process as much as possible.