Jose: Sussex tutor

Certified Tutor

After high school, I attended San Jacinto College where I earned my associates degree in mathematics. I then transferred to Texas A&M University and graduated May 2016 with a bachelors in geophysics.

While attending both San Jacinto College I tutored for the on campus tutoring center for a year and a half. While tutoring for San Jacinto College I learned different techniques to tutor algebra and calculus. When I moved to College Station to attend A&M, I tutored for Blinn College for 2 years. I once again tutored calculus and algebra. I honed my skills in those subjects while slowly getting more comfortable with physics.

My tutoring style is one where I try to get a lot of feedback from the student. I try to not simply give out answers because I want to know the student is understanding the material. I believe math can be overcome given enough examples. It???s like working out any other muscle; the more you do it the easier it becomes and when you have an instructor with you, it becomes easier to get the hang of.

My experience with tutoring and in school has made me realize that when a tutor or professor is brilliant in their field (they just naturally get the subject) they are less likely to be able to help students that don???t get it. The tutor/professor that just gets it is making connections the student can???t (at the moment) and communication become difficult. I try to minimize this by asking a lot of questions and always examining what detail might not be as trivial as I feel them to be.

Over my college career I???ve been a part of different student organizations. At San Jacinto College I was a part of the speech and debate team, the honors program, and the on campus newspaper. While at Texas A&M I was part of the AAPG Student Chapter and the Geology & Geophysics Society. These student organizations along with 3 years of tutoring allowed me to talk to a lot of people and refine my communication skills.

I???m a very understanding person and I want students to be comfortable with me. I learn as much from the people I tutor as I hope they do from me. I don???t think there is any shame in not understanding something or answering questions wrong (as long as you understand why you???re wrong and how to fix it). I???ve been known to give the wrong answer to a question in class and it helped my understanding of subject a lot more.

I want to continue to encounter different types of learning, teaching, and thinking.