Brad: Maryland tutor

Certified Tutor

One of my earliest memories is hearing piano music. ALL my older siblings were playing scales, chords, simple yet cute songs. The reason is that my forward-thinking RN mother demanded all of us four (4) kids - born one year apart - play piano till the end of middle school. Then we could stop if we wished. While I was always good at math, I never gave it much thought until in my senior year of high school where I met an Algebra Teacher that was so about discipline and compliance he bothered me. He ran a very well-disciplined class as it was said he was an ex-Navy captain. Regardless, we didn't get along. But I was still curious about 'Math' "Where does it lead?" "Math" is bigger than any 'person'. "Chase the knowledge you want to know." I was more curious about math than wanting to let this man discourage me from learning. That fall after graduating from high school I signed up for an Algebra class with the local Junior College. My parents paid for ALL my college experience with my mother throwing into the conversation, "As long as you go to college, you can live here." There were some benefits to being the only boy of three older girls. There were some benefits that I didn't understand or question. I just went with it. And I studied music for nine years. While I explored Music and many other classes, I took math out of curiosity, 'devoid of any personalities' and focused on the concepts. The best explanation of Math to date is Euclid's 'Elements'. I got organized with my math binder. I had all the daily notes in order by date, all tests in another page/folder, all support material in another page/folder. I organized my thoughts for optimal learning. Each area is separated by a 'colored tab'. I was very organized and pleased with my understanding I received an "A+" for my efforts but more important I learned a method of success. "Keep it simple and stive to understand the concepts being taught." Math made sense. "Math is best if you have a personal relationship with it. Teach yourself small chunks with guaranteed success."

Not knowing what to study for a Major, I took Music since I had been taking piano for as long as I could remember. I took mostly music classes (~320 quarter credits) but also many other classes for my own personal enjoyment and growth. I took Astronomy, Psychology, Martial Arts, Speech, Math and others. At each different college or university, I took the next level in math. I graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Music Education, a Minor in Music, a K-12 Teaching Certificate and up to this point, I had completed Algebra 1, Trigonometry, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus A and Pre-Calculus B. My first and only interview for Music (I got the job!) the principal interviewing me asked, "How would you like to also teach math? We'll send you back to school to get certified and the school will pay for it." For six years I taught Music and Math, but slowly and concurrently I began to realize the math concepts I was teaching were much more impacting than the music concepts. "Music" is feeling and emotion. 'Poetry' if you will. "Math" is logic with provable outcomes. 'Lawyer legal language.' I fell in love with Math. I still have a current WA Teaching Certificate (293764G) covering K-12 Choral Music and 4-12 Mathematics. Throughout my twenty-three-year career I have taken many more math classes to be considered "Highly Qualified" but overall, I have ~350 quarter credits in Music, ~90 in Math, ~50 in Computer Science and ~30 miscellaneous. Now I have a BA in Music Education, Minor in Music, and a Minor worth in Math. I have taught Mathematics from 4th grade all the way through 12th grade teaching General Math, Decimals, Fractions, Ratios, Proportions, Algebra 1, Geometry to Algebra 2. I also taught CA Achievement Test or 'Exit Test' and have done SAT coaching. I scored 98% in Mathematical Reasoning on the CBEST. It just makes logical sense when you have all the rules explained. With my musical experience, I have found simple ways of solving/looking at mathematical concepts. And then then 'Covid' hit March 2020. Since then, I only do online math. I can help with your questions, homework or test. I enjoy the process and after 23 years of teaching in public schools, I enjoy solving and sharing my knowledge with others who seek mathematical understanding. "Math is personal." It is meant to be simple and logical. Don't over think it. My original pursuit of understanding math was just to see where 'it' goes as far as what it can solve and represent. Beautiful stuff. Learning never stops. Arithmetic operations, General Math, Ratios, Proportions, Precents, Fractions, Decimals, Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2. I like to help with all math. "Chase what you want to know!" "Algebra" has been around for 2,000 years and more, with "Mathematics" in general was discovered right after the discovery of "Music" at the very beginning of humanity. We were Musicians before we were Mathematicians. But then we learned Math.

'Math' is a field of study still changing and developing. To see some of the different areas' 'math' can develop into please watch the 10-minute YouTube video "Map of Mathematics". We are looking at just the basics of Math. There is a lot more to see if you choose.