I am a certified high school math teacher. I have a total of 7 years of teaching high school math and tutoring college math. I understand how struggling math students think. I was a mediocre math student in high school and math was not really my thing. However, in college I had a wonderful math tutor who worked diligently with me so that I really grasped college Algebra and I ended up acing the subject which had always alluded me in high school. It was amazing how much more enjoyable math was once I understood it and looked forward to using it. Instead of an annoying road block, it became an intriguing Class. Education can be given in such a way that virtually everyone can grasp and excel in school, including advanced concepts in mathematics. A weakness of our education system is that often students, whose learning style does not fit the education mold, are forced to fit as a square peg through a round hole. This rigidness and lack of flexibility often creates learners who have apathy or resentment towards math that is unnecessary. In my own practice of teaching and tutoring I have found that often students who were judged to not be able to do complex math could do it with the right tools and guidance. Students who were decent students were also able to perform at a better level as well with improved guidance. The biggest problem in student's understanding they often struggle or are weak in the foundational skills of math for that subject or the math subjects leading up to the current class, and are therefore trying to learn a new concept while simultaneously trying relearn old concepts that were not understood in the first place. Math, more than any other subject, builds on itself. Students have to have a solid foundation or go back and reinforce weak areas in order to master further concepts. Mastery learning in math is paramount. We have to crawl before we walk and walk before we run.

Q&A with Stephen

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