As a high school student and later on as an undergraduate student, I faced difficulties with some of my math courses and higher level chemistry courses. The main obstacle to my success in these courses was having teachers who did a poor job of explaining challenging topics. Frustrated and disappointed in my shortcomings, I retook Algebra I in high school and Organic Chemistry I, in college. Repeating these courses with new instructors allowed me a fresh opportunity to learn and master many of the challenging topics I had faced. With hard work and commitment to excellence, I earned 100 in Algebra I, and A+ in Organic Chemistry I.Among other life lessons, facing these two challenges showed me the power of good instructors, and more importantly, how to approach difficult topics. The best technique to understanding new concepts is to start with an easy related topic. For example, what is the atomic radius trend of periods in the periodic table? To understand the answer, you would need to know the electron affinities of metals and nonmetals. Knowing how metals and nonmetals behave, will allow you to understand electron affinities. In addition, understanding the octet rule and the desired electron state of each atom is essential to answering the question. Lastly, answering the question without understanding why nonmetals radius is smaller than metals is meaningless. My goal for each tutoring session is to get my students to change the way they approach answering science based questions. While the alternative approach of memorization might be helpful in humanities, it would be fruitless in science or math courses. Once you understand the why behind the answer, the next task is to practice working on a variety of questions. To efficiently maximize our time together, I come prepared with worksheets on many challenging topics. At the end of each session, I ask my students what topics they would like me to cover the next session. If applicable, I incorporate relevant regents questions. Although I am available for home tutoring, my strong preference is for library tutoring. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you.

Q&A with Kahtan

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