Jonathan

I was home schooled from first grade through twelfth. Up through eighth grade, I studied from the curriculum of Calvert School, a private liberal arts school in Baltimore Maryland. I am a graduate of Covenant College, a small liberal arts college in north Georgia. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in both Philosophy and Mathematics. My studies in Philosophy focused on metaphysics, philosophy of language, and logic. I received a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. After that I went to the University of Arizona to work on my PhD in Mathematics. I studied for three semesters, passed my qualifying examinations, and then decided to switch career paths. I am currently in a dual Masters program at Georgia State University studying Actuarial Science and Mathematical Risk Management in the Robinson College of Business.

I have been private tutoring high school and college students in mathematics since 2007. I have also tutored post-college students in GRE preparation and in preparation for teaching Calculus 3. While continuing my studies I have had the opportunity to serve as a proof reader for the term papers and statements of purpose of other students. I also have experience of guiding a student through the process of writing a paper from scratch. This in particular was very rewarding.

Mathematics is beautiful. I was led to it initially by its mystery, and I was drawn further by glimpses of its beauty. I enjoy tutoring Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Pre-calculus, and I get even more excited about the calculus sequence and the material that follows after it.

For each student I tutor, I try to find out what motivates them. I am not someone who believes that advanced mathematics is something that every person uses on a daily basis. But I know that mathematics is older than writing and has emerged in every major civilization, and I believe that everyone can learn to see its beauty. Furthermore, I believe that mathematics is something that is learned by doing. As such, I tutor mathematics by leading the student with a series of guided questions. I aim for a balance between the abstract and the concrete by using several examples and asking the student about what patterns they notice.

My personal interests include choreographed dance (particularly ballet and modern), reading (fiction and non-fiction), theology, world events, tech startups, and entrepreneurship.