Jonathan

I am a pre-algebra teacher for grades 6-8 at Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada. I have worked with K-12 students. I have a Bachelor's degree in business administration from CSU and a Master's degree in education of curriculum and instruction of secondary mathematics from the University of Nevada.

My tutoring style:

My tutoring style aims at knowing and understanding the learner - realizing preferences, strengths, and weaknesses - and building upon prior knowledge or experiences. My efforts go toward finding ways and techniques that engage the learner in understanding new concepts. I emphasize the fundamentals of solving problems because, to me, math can be a humbling subject which requires solid foundational skills in order to progress.

I also encourage a mindset that can withstand and learn through failure at times. Confidence in learning is built, not given. Skills are obtained in any endeavor through practice, dedication, patience, and the willingness to learn.

Success story:

I have had many great experiences in my career, but my personal success story has to be about a troubled student who was never truly responsive or engaged in studying math. I worked with this student for an entire school year and it was extremely challenging. Her grades and attitude in other classes were not great. She needed to pass her classes to gain the credits to graduate middle school and transition into high school.

In the last 4 months of the school year, she decided to give her best efforts towards learning and passing my class. She started to come before and after school to get extra help. These were the times she realized that if she just tried and dedicated herself, then the possibilities were endless. She slowly but steadily completed her work and brought her grades up to ultimately pass the final semester. What really makes this story so memorable is the fact that this student started to bring her friends in for extra help and collaboration. I witnessed this student become a leader and I will always treasure moments like this one.        

Hobbies and interests:

Tropical fish keeping/breeding and aquascaping; Gym/fitness; Cooking; Collectibles (Sports as well as Anime/Marvel materials); Sports (football, basketball, boxing, MMA, baseball, hockey, soccer)