Homework Help Today - A Tutoring Blog for Students and Tutors Where Students and Tutors can help each other out!

This past weekend I came across a great site called the Tutor/Mentor Connection.  They describe their mission as “dedicated to improving the availability and quality of comprehensive, long-term, volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in high-poverty areas of the Chicago region and other large US cities through an ongoing, dynamic exchange of ideas.”  It seems to me it’s a pretty lofty and worthwhile goal.

For a while now I’ve been looking for a way for TutorMatch.com to work with a charitable organization and it seems like this one is a pretty good match, since it directly involves tutors.  I exchanged a few emails with Dan Bassill, the President of the Tutor/Mentor Connection, to discuss the possibilities of working together.

I had mentioned perhaps we could send a notice out to active tutors on TutorMatch asking if anyone was interested in volunteering their time as tutors, but he said what they need most at this time is donations, not just tutors.

According to Dan, “For there to be tutoring/mentoring in poverty areas we don’t just need tutors; we need donors who help pay the rent and other costs of making a tutor/mentor program available. This is what enables us to offer free services to our kids and families. If you can build the connection between those fortunate enough to be able to afford paid tutoring, then many of them might become the donors who also support tutoring for poor kids.”

So that got me to thinking, what if we donated a certain percentage of each TutorMatch Premium Subscription to the Tutor/Mentor Connection?  We don’t make a whole lot, but by giving back and making potential tutors aware of the donation perhaps we can increase tutor signups and help out the Tutor/Mentor Connection at the same time.  Even if we don’t, I think it’s just our resonsibility to help out community improvement programs like this one whenever we can. 

For anyone who is (or isn’t) involved with TutorMatch and would like to donate you can visit their donations page and help them out.  As they say, “if it is to be, it is up to me” … it’s up to you to make a difference!

Posted under Tutoring

If you’re interested in blogging as a guest blogger, please just drop us a line at support@tutormatch.com.  Since we’re just starting out we’re open to just about any suggestions related to homework help, tutoring, or teaching issues.  In exchange you can write about whatever you would like, and link back to your blog or service as well!

Posted under News

I just found this interesting educational video on Youtube which explains what seasons are, and why we have them.  The video goes into some pretty good detail talking about the effect of the sun as the earth rotates, as well as more advanced subjects such as equinoxes and solstices:

Educational videos like this one are certainly good for some homework help, but if you are really struggling in Geography you should probably consider hiring a professional Geography Tutor.  Whether you work with one online or find a tutor located near you who can provide in-person tutoring, you’ll find learning is a lot easier when you have someone helping you.

Posted under Geography Tutor

Math. Some people love it. Some people hate it. But if you want to survive middle school, you’ll need to find your way through it. Why is there such a clear difference between people who like math and those who don’t? There are theories floating around which say that some people are naturally predisposed to being good at math which makes them enjoy it.  I know there is a lot of truth to this. I personally love art and writing and have nightmares about trigonometry. Yet my brother loves calculus and has nightmares about going to a museum! But I think there is more to the story than just the way we were born. 

From my own experience, I know that I liked math better in sixth grade than I did in seventh. I was learning basic math in both cases. The only difference was that I had a great teacher in seventh grade (Mr. Williams) and not in sixth.  It’s amazing what a difference a teacher can make. Mr. Williams had a way of making math come alive. He would frequently point out how what we were learning applied to real life situations, such as how it might be used in business finance. One time he actually went around and asked each of us to tell him a profession we were thinking of going into when we graduated. He went through all of them one by and explained how you’ll need to know math to be your best at that field.

This brings me to the topic of math tutoring. I didn’t do too well in sixth grade math. What if I could have had someone like Mr. Williams helping me out after school in sixth grade? I have no doubt I would’ve seen a major improvement in my test scores and my self esteem.  That’s the power of a math tutor.

When you go looking for a math or algebra tutor, believe it or not, you don’t need the most knowledgeable mathematician in the world. What’s more important is their ability to adapt the way they teach to the way you learn.

You might like audio learning instead of visual learning. You might like business math examples instead of sports examples. The beauty of a good math tutor is they can get to know you personally and tailor their style to the exact way you learn best. It might be hard to believe, but effective math tutoring might just make something as treacherous as calculus fun!

Posted under Math Tutoring, Tutoring

Whether you realize it or not, over the past twenty years our society has undergone a complete transformation: our nation has become “computerized”.  Americans, on average, are spending more time in front the computer today than they ever have and the statistics indicate that this trend will only increase as we head forward. Laptops are the new notebook. Computers are now the device of choice for students taking exams at College and Graduate Schools. Once you have finished school you will be hard pressed to find a job that doesn’t require you work on a computer for hours each day.

All this brings into focus the importance of your typing skills. As more and more work is being done on the computer, employers are beginning to learn that a faster typist generally means a more productive worker. All things being equal, in a competition for employment, the faster typist will always get the job.

The reason for this is simple: quite often employers are paying their workers by the hour.  The faster typist can get two memos out in the time it might take you to do one. In the long run, slight differences in typing skills can make a huge difference to an employer’s bottom line. The important lesson from all this is that you can no longer afford to be a poor typist. That is why if you are still doing “hunt and peck” typing, it’s time to take a serious look at what you can do to improve your skills.

Even if you touch type, but you need to look down at the keys to avoid making mistakes, you are placing yourself at a distinct disadvantage to your competition when it comes to your future job search.  The need to look down at the keyboard may not seem like much to you, but experts point out that looking down at the keys breaks up the flow of thought you are trying to express. This causes you to stop, rethink what you are doing and start again.

Though you may not realize it, in the long run, this need to look down at the keys is costing you (and will cost your future employer) hours and hours of productivity.

All of the above points to the need to have an effective typing tutor. While a computerized typing tutor is one size fits all, a human typing tutor can find out immediately what are the specific problems that are keeping you from reaching your ideal typing speed. Within a few short sessions of typing tutoring you’ll improve faster than you ever thought possible, making your path to the ideal job that much easier.

Posted under Tutoring