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

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

Your child’s education is important. Use the summer months when school is out to help improve your child’s education, rather than give them a chance to fall further behind in their studies.

If your child has been struggling in school over the past year, summer is not the time to let him or her forget everything they learned. Many parents don’t capitalize on the summer months when school is out, but this is the best time to continue your child’s education with either personal, face-to-face tutoring, or an online tutor.

I would hate to suggest you curtail any kid’s highly anticipated summer vacation, so we’re not talking about summer school here. But if your child has been having a hard time in math, or english, or any subject over the past academic period, then summer is the best time to bolster their education and prepare them for the upcoming school year with a professional tutor.

There are some factors to consider when looking for the right tutor for your child:

1. Does your child have a short attention span? If so, then working with an online tutor may prove quite difficult. You might want to consider a more personal approach with a tutor located near you that can work with your child in person. Most tutors are very flexible, and will either come to your home, or meet with you and your child in the local public library.
2. Does your child have special needs? If so, you may not be able to find someone appropriately qualified close to your home. If this is the case, consider an online tutor. An online tutor can work with your child right at your home computer with you right next to them. Often online tutors will use email, chat rooms, digital whiteboards, or even voice internet phone services such as Skype, which will allow you to converse with them over your computer’s microphone without having to pay any long distance phone bills.
3. Is it difficult to schedule time for tutoring? If you’re busy, and are away from home working quite a bit, there are even some tutors who will offer themselves as babysitters. You may pay them to tutor your child for an hour or so, and then pay a decreased rate to have them babysit your child for the rest of the day.

Of course, whenever you are looking for someone to work with your children, make sure you research and interview them thoroughly.

So don’t let the summer go by without taking this opportunity to improve your child’s education. You’ll be thankful you did come September.

Tutor Match Tutoring and Homework Help, http://www.TutorMatch.com, is a free service which lets parents and students search for both online and personal, face-to-face tutors. You can find tutors for just about any subject, including (but not limited to) English and Reading, Math, Science, History, and Foreign Languages such as Spanish, French and German.

Tutor Match Tutoring and Homework Help is a free service which lets parents and students search for both online and personal, face-to-face tutors. You can find tutors for just about any subject, including (but not limited to) English and Reading, Math, Science, Social Sciences, and Foreign Languages.

Posted under Tutoring

Hi, my name is Diane Palumbo, and I am the new owner of the Homework Help Today blog.  I wanted to just write a quick note and say hello to everyone stopping by.  In the coming months I plan to manage this blog about everything related to my professional field, which is tutoring and teaching.  I’ve been working in the tutoring and professional mentoring field for about 10 years now, and have gained quite a bit of experience, so hopefully I can impart some of that to you!

This blog has basically 2 audiences: there are tips for people who want to become or already tutors, and there will be some tips for people looking for tutors.

In the interest of full disclosure; I will explain that I do work for TutorMatch.com, the premiere Tutoring and Homework Help website for Tutors.  If you’re interested in becoming a tutor, or if you want to find one near you or online, then TutorMatch is the place you want to go!

Posted under Tutoring