I firmly believe in the capability of all students to learn anything that they want to. As a teacher, I teach to various learning styles to encompass all types of learners and all areas of the brain involved in learning. I know that all content can and should be fun and exciting and I teach that way; it shouldn’t be a chore, and if treated that way it is inevitable that students will learn less and retain the material for a shorter period of time.

In my undergraduate work, I majored in Psychology, but my emphasis was on child development, with special attention to learning and identity development in social, economic and cultural context. I completed my coursework for a Masters in Human Development and Family Studies in a competitive program at University of Wisconsin, but did not complete my thesis because of life issues. There, I focused my coursework on the same issues as undergraduate work. Finally, I entered the Teach For America program that brought me to Philadelphia, and through which I acquired a Secondary Mathematics teaching certificate at University of Pennsylvania. Beyond that, I incessantly read and do research on teaching and child development.

I’ve been tutoring and teaching since high school, when I informally tutored friends in math and was hired by my high school as a peer tutor. In grad school, I taught GRE and worked in two programs for high school students where, I taught and tutored SAT prep and mathematics. More recently, I’ve been a classroom math teacher from 7th grade up to 12th grade calculus. Outside of that I have taught and tutored in SAT, ACT, GMAT Math, and English grammar.

I spend a lot of time outdoors with my wife and three year old daughter in parks and the woods. I still skateboard on occasion, despite my advanced age (40 years old.) I love music and still try to keep up with newer music when I have time. I also love chess, though I only get to play online most of the time, both against the computer and live competitors.

I recently took a formal ACT to see how I would do; the result was a 32 on the composite test.