Learning Fractions is a Piece of Cake!

“Learning fractions is a piece of cake!” Have you ever heard that statement from someone who has learned how to handle fractions? Do you feel the same way?

Since my math tutoring methodology is a little different than that of most teachers, my students have learned to respond to the phrase: “Learning fractions is a piece of PIZZA!”

I have used my PIZZA example to help students understand what a fraction is, what “like” and “unlike” fractions are, how to add or subtract or multiply or divide all types of fractions, how fractions are related to percentage, and much, much more.

Learning fractions is only one category of math that I have taught and tutored. I have a passion for math and a myriad of experience teaching it. I have taught courses ranging from basic math (fractions, decimals, percentage, etc), up to and including college level algebra. I have taught and tutored courses online and face to face. I have also conducted classes on how to overcome math anxiety.

Have you ever wondered why children in the k-12 grades should be enrolled in a tutoring program?

Too many of our young people have a very poor understanding of math. After my experience of having to teach "College Level" students how to add and subtract fractions before they could begin to understand College Algebra, I became convinced that the K-12 kids should be the ones that are tutored. If the kids have a good understanding of the early concepts of math, and made to realize that these are the concepts that they will be using throughout their math courses, there will be less of a tendency to "slide" through a course with just enough effort to pass it.

Almost all of the students that I have taught or tutored, in all levels of math, have enjoyed learning math and have adopted my favorite phrase, “Math Is Beautiful”. My goal is to not only help students to learn math, but to make the entire learning experience fun, challenging, and rewarding.

I have three favorite words that refer to how success with almost anything can be achieved by almost anyone. These three words are communication, perception & commitment. The relationship between these three words, and how they can determine the degree of success and failure, is as follows:

Communication affects perception. Favorable communication should generate a favorable perception.

Perception affects commitment. A favorable perception should produce a strong commitment.
Commitment should determine success or failure. A strong commitment usually results in a successful outcome.

The communication part must come from the parents in order to motivate the kids. However, the need for having a very good understanding of math must first be communicated to the parents. Too many parents are so busy trying to do everything that must be done to provide for their children, that paying very close attention to their children's grades has a rather low priority. That is why we offer the free reports and other data to the parents as a means of communication and motivation for them. I trust that this information will become a wake-up call to all parents.

I am sure that if parents stop and remember how it was when they, themselves, struggled with learning fractions and their math courses, they will begin to appreciate why it would be better to have their children have access to a personal tutor sooner, rather than later, since the long term benefits would be so much greater.

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