Did You Forget the Pandemic?

The number of people who have recently said to me “I’m just so unproductive” or “I don’t know why I can’t get anything done” is astonishing. Don’t get me wrong; I feel the same way. Still, maybe we’ve all forgotten about this thing called COVID-19. As I “celebrate” my one year anniversary of working from home, I have to wonder: did I do my best work? After getting myself un-stuck from this question, I ask the follow up: did I cut myself enough slack, given the world around me?

The last year has been traumatic for so many reasons. We’ve lived in fear and anger, we’ve been far from some of those we care most about, and we’ve struggled to determine what a “new normal” looks like for ourselves and the world. We’ve double-masked, we’ve huffed in the grocery store when someone goes the wrong way down the aisle, and we’ve worried when we are without Purell. Maybe, just maybe, we have more going on than our jobs, our classes, and our daily chores. Maybe doing your best doesn’t look like it used to because our brain power is spread a bit thin. 

That leaves me with yet another question: how can I balance self-care and productivity? How can I lessen the guilt I feel when I realize I’ve been staring blankly at a computer screen for twenty minutes, when I don’t complete a task, or when I snooze my alarm? The answer isn’t easy, but it takes everything you’ve got and it takes all of us together. The standard needs to be of understanding, for yourself and for those around you. Every time you say “I should have been more productive” to someone, you spread that “energy” and expectation to that person. You get them wondering: was I productive enough today?

It’s about accepting the situation, accepting that we are all drained, and finding a way to spin it. Did you get something done today? Did you finish a task, do something you’ve been putting off, or help someone else? Those count! You did it! If someone else came to you and said “the only thing I got done today was the dishes”, wouldn’t you reassure them that they did their best? So, cut yourself some slack. Take a moment to breath. Spread an energy of acceptance. As you’ve surely heard, you can’t pour from an empty cup, and in this world and time we all need to allow our cups to refill so that we can take on the challenges around us.

Using Your Resources

Some students come to TriTutoring because they lack confidence in their ability to learn. This is, in fact, the most common reason people join us. Some reach out to us because they need help with fundamental skills which will help them when topics advance, while others reach out to focus on those advanced topics, like those last few problems on the SAT math sections. Then there are students who want enrichment to keep their love for learning alive, like the elementary school students we do science experiments with. It’s helpful to first identify: what is your reason for reaching out to a tutor? 

I like to think that taking my courses towards my master’s degree has reminded me of the struggles many of our students have. Sometimes, I find myself still uncomfortable with a topic in my Advanced Programming Techniques course. It’s okay to learn and still feel stuck. It’s okay to study and still feel that something is just out of reach. The real question is: what do you do next? How do you overcome that feeling? 

Since my master’s program is in software development, some of the resources I have found to use are different, but the concepts behind them are the same. When you’re stuck or struggling, take a moment and identify the resources you have right around you.

Sometimes resources are people, like a teacher, a tutor, a friend, or a family member. I talk to my professor, my dad (also a software engineer), or my colleagues when I’m super stuck. Other times, resources are websites or textbooks. I use StackOverflow to search for common mistakes that I could be making when coding. 

Can you use this strategy too? Did your teacher solve an example during class that you can study to understand the steps for balancing chemical equations? Can you find a sample problem online for systems of equations? Maybe you can follow along with that procedure and then apply it to your own. Can you find a website that gives you a new strategy for properly placing commas? The options are endless! 

When you get overwhelmed and have a moment of panic, take stock of the huge number of resources available to you.

The Spark of a Palindrome

As a child, when I couldn’t sleep, my wonderful father would do something we called “boring me to sleep”. It wasn’t and isn’t an insult to him, but he is very good at talking about something mundane for as long as needed. Most of the time, he would discuss a single number for as long as it took to get me to sleep. It would go something like this:

What about the number seven? It’s prime, which is pretty cool. It’s also one more than six, which is divisible by most of the numbers smaller than it. Seven is also two less than nine, which is a square number…

He could (and probably still can) go on like this for as long as necessary. Maybe this is why I feel so calm and happy when it comes to numbers.

Palindromes have also been important to me, partially because my name, Hannah, is the same forwards and backwards. I vividly remember learning about palindromes in elementary school. I felt pretty darn special! 

Today is January 24, 2021 and, like some of the other days in January this year, it’s a palindrome! So, let’s discuss 12421 as a number. First of all, it’s 20 21 22 21 20, which is kind of cool. With a base of two, the exponents go 0, 1, 2, 1, 0. But, that’s just the beginning!

If you consider the numbers within 12421, you’ll notice some cool “stuff”, too. First let’s look at 12421 (aka 12) and 12421 (aka 24). Twelve is half of twenty-four. They are both divisible by four. When divided by four, we are left with three and seven. 37 is prime. Kind of cool. More importantly, twelve and twenty-four are both divisible by twelve, which leaves one and two. That gives us 12, bringing us right back to the twelve we started with, the first two digits of 12421.

If you consider the second half of 12421 in the same way, we can find more greatness. For 12421 (aka 42) and 12421 (aka 21), twenty-one is half of forty-two. They are both divisible by seven. When we divide by seven, we are left with six and three. 63 is not prime, but has 3, 7, 9, 21 as factors (when we ignore one and itself). That’s four factors, and four is the middle number of this palindrome (and my lucky number, more importantly). 

What does all of this mean? Absolutely nothing. Nothing above will become the next famous math theorem. Somehow, though, it made me smile. Confused and bored? That’s okay! Math is my calming topic, the thing I love to think about. It’s a sort of “spark” for me. But the real question is… what’s yours?

Living without a Bucket List

About twelve years ago, back in high school, I was in the National Honor Society and started tutoring in our academic resource space. I have vivid memories of helping one student, one in the Special Education program, understand special right triangles for her geometry class. A year later, during my Freshman year, I helped run one of the Boston area SAT prep programs run by Let’s Get Ready. During a semester off, my high school guidance counselor asked me to tutor a few of his current students who needed extra academic support. It was then, seeing myself as a young adult rather than a student, that I saw how much I loved teaching. Whoa. 

Suddenly my own education made sense. You have to learn to teach, and as you teach you continue to learn. It was like a magical and beautiful cycle. Starting then, back at college, I never stopped tutoring or TAing. It was usually math or science, but I started to branch out. I found myself learning new topics, studying new things, so that I could help others learn to appreciate them. 

When I graduated with degrees in physics and computer science, I was torn between becoming a teacher, something I knew I loved, and becoming a software engineer, an adventure I knew much less about. I became a physics and chemistry teacher and, long story short, realized after three years that I actually preferred tutoring. With tutoring, you can always be on the student’s team. There isn’t much “classroom management” and you can be a constant cheerleader for the student, one-on-one, without twenty-nine other students needing your help at the same moment. 

I like to explain my switch from teaching because teachers are rock stars, teachers are gifted and talented beyond what people realize, and I just wasn’t sure I could handle being superhuman (like all of the teachers I know) for my entire career. After this, I knew tutoring was something I couldn’t give up, even when I took a chance and went into software. I knew I couldn’t just let that passion fall into the past. 

I’m not a “bucket list” type of person. In my opinion, nothing could be more stressful than holding potential and far off goals over my head, always taunting me. Maybe that’s just incredibly pessimistic, but it’s never appealed to me. If I had to have one, though, it would simply be to continue to build a happy and fulfilling life. I feel that I have achieved and continue to grow this dream. Still, if pushed for concrete goals, I would have listed two things: get a master’s degree and grow TriTutoring into a “real” business, whatever that means.

2020 was a tough year for all of us, and I recognize that it was a lot harder on others than it was for me, mentally, physically, financially… the list goes on. All that I did last year happened because of my drive and determination to make something of the year, to celebrate the person I have become, and to reach for my invisible and unwritten dreams. At the same time, all that I did last year happened because I was privileged enough to work towards these goals in a year unlike any other. 

In January 2020, I started a program for a Master’s in Software Development through Boston University. In May 2020, I became an LLC and brought on my first independent contractor as a tutor, starting with a friend-of-a-friend who I trusted to join me on the beginning of this project, a risk I had never been brave enough to take.

Go, Terriers!

Here we are, eight months later, with seven amazing people actively tutoring, bringing my dream to life, and fourteen active students learning, keeping it fun and making it worth the work. So, for those who have wondered and for those who have not wondered, here is the full story of my adventure with TriTutoring… so far. TriTutoring is an ever evolving goal, an ever changing dream, and I thank you for being a part of this journey with me.

How To: Study for the SAT Without Losing Your Cool

New year... new ebook! Well, that’s misleading. I guess it should be “first ebook”. Either way, I am officially done with my SAT prep ebook. The book discusses topics and strategies that will help you or your student prepare for the SAT. This, alone, is not enough to study for the test. It is meant to get you started, give you strategies, and plant the seeds of learning. Want to get started? Check it out below! Have questions after reading it? Reach out through our contact form.

Wishing you all a healthy and happy new year. Thank you for supporting TriTutoring, in whichever ways you have, as we’ve grown over the last year.

Pie, Anyone?

“Stuff” seems to be a common reply from students when asked what they’re learning or what they did in school. This is only amplified by Zoom classes, where the hours blend together. Then, whether jumping on the bus or logging off the computer, students are faced with homework. Where should they start? Maybe History… or English? Science… or Math? Maybe French? Maybe Art? The list goes on. This isn’t their fault, and it certainly isn’t the teachers’ faults, who are doing their best to engage and strengthen their students’ skills*, but how can we help? How can we empower students to help themselves?

Unless you’re in a pie eating contest, which I’ve never done but would certainly not be opposed to, you don’t just throw an entire pie on the plate and attack from every angle. There is strategy involved, whether you’ve thought about it or not.

You generally don’t eat the entire top crust before having some filling, though no judgement if that’s your strategy. The strategy I take when eating pie is to take a slice, make sure the slice has the right crust to filling ratio, and eat from there. You need some bottom crust to hold the filling in, the filling to keep it from being dry, and the top crust to enjoy some flaky goodness. 

So, what if the bottom crust were the foundations of learning, the filling were the main point of a lesson, and the top crust were the application of the lesson? Hmm, seems like a pretty great analogy. Let’s explore more.

When it comes to learning, taking things one slice at a time can be called “chunking”. Each chunk is a concept. It doesn’t even have to be a whole subject, just a subset of your learning. Maybe in math you learned exponents; a chunk might be simplifying negative exponents. Suddenly you can breathe because you can think through the foundations, point, and applications of that one thing, that one chunk.

Have five assignments for homework? That’s okay because you’re going to take one chunk at a time, in whatever size you need to be able to think it through without getting overwhelmed. Maybe that means writing your essay’s thesis statement and then moving on to some math as a break, or maybe it means writing the whole essay, editing it, and rereading it before moving on. Everyone is different. Just always remember: you don’t have to eat the whole pie at once! That would give most people a stomach ache, and it certainly makes students feel awful to think about the whole galaxy of assignments and concepts at once. 

For most, it helps to write down the chunks. What’s more satisfying than crossing a line off of that list? I’m in graduate school, and the satisfaction I get from scribbling a chunk off of my to-do list is almost as great as eating an actual slice of apple pie! Maybe you like big chunks, maybe you need small ones, but whatever flavor pie you like, take a slice, and get started one bite at a time.  

* Teachers are superheroes.

Tutoring is Really Learning

After tutoring for 10 years, and now working with a group of tutors to help them leave an imprint on more students than I could possibly reach alone, I feel I have a strong sense for what tutoring can mean to both the student and the tutor. Every time we tutor, we learn. We learn more about the student, their learning style, their passions, and how we can better help them. We also learn about how to teach, how to relate, and how to assess a student’s needs. 

Tutoring is rewarding because of the one-on-one connections tutors and students form, but also because every session is an opportunity to improve as a teacher. One of the best examples of this is teaching a student to read. Every session, we see noticeable improvements in fluency and, more importantly, confidence. Students go from sounding out words, to reading full sentences, to building reading comprehension one paragraph at a time. I asked some of the tutors who work with TriTutoring for their opinions. 

Carly says,

The BEST part is watching a student go from reading each word individually to listening to the read a full sentence fluently with little to no trouble!

That isn’t always easy. As Sophie explained:

The hardest and simultaneously most vital part of tutoring for me is overcoming my tutee’s lack of confidence. Learning to read is like deciphering a code, and not understanding that code can be incredibly demoralizing and frustrating. However, once I find that story, game or activity that sparks a lightbulb, it’s like summiting a mountain. There will be rocks and roots on the student’s way down, but the hardest part, having faith in herself and proof she can overcome her challenges, is the hardest hurdle to overcome and yet the most rewarding.

We help find ways for students to enjoy learning, whether it be reading or calculus. We work with students to build confidence and foundations, whether it be physics or history. And... as we teach, we learn.

Foundations First

It may seem obvious, which is why it’s one side of TriTutoring’s triangle: foundations, strategies, and effort. Still, so many disregard shortcomings in foundational learning and try to skip right to strategies. How can you learn to better analyze test questions that incorporate algebra if you don’t know the algebra? Strategies help, for sure, but getting those basics down first help the strategies come naturally.

When starting in a class or with a tutor, it’s easy to fall behind on what seem like the small details, however those little details will soon become the fundamentals upon which the complex topics are based.

One example of this is with Order of Operations (also known as PEMDAS). Starting around middle school, students are taught that operations (addition, multiplication, exponents, etc.) have to be done in a certain order. In fact, order of operations is the basis for many of those popular Facebook posts in which everyone is getting the wrong answer on a seemingly easy question. (5 + 3) ÷ 2 is (very) different from 5 + 3 ÷ 2. Do you know or remember why? It’s because P stands for Parenthesis, which comes first in order of operations. Suddenly, you’re in physics class four years later getting the wrong answer… did you forget PEMDAS?

Have no idea what I’m talking about? Learning about PEMDAS, reviewing PEMDAS, or just trying to get those Facebook posts correct? Check out TriTutoring’s video about PEMDAS! It’s never the wrong time to review the foundations!

Everyone Needs STEM

Do you want to introduce your elementary school student to the world of science? Do you, more importantly, want to keep science engaging and help your student explore the world in a hands-on way? Check out Mystery Science, recommended to me by a friend, an elementary school teacher, who uses it along with the normal curriculum to keep all students active in the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). 

Some students, whether because of race, gender, or other reasons, may not feel they see STEM role models in the real world. How do we overcome this scary reality? We help the next generation enter STEM early!

Speaking of which, check out this article about the growth mindset. Studies show that girls especially need to be taught that intelligence isn’t a static value. Intelligence is developed over time, and students who understand this are far better at learning these skills. 

Finding ways to encourage students to see that their growth as a student is continuous isn’t easy; frustration is common and very real. Things like Mystery Science can allow students to engage in learning, realize that time brings knowledge, and grow! Have more ideas? Please share them with me. And, forever, keep learning alongside your student.

Learning Beyond Academics

As we talk about academics, standardized tests, organizational skills, and essay writing, we miss an important part of education. Especially during these trying times, mental and emotional wellness are key. How do we instill a sense of wellbeing in children and teens during times that are confusing, overwhelming, and scary? How could a student learn when they don’t feel well mentally or emotionally?

As someone passionate about education, I feel that educating parents and students on ways to be best equipped for learning is just as necessary as learning the foundations and strategies associated with their academics. Many incredible organizations exist that work with youth to find this balance, and parents can be a part of this important facet of learning. 

As part of TriTutoring’s blogs, I would like to spotlight a few organizations that do their part in making the world a better place for our students. One such organization is the One Love Foundation.

One Love’s mission is to educate young people about the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, and to empower them to be leaders driving change in their communities. What could be more important, during this time when we feel so far apart, than to help students understand how to build and keep healthy relationships?

As their blog post here talks about, it’s not just teenagers who need to talk about this. We can all use a refresher! In addition, these short videos can help start conversations with students as young as middle school. Covid-19 complicates relationships, closeness, and our perception of the world. Take a moment to check out their website to learn more about their work and ways you may be able to incorporate their lessons into day-to-day life. 

Emotional wellness is necessary to learn algebra, chemistry, etc.

Emotional wellness must be where we start!

https://www.joinonelove.org

Keeping it Simple

Whether it’s classwork or SAT practice, it often helps to find a similar but simpler problem when you’re faced with a question that feels challenging. This applies whether you’re the student, the parent, or the teacher. Given a giant word problem? Try to simplify it to be about something you know and can picture. Writing a complex sentence? Think of a simpler sentence to be sure your grammar and punctuation are correct. This allows you to use skills you already have to approach a more difficult problem. 

As any of my students can tell you, I often use shopping at the grocery store in my simplified examples. Why? Because it’s concrete, simple, and something I understand! Take the following sentence (a not-so-impressive Hannah Sieber original) as an example:

The author determined that like her brother and her cousin, she enjoyed reading literature on the beach.  

We are here trying to decide if that comma is in the right spot and/or if there should be others. This could be on the SAT, or it could be an essay for your class. The grammar and punctuation are the same! Let’s say we’re stuck; reading the sentence aloud makes me think something is wrong, but I’m not sure what. Let’s simplify the sentence, while keeping it similar.

I determined that like apples and oranges, grapes are sweet. 

You can see that the structure of these sentences is quite similar, and I used the same comma placement in my new sentence. This new example makes it easy to see something I always teach students about punctuation: when you interject something into a full sentence to add detail and the sentence would still be a complete sentence if the detail were removed, you need commas on both sides of that interjected segment. In this case, “like apples and oranges” is an added detail that gives us more context. “I determined that grapes are sweet” is a full sentence, which can stand alone. Therefore, we need commas on both sides of the inserted words, meaning we need to add a comma before the word “like”. 

Now we can go back to the real sentence we were correcting. Just like in our simplified sentence, we are left with a full sentence if we remove “like her brother and her cousin”, so we need commas on each side of that portion, like bookends. When you write it correctly, you can tell that your pauses at the commas help separate the interjected portion from the rest of the sentence. The corrected sentence would be: 

The author determined that, like her brother and her cousin, she enjoyed reading literature on the beach.  

The same strategy can work for math word problems, reading complex passages, etc. Keep things simple and apply what you already know!

For the Rising Seniors

In one of my posts, I talked about the benefits of picking your college essay topic and starting the writing over the summer before your senior year. Picking a topic for the essay is, obviously, the basis of your essay’s success. That doesn’t mean there is only one right answer, but it does mean deciding what to write about deserves time and attention. Where do you start? How can you be sure you’re giving the reader the right information?

The Basics

Here are some important things to know, before we jump in. The Common Application has historically required a Personal Statement (your main essay) with at most 650 words. This word limit, and the editing process, make it incredibly important to always know the updated word count on your essay draft. As you can see on their website, there are a variety of prompts to choose from, but the last prompt has always been picking an essay of your choosing. What does this mean? It means you can essentially write anything you want! So, we are back to wondering where to start.

It is important to keep in mind that any college accepting the common application will see the same essay, so you should not mention a specific school in this essay. A good place to start is to have a sense of what your goals are. Primarily, you want to tell the reader enough about yourself to show them why you’re a perfect fit for a great college experience and why any school would be lucky to have you. In order to do that, you need to make the reader care about you and your story or experience. Lastly, though often forgotten, this is a great opportunity to show you can write a stellar essay. That means, don’t write one giant paragraph!

There are some other things to keep in mind, as well, as you embark on this exciting journey (not sarcastic) to show the world who you are. While your essay should be well written, you should not be using a thesaurus for every word. The essay should show who you are, not what you’d sound like if you were a robot. Along the same vein, your essay should find a balance between exciting and realistic. If you never saved penguins in Antarctica, don’t feel bad and don’t pretend that you have! Small experiences, even everyday occurrences, can make a great essay and can still show so much about you. 

The time has come, folks. How can you pick a topic that achieves these goals? The first step is to pick three attributes or personality traits you want the reader to leave knowing about you. Write them down. Try to be specific. Maybe you think you’re “kind”, but is it because you’re “generous”? Is it because you’re “patient”? Next, for each of these traits, write a few words explaining how it could relate to college, your future, or your goals. We want to do some of the work for the admissions committee, so keeping in mind the end goal of this essay (acceptance into a school) is helpful. 

Lastly, for each of the same three words, think of one specific story or instance that shows this characteristic. For example, if you’re generous, is there a concrete example of when you’ve volunteered your time? Write one or two sentences (for each trait) describing a story you could tell. Bonus points for stories that display more than one of your listed attributes! Once you’ve done this, you have three potential essays. You can tell a story from the last step, emphasize the traits from the first step, and incorporate the middle step about college and your goals throughout or as a conclusion. 

For example, you could tell the story of a very specific time you volunteered your time, emphasizing both your generosity and your leadership, and you could end with a discussion of how this experience prepares you to be a strong member of the college community. Wasn’t that easy? Keep in mind, when it actually comes to writing the essay, you don’t want to just tell a story and leave it at that. You want to incorporate as much about you as a person and student as possible, in an organic way. Let the reader learn about you, be impressed by you, and let you into their school. Don’t make the reader work hard to realize how the story relates to you. This is your big opportunity to show them your best, so knock it out of the park!

Don’t Just Stare

As mentioned in my last post, active study strategies are incredibly important, whether you’re learning something new or studying for a test. Staring at a textbook or problem explanation isn’t enough! Just like riding a bike, it’s not enough to know how to solve a problem. You need practice and to exercise those problem solving “muscles”. Have you heard of neuroplasticity? If not, check out this site to learn more about the science behind longterm learning. So, how do we exercise the learning muscles? That depends on what you’re learning.

Facts and Figures from a Textbook

Write, type, or draw an outline of the material you’ve learned in the chapter. Can you draw any connections between chapters? Can you see how it relates to things you’ve studied earlier? Are there diagrams you could recreate and reword? Could you explain the content to a 6 year old? Try to create your own Doodle Notes to keep things fun!

Math Skills

Don’t just look up the answer if you get stuck. Can you now solve it? Could you teach someone else how to solve it? What about a similar problem that’s a bit harder? If you just made a silly mistake, force yourself to solve it from scratch to build those muscles. If the problem is complex, write out the steps needed to solve it in words before doing the math. It’s all about taking active steps to make the next problem a bit easier.

Reading Comprehension

As you read, don’t think about the end of the passage. Think about the present moment. Do you understand what is happening at this point in the passage? Do you have predictions? Could you tell me about the characters? Do you know anything about this topic? Was there a word you didn’t know that you could look up? Don’t miss these opportunities to learn relevant vocabulary and context.

The summary is simply! Be an active participant in your own learning process. Don’t let the opportunities for growth pass you by. Don’t get caught up on harder problems just because you didn’t take advantage of the easier ones.

Sunny Studying

Welcome to summer (in just over a week), otherwise known as the primetime for learning. Haven’t heard that before? Yeah… me neither, but I think we can make it “a thing”. While taking a nice break is important for kids and adults alike, keeping your brain moving doesn’t have to be torture. 

The hot days are a great time to work on solidifying strong study habits, even if you’re putting in fewer hours, but what should you study? For rising juniors, summer is the perfect chance to start SAT preparations. For rising seniors, it’s your last summer to do some SAT studying and a great time to get ahead and write your college essays.

SAT Prep

Why start over the summer? I advise starting early! Slow and steady, just like my tortoise (whose name is Bystro, by the way), rather than cramming and getting overwhelmed. Plus, you can’t really cram for a test that measures so many skills and strategies. So, set up a plan and use active study strategies, which I will discuss more in later posts. Sign up for the College Board Daily Practice app to fit in a single problem on days when you don’t plan to study extensively.

Don’t just notice that you got a question wrong, study it! Now is your chance to learn the skills that you may not have and raise your score. Practice isn’t quite enough. Practice AND learning are what we are looking for. Great at math but struggling with the reading section? Your study time should reflect that. Maybe you do a few math problems to keep things fresh, but spend the majority of your study time timing yourself as you read passages and respond to those tough questions.

When you’re ready to get some practice in, check out this resource for some free practice tests provided by CollegeBoard. They even provide answers and scoring materials.

College Essays

Senior year is tough. You’re probably taking your hardest classes yet, you’re adjusting to new teachers, you may have a job or have taken on some leadership roles in extracurriculars, etc. I could go on and on. Getting your college essays started over the summer means far less stress, and it means being ready for any application deadline that starts to sneak up. 

The first step is to pick an essay topic, which is an entire post all on its own. What I can cover in this post is editing. Do not just edit your essay once, and do not just edit your essay yourself. Let others read it, and let them be mean. Make changes and go back to them. Are your points clear? Do they learn enough about you? Would they let you into their imaginary (though very prestigious) university? Don’t be too proud. We all need help with our writing, and you want your essay to reach a variety of audiences.

So, with summer arriving shortly, think about what you could do to keep your study skills strong while also getting ahead for the next year! Please let me know if you have any questions, or if you have requests for future posts.