I tutor the following subjects at high school and college level
I can help you prepare for college board examinations (PSAT, SAT, GRE, Advanced Placement).
I also can tutor the following computer-related topics.
I consistently perform well on standardized tests. This may differentiate me from other tutors.
| Test | Score |
| SAT | 720 verbal 760 math |
| PSAT | 208 (99th percentile) |
| SAT II Math II | 800 |
| GRE | 800 quantitative |
| AP English Language/Composition | 4 |
| AP Calculus AB | 4 |
I was a National Merit Finalist as the result of my SAT/PSAT scores.
There are a few guidelines I follow before and during a standardized test. Some of them include:
I learned about the effectiveness of guidelines 2 and 3 when I represented my elementary school in a math contest where 34 elementary schools in the Los Angeles area each sent 3 representatives to compete. There were two tests. The first test was extremely long. I decided to read as many questions as I could and to answer the easy ones. This ended up being a useful tactic since:
I think the fact that I chose to answer only the easiest ones gave me the chance to advance to the second test. Maybe it even counted toward the final score; I don't remember. I took the second test and was awarded the third place trophy for the event, along with a very nice slide rule (that was state of the art in 1969 ;^) ) and a copy of Clifton Fadiman's Mathematical Magpie.
My English AP score allowed me to skip freshman English; instead, I spent a term in the college's newspaper as a reporter, and the next year as a reporter and production worker at a different college newspaper. I've written numerous papers during my software development career, including a 150-page software product user manual and a 270-page software product internals document.
My tutoring experience consists of:
all while I was a student there.
I worked at the university bicycle shop in my last undergraduate year. It was one of my most enjoyable jobs, since I could enjoy solving mechanical problems while repairing bicycles, and enjoy teaching students how to solve mechanical problems as part of my duties. The shop had a tool loan program and a large outdoor shop space for student use, and there was always a mechanic available outside to answer students' questions and demonstrate how to repair and maintain bicycles. I worked as the outside mechanic during much of my work schedule.
I was always fascinated at who did well at mechanics and who struggled. One of the strugglers was majoring in mechanical engineering, and all his friends were teasing him about the hard time he was having; I wonder if he continued as a mechanical engineer. One of the best was someone who had no mechanical experience at all, yet she was able to correctly perform relatively advanced and tricky adjustments with my tutoring.
My teaching experience includes presenting a 36-hour class on the internals of a set of software products. Engineers, software testers, tech support personnel, and technical writers attended the class. Later, I wrote a 270-page paper on the product internals. I eventually received a company-wide award for my efforts in educating technical personnel.
I am also currently teaching UNIX usage and systems administration as part of the Broadcast Television Engineering Technology program at Napa Valley College. You won't see my name in the catalog or course schedule, because I am teaching it two hours per week as part of an existing class (BTV 141 during Spring, 2006).
You really have to try me out to see if I can help you learn what you want to know, and whether I'm the right tutor for you.
| Software development | Tutoring | Computer Security | Video | Contact |