RECOMMENDATION: CHESTER MARTIN - Math
Tutor
It's funny how one just "lucks into" certain situtations...
Chester Martin is a great example. We have nothing but positive things to say
about him and are fully committed to him as a Math tutor for our son.
After several frustrating months of searching for a math tutor able to teach
Algebra I and Geometry through local contacts and schools in Austin, we finally
decided to try the Internet.
Our specific challenge was to find someone not only academically qualified to
teach these subjects, but also someone who had a knack for communicating
complex math concepts in easy-to-learn and novel ways that would appeal to a
young 7th grade boy.
One of our first hits on Google was a link to Chester’s very
well-organized website "The Austin Math Tutor." After perusing the website, we
decided to give it a try. It was really a "shot in the dark," as we knew
nothing about Chester. In addition, the website emphasized college-level and
high school math, so we actually had some doubts as to whether Chester would be
interested in tutoring our son.
Within a day after we submitted our inquiry to Chester through his website
form, he called us. This was the first positive experience. Many earlier
phone-based inquiries had gone unanswered. After a very pleasant and lengthy
conversation with Chester, we learned that our son was actually studying
high-school level math, and that Chester not only had experience teaching this
level, he enjoyed it too. That was positive experience number two.
Positive experience number three was that Chester was very flexible in his
schedule and was able to come to our house in North West Austin for the
tutoring sessions (for a slightly higher fee) versus us having to travel to his
residence (at that time) in South Austin. Given the time of day that our son
was available for tutoring (between 3:00 and 7:00), this saved us about an hour
in rush hour commute time.
Positive experience number four was that he arrived about 15 minutes earlier
than scheduled (and he consistently arrives about 10 minutes earlier than
scheduled.) After a brief introduction to our son, they got straight to work,
and continued to work for a very intense hour and a half without interruption.
Once they got started, it was all "business."
Positive experience number five was when our son, who tends to be very
sensitive and picky about his teachers, said he really enjoyed working with
Chester, and that he felt that he got a lot out of the first session. He said
that Chester was able to communicate the math concepts to him in ways that were
different than those that his regular math teacher used, and that this helped
him understand the concepts much more easily. In addition, he said that Chester
was able to apply many of the concepts to the real world through his prior
experience in architecture, and that this made it even more interesting to
learn.
That was enough for us to decide that Chester was a "keeper," and to continue
working with him as a Math tutor for our son.
Positive experience number six came in the form of an almost immediate
improvement in our son's Algebra grades. He moved from being a B student to
being an A student. This was a remarkable change in our eyes.
Positive experience number seven is that Chester is extremely flexible in
adapting to and applying "customized" learning plans. To wit, we worked out a
special math tutoring strategy with Chester for our son for the summer months.
This consisted of a 1x weekly review of the algebra concepts that our son had
learned during the prior 6-month period to ensure that he fully grasped the
fundamentals. Once this was finished, Chester started the 8th grade Geometry
material with him, so that when our son gets started with the new year, he will
already be several chapters into the new Geometry book. Once the new year
starts, our son will re-review the current chapter with Chester and then
continue to read one to two chapters further into the Geometry book. By the
time the new school year starts, our son will already be six to seven chapters
into his book, so he will have a significant learning advantage over the other
kids in his class.
With the positive momentum that our son has gained in working with Chester,
there is no question in our minds that this will be a long-term working
relationship. The results say it all.
In a nutshell, Chester's personal style and ability to relate to and
communicate effectively with our son, his experience in teaching more advanced
levels of math, and his ability to apply math concepts to real world
situations, and his flexibility in working around our schedule, are all reasons
for which we enjoy working with him.
It's funny how these things just sort of happen...
Eric S.
Austin, Texas
More Letters:
Cindi (Algebra II, Statistics)
Scott (Statistics)
Teresita (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II)
Keith (College Algebra, Statistics)
