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Teaching
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The best teacher is not the one who knows the most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.
H.L. Mencken
Maths is probably the subject which invokes the greatest frustration amongst school pupils and adult learners. It is often described as a subject where you are either right or wrong, and of course there is some truth in that as a maths problem requires an answer that is either right or wrong. Obviously people hate failure but love success. Failure leads to frustration and it is very difficult to think clearly when you are frustrated and therein lies the problem. Pupils often don't hate Maths per se but hate the feeling of failure.
So whether you are frustrated in Maths, or are fairly confident but need some reassurance of your abilities, my role as a tutor is to create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere where you can feel free to ask questions at any point. It is important for me as a tutor to explain concepts at a pace at which my tutee can understand, and I will always encourage them to stop me at any point if they are losing track. Initially, tutees will think that they don't want to appear stupid by asking what they think is a silly question. They soon learn that they can ask me any question they like and there are no silly questions when learning Maths. There are often many ways to explain ideas in Maths, and if one method doesn't work then I will always try another. The most important thing is to help my tutee grasp the basic principles of Maths before applying them to real-life situations, or in scientific applications such as in Physics.
Testimonials
Gus has been kind and very patient when teaching all three of my children. He is an excellent teacher and has helped them all to achieve top grades in GCSE Maths. Two of my children then chose to do A level Maths and he helped them both to achieve very good grades. For tutees who invite Gus into their home please ensure that you have a good supply of biscuits to go with his cup of tea.
Huw Thomas
The following comments are from just a few of the tutees that I have taught over the years. I have taught two generations within at least three families.
I must thank Gus for all the support he has given to Colin. Colin was home educated by me up until the age of twelve by which time I had reached the limits of my Maths teaching. Gus took over from there and inspired him to love Maths and Physics. He completed his GCSE's and A levels in both of these subjects two years before his peer group. He has graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Mathematics and now has a very successful career in Accountancy.
Fiona Harris
Gus taught me when I was at school and without his help I would not have achieved the grade in Maths I needed to get into teacher training many years ago. When my eldest John was ten I felt he needed more support with his Maths. I managed to track down Gus as he still lived in the local area and he is now teaching all three of my children. They are all much more confident in Maths with his help. He is very patient and explains Maths very clearly. The children really like him and I cannot recommend him more highly.
Menna Jones
I am happy to recommend Gus as both a Maths and Physics tutor. He helped me greatly with both my Maths and Physics at GCSE and A level. He is very knowledgeable and patient and without his help I would not have been able to get on to my degree course in Physics at Sheffield University and pursue my career in Astronomy.
Harry Simpson
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