Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
School classrooms can be exceedingly difficult places in which to learn mathematics well.
Teachers vary in passion and ability (as is natural); class behaviour and attitudes (and bullying) can alter the learning environment radically; learning in a large group at the same speed and with little opportunity to receive one-on-one help leads to boredom or frustration for many/most students; textbooks vary in quality and frequently lack stimulating material (because publishers restrict the size of the books); and sometimes students are negatively influenced by parents and peers who share their own bad experiences or attitudes.
Home educators, too, often feel that they lack sufficient understanding to teach their children mathematics … and the resources that they have access to can sometimes be bland, unstimulating, and even poorly explained or constructed.
My wife and I home educated our daughter and I have taught and tutored mathematics for many years. I am aware of the difficulties listed above and have often been asked by students and parents to create a website to share my understanding and resources with others. Crystal Clear Mathematics is the result.
Because this medium is not interactive (in the sense of allowing immediate interaction between you and me) I cannot provide the quality of tutition that I would like to offer you … but I hope you find the videos and the supporting files to be useful none-the-less.
This website and its associated FaceBook page and YouTube channel were all launched on Tuesday 20 November 2012.
Our son Joshua is currently in year 11 preparing for the HSC. Josh was doing reasonably well in mathematics and yet we felt, and his teachers agreed, that if he really applied himself he could be achieving much better results. We asked around for a maths tutor and Graeme Henderson came highly recommended. Joshua began to see Mr Henderson one hour per week and from the very first week Joshua’s motivation escalated. His maths improved to the point where he is now often achieving 100% in his exams, he applies himself to do hours of homework, something he had rarely done in the past, but most of all Josh has found a love of mathematics. Maths is no longer a chore. I believe this all stems from Mr Henderson’s gifted ability not only as a teacher, also as an encourager and motivator. I get motivated just listening to them! Josh told us this week that he wishes he could be tutored every day after school. When the results come through from Joshua’s exams, he is delighted and this has inspired him to become motivated to spend much more time applying himself to his other subjects. Josh is working hard to gain a great result in his HSC. I can personally recommend Mr Henderson as a truly wonderful tutor.
Deborah B (Parent, 2012)
