Ritu wanted me to help her daughter Shriya who was in grade 7. She wanted me to get her daughters' grades up and help her get her confidence back. She wanted us to meet 3 days a week for one hour each day. I suggested we start with once a week for an hour and see how it goes (that's what I usually do). Even that was enough for Shriya to achieve what she wanted. Let's see what Ritu (the mom) feels about the tutoring. It's a simple interview with 3 basic questions.
Me (Sudha): Why did you hire me?
Ritu: My daughter Shriya had lost interest in Math in 7th grade, the main reason being her school teacher was very inconsistent with his expectations. That led to inconsistent grades and a drop in my daughters' confidence and interest. That's when we started lessons with Sudha. Sudha was able to spark that interest back in Mathematics for my daughter. She was able to connect with my daughter and make it a fun lesson.
Sudha is genuinely a nice person, easy to relate to and easy to work with. Her primary focus is the well being of the child. Children can sense that commitment and that inspires them to learn and do better.
Me: How was Shriya when you started with me?
Ritu: Shriya was very inconsistent in her grades. Sudha was able to identify area’s that needed attention, for example, more practice on certain concepts that were not clear, setting practice goals and creating an understanding how practice relates to performance in Mathematics.
Me: How has she progressed now?
Ritu: Shriya came out of her lessons feeling more confident and wanting to do better. Her grades improved and she felt more confident tackling concepts in Mathematics. Sudha moved to India at the time when Shriya moved to 8th grade. We couldn’t keep up with Skype lessons due to Shriya’s other commitments. However, Shriya sees a lifelong teacher in Sudha. Even now she takes Sudha’s advice to heart and acts on it. At the same time, Sudha has kept in touch and she does not shy away from giving her time if I, as a parent of ex-student wants her advice on anything.
Shriya is recommended for honors Mathematics in High School and she could not have done it without Sudha.
Me: Shriya was a great kid to work with and I loved working with her. Even as we were working I could see her progress. She finished her grade 7 really strong and felt she could do any kind of math now. Congrats and all the very best Shriya!!