What it’s like to tutor math

Today I realized something about being a tutor.

A big part of it — maybe as much as half it — involves nothing more than  …   being nice.

By that I mean being kind.

By which I mean that if someone looks at you, as a young man did today, shaking his head and saying, “It’s crazy … I don’t know what 3 x 6 is,” I don’t laugh or chuckle or say anything remotely mean or mocking. Instead I just say, “It’s o.k. Look, I tutor people every day who don’t know what 3 x 6 is. Who cares, really? Let’s just try to figure it out … or use a calculator, as long as your teacher doesn’t mind.”

Really. That is a lot of what being a math tutor is about. Being nice. Really nice. Really understanding. And being there to be accepting of people no matter…