About Me

Background

While working on my Bachelor of Science Degree (Mathematics major and Physics minor), I worked a part time job as a math tutor. During my last semester, I also taught Physics at a small parochial high school. I enjoyed those opportunities to help young people learn and at that time envisioned eventually being a teacher.

However, there was the Vietnam War, so I went into the Air Force. Initially, I was a Radar Maintenance Officer. Eventually, the Air Force sent me to school to obtain a Bachelor and Master of Electrical Engineering. After that I worked in research and development, first on radar avionics systems and then on an international communication system.

After the Air Force, I worked as a system engineer at the General Electric Aerospace Division in King of Prussia, PA. The Aerospace Division was sold to Martin Marietta and Martin Marietta eventually merged to become Lockheed Martin. So, I had the experience of working in the same building complex for three different companies.

Realizing I could retire from Lockheed when I was 55, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a teacher. While working at Lockheed Martin, I completed my classwork for a Secondary Mathematics Teaching Certification at West Chester University. I retired in time to do my student teaching. As I completed my student teaching, my wife was diagnosed with cancer. To support her, I chose to do tutoring instead of fulltime classroom teaching.

After she completed her treatment, I tried full time classroom teaching. However, I preferred the direct interaction working with students as opposed to the classroom environment. Therefore, I have decided to fulfill my teaching goal as a tutor.

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy can be summed up by a statement attributed to Galileo: “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself.” I believe the key for learning is to lead the student to discover the concepts. It is important to first determine the level of the student’s understanding and then to build the supports that enable the student to discover and own the new concepts.