Private Math Tutoring • Grades 7-12
Algebra • Geometry • Trigonometry • Precalculus • Calculus
This collection of hundreds of parent and student testimonials along with prominent named endorsements is a tribute to all my tutoring students over the decades. It’s about the intellectual journeys we have taken together, your love for learning, your hard work and perseverance, and your achievement of educational excellence. Congratulations to every one of you; approbation with distinction and well done!
Dr. George
Harvard Ph.D.
MIT B.S.
Perdocere Inc.
phone: 833-MATH-833
Prominent Endorsements
✏️ From:
Marlyn E. McGrath
Director of Admissions
Harvard University
“I think George is not merely a tutor – he is a real educator. He knows that what helps students perform well on tests is the same as what makes them good students. A solid academic foundation pays dividends throughout schooling and careers, and George never loses sight of that in his work.”
✏️ From:
Prof. William A. Goddard III
California Institute of Technology
(Caltech)
“I have known George for decades. He has a very clear and dramatic effect enabling students to think and rise to their full potential. George’s influence on so many lives has had significant impact, and I greatly admire him for doing this.”
Parent and Student Testimonials
✏️ “We just keep coming back for more! George has been working with at least one of our children for the past five years. He has firmly grounded them in mathematics and physics and has given them the confidence to handle any problem set that is assigned. Perfect or nearly-prefect SAT and SAT-II scores have also come the children’s way during this time – and George can truly take credit for readying them for these standardized tests. He knows that strength in fundamentals and hard work are the most important variables in the success equation. George is an educator first and foremost. He explains concepts in a clear and concise manner and has a way of consistently reinforcing these concepts. He pushes his students to achieve… but always in an extremely supportive manner. George does what is necessary to ensure that his students understand what is being taught. He wants all of his students to succeed – and is truly vested in their success. In sum, we can’t say enough good things about George… now if only we could clone George for the SAT critical reading.”
✏️ “Math has never been my forte – even though George tells me I’m good at it every time I meet with him. Which in a way is true – because when George is teaching me I am good at math. Instead of only showing me how something works, he’ll explain why it works, which is exactly the teaching style I need. The difference in style, and therefore effectiveness, between George and my teachers at school is so vast that there’s a distinct possibility I would be failing math without him.”
✏️ “We are absolutely thrilled with what George has done with our son. He has instilled a sense of confidence, made him realize that he can excel academically and allowed him to set his sights on things that he never thought he could achieve. George is incredibly knowledgeable, extremely approachable and a fantastic teacher. He has gone out of his way to make sure that our son is always prepared for his next challenge. George will be part of our family’s academic life for years to come!!”
✏️ “George is a great tutor. His math knowledge and his ability to teach it in such a way that my son understood it was amazing. My son improved his Math SAT score by almost 100 points. I highly recommend George both as a tutor and as a person. He made a huge impression on my son. Thank you so much.”
✏️ “George, over the past few months, we have been amazed at the progress you have made with our daughter. While the improvement in her ‘trial run’ SAT scores has been significant, of equal note has been the change in the way she now approaches math problems: she thinks differently! Your ability to explain the processes behind the formulae, and the way that you teach to each student’s strengths, is a thing of beauty… For a 17 year old to stay focused on math over and entire summer is a testament to your ability to engage someone’s imagination and intellect. I am grateful for all of the encouragement and focus you have provided. And, while I look forward to much improved success in our daughter’s upcoming SAT scores as a direct outcome of your work, I also appreciate the confidence you have helped her build over the summer. She is clearly far more prepared for the tests ahead than she was in early June. My only regret? We didn’t do this sooner.”
✏️ “George has an amazing amount of patience and challenges me at every turn. The truth is in the results! I am a more confident learner and that carries over to my other courses, as well. I got an A in my Honors Algebra class and look forward to working with George as I prepare for the PSAT/SAT/ACT tests.”
✏️ “George has expanded my interest and ability in math while working with him this past school year. I have really learned a lot as well as a positive and reliable approach to math. It has been a great experience working with George and I am looking forward to working with him to prep for the SAT’s.” (790 SAT Math)
✏️ “George is the best tutor that our family has ever used. No one else is even close. He quickly identified my son’s strengths and weaknesses, and then set about in an orderly, sensible and strategic way to fix the weaknesses. There was a purpose to every problem set or test that he assigned. George customized his approach to the individual child which in turn created ‘buy-in’ from my son, who realized that he was not going to be assigned busy work, but focused problems designed to address areas that needed work. Bottom line my son got a 55 on the PSAT math and 8 months later, with George’s help, got a 770 on the SAT math.”
✏️ “My son has been tutored by George for the last three years. During that time he has gone from a struggling student to one who feels a confident mastery of the subject. George has built up his understanding by patiently explaining the basic foundation of math as well as adding enrichment when my son was ready. He now loves math and we owe it all to George!”
✏️ “Frustrated by the lack of tangible Math achievement in my children, who are good students, through their middle and early high school years and with one facing the SATs in the spring I needed to act fast… I decided to tutor them. After trying a few tutors where the fit was never quite right I stumbled on to Perdocere and from day one my problem was solved! George understood completely what I wanted: to improve their math school work, prepare for their SATs, but also to make sure that they knew MATH. I asked George to make sure that all his math tutoring would stick; I didn’t want them to ‘just learn it for the test’. His success is tangible. They have great grades and success with the SAT. One of them said to me ‘Mom I learned more in four hours with George than I did all year in my math class!’ ”
✏️ “George has been tutoring our son for over a year and this year he is the top student in his honors precalculus math class. He’s a more confident student and is willing to help others in his class so they may be successful. That helps to reinforce what he is learning, as well. This year, he has been studying for the ACT and SAT with George and we anticipate good outcomes!”
✏️ “George has been working with my son for the school year and his Math grade has moved up by a full grade. More importantly, he now has a solid understanding of Algebra as he moves on to High School. My son’s confidence level has soared too. George knows what is important and he makes the experience fun as well.”
✏️ “I’m proud of my accomplishments since he has worked with me.”
✏️ “I’ve always struggled with pre-calculus and calculus. My teachers never taught the theory behind the problems, or how it was connected to the big picture. George makes it his mission to make sure you thoroughly understand the concepts of the subject.” (college calculus student)
✏️ “George set an amazing foundation for my AP Physics course, when he taught me some basic calculus, which allowed me to understand how all the formulas interconnected, rather than simply memorizing them.” (AP score 5)
✏️ “You helped our son have a dream come true, thank you.”
✏️ “Within the last two years, George not only fulfilled his duties as a tutor by helping me excel in Calculus and on the SAT’s but went beyond by helping me with the college application process and advising me based on my academic goals. Through out George mentored me and helped me to grow and develop the strong work ethic and skills that I have today and use every day in college.”
✏️ “George is the best math teacher I have ever had and for the first time in my life I can now say I feel confident in math. I get it! He is so organized. He challenged me to really push the limit and had confidence in me that I could achieve the goals we set together. I wasn’t to sure but with his methods, encouragement and great teaching I did it and feel great about it too. I did greats on my SATs, my math grade is an A and I now will enter the honors level. I wish I had met George earlier. Thanks George.”
✏️ “George is a fun guy who knows his stuff. He is enjoyable to work with and the results are astounding.”
✏️ “George has made such a big difference for our child – academically and personally.”
✏️ “800 – we thought that sort of score was something unattainable – something that only a few gifted students achieved. And now our son (who we love dearly but never considered to be a particularly gifted math student) has brought home 800s twice – once on the SAT and once on the SAT II. We attribute so much of this achievement to George. He restructured fundamentals and taught our son to enjoy math once again. George consistently challenged and pushed – but never too much. He displayed patience and a wonderful gift for explaining things. As our son told us, George not only works through problems but teaches how everything evolved and why everything is what it is. We couldn’t ask for a better teacher. We really don’t have enough adjectives to describe George’s teaching ability. He is absolutely the best teacher that we have ever seen!!! George – your job with number one son is almost done – it is now time to move to number two.” (800 Math SAT, 800 Math IIC Subject Test)
✏️ “George taught me a new way of thinking. He retrained my brain to think the way he does. I never have to memorize formulas, or remember a certain method. George taught me how to analyze the core math behind a problem, and derive how to solve it on the spot. It is a skill that has paid off incredibly. Thank you George!!”
✏️ “George was everything we’d hoped for in an SAT tutor – and more. Just by the enthusiasm our son had for completing the between-session assignments (‘George work’ often came before homework!), we knew we’d made the right choice. Not only did he feel totally confident taking the SAT, his time with George helped him sharpen his ability to complete regular school assignments, as well; he is now tackling honors calculus with ease. Our son fully recognizes how much he benefited from George’s coaching: when his math SAT score came back 130 points over his first attempt, he said: ‘Way to go, George!’ ”
✏️ “George was a great teacher to have while I was preparing for the SAT. He really took the time to get to know what my strengths and weaknesses were, how I worked under test conditions, how I approached problems, etc. Just after one session he knew how to guide me and helped me set realistic but challenging goals. George made sure that I had clear and basic foundations for solving problems and then worked with me step by step until everything was clear and I was confident about how to handle similar problems. His teaching not only helped me through the SAT but has also followed through into my everyday school work. His enthusiasm and dedication is really meaningful and one thing for sure is that George knows how to teach.” (280 point SAT math increase)
✏️ “George is a miraculous Math tutor. At the end of December I called George and told him my predicament, that my son was doing his mid-terms in a few weeks time and that he needed immediate Math tutoring. George tutored him five times before his mid-terms and he did very well. I’m grateful to George for coming to our assistance at such short notice. In addition to doing so well in his mid-terms my son has gained much more self-esteem in himself as George taught him how to approach doing Math homework and prepare for quizzes and tests.”
✏️ “George is very involved in making sure our son is studying the material he needs to succeed and getting a clear understanding of what is expected of him. George takes time each week to prepare for our son as an individual. Our son enjoys the way George teaches him; it’s a great mix of teaching and really caring about the student. We know George was the right choice, our son went from failing to passing with an A.”
✏️ “He takes the time to understand the individual needs of our child, and goes the extra mile to make sure our son has all the material needed to be successful. He builds a clear picture for success with forward thinking and planning, makes sure the child is at ease, and provides great feedback on each lesson.”
✏️ “Whenever I am concerned teachers may have assigned material that is too difficult, my daughter says “Don’t worry, I have the best tutor ever.” With George, you couldn’t ask for more. Brilliant and charismatic as a math tutor, and with a special winning personality, George is gifted in explaining math to teenagers.”
✏️ “In preparation for high school, I asked George to find and patch the holes that we knew existed in my daughter’s math knowledge. Although my daughter has been an A student in math, it was apparent to me that she was getting by without really understanding the logic and meaning behind what she was doing in math. Because of this mechanics, memorization based approach to math, she found the subject to be her least favorite. George promised that he would find the holes in her knowledge and would then equip her with a deeper, more functional way of attacking math problems. In only a few sessions, the change in my daughter was evident. Her test grades improved, but most importantly, so did her confidence and creativity in finding solutions to math problems. My daughter happily sits through her sessions with George and is 100% engaged and happy. George is brilliant, thoughtful and kind and really understands how to work with kids. I feel that George is fully invested in my daughter’s success. I wish that all teachers were as wonderful and George!”
✏️ “Five years ago I was struggling in my math and science classes. I tried around with a lot of the brand name tutoring companies, but I was just not improving the way I wanted to. So, when my mother told me she had hired another tutor I felt a little reluctant. However, after a few sessions with George I could actually see results. My success in learning the material properly reflected itself in both my grades and my ability to learn new material more readily. I can’t stress enough just how different George is from other tutors. George’s ability to work with his students and figure out on an individual basis how to teach subjects is unparalleled. My junior year I managed to get fantastic scores on all my standardized tests, including a perfect 800 on the math SAT. To me, George has been a great friend and an incredible asset throughout my high school career. George makes the material accessible and I cannot recommend him enough.” (800 SAT Math, 36 ACT Math)
✏️ “Before I met George, math was just another subject to painfully struggle through in order to achieve passable results. Once he and I began working together, it opened my mind to the possibilities that I could have with the joy of math. As my ACT math tutor, George made me realize how important a good work ethic, fun spirit, and a willingness to learn can create a love for something that I never thought I would’ve enjoyed. Now I can say that I am confident and happy in doing math not only for the sake of learning something new everyday, but also because George showed me how to take pride in something that I can do.”
✏️ “The best tutor we have ever had, and the nicest!”
✏️ “George knows his math. His educational accomplishments speak for themselves as does his many years of experience tutoring the subject. He has done a great job with my son. He has awakened his love of math. He simplifies where it is complex and enriches where it is too simple, balancing the subject and keeping my son engaged. This year my son has earned an A in math so obviously he gets results. More than that, George is a great person and my son truly looks forward to and enjoys his sessions. Working with George was one of the best decisions I ever made.”
✏️ “I missed a year and a half of school and George has been very helpful in getting me caught up in math.”
✏️ “When I began my sessions with George, I was very apprehensive. I didn’t enjoy math and spending two extra hours outside of school was not something that I looked forward to. As the weeks went on, my confidence in my abilities skyrocketed. George quickly defined my problems, and made a long lasting impression on the work I now do. Not only did my scores dramatically increase but so did my school work. I now approach problems differently and find math to be more enjoyable. George is a wonderful teacher and I cannot explain how much he changed my approach to math. If I have any advice, it would be to listen to everything he says. He knows what he is talking about and the next time I walk into a mathematical minefield I know there will be a trap in the dusty corners that I can conquer. Thanks for everything George!”
✏️ “George has been more than a math tutor for me. He has not only taught me everything I need to know to succeed in math class and on the SAT, he has also become a best friend during the process.”
✏️ “In teaching me how to do math for the SAT’s, George has taught how to work around any math problem that I may come across.”
✏️ “This year, I am taking the most rigorous math course my school has to offer, AP Calculus BC. BC calc is extremely fast paced because of the AP test in May. Some of the topics are only covered for a fraction of a class; however, with George’s help, I am a month or two in front of the class. Because of the two month lead, George is able to show me more advanced topics that will never be covered in BC calc. The way that George teaches calculus incorporates everything that was previously learned in calc while still covering a lot of material extremely thoroughly. In class, I have done well on all of my tests. George has allowed me to obtain an understanding of calculus which seems impossible to get from the class alone. I am very thankful that I have George guiding me through BC calc.”
✏️ “I could tell, my son really liked you and already is getting huge benefits from working with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
✏️ “In preparing for the SAT, George helped me dissect each problem into its basic parts. There is no better preparation for the Math SAT than with George.”
✏️ “Ever since I began my sessions with George, I have significantly improved my mathematical skills and have consistently been able to maintain high test scores. George has restructured my foundation and constantly solidifies key concepts, which help me to take each problem step-by-step and achieve the correct answer while truly learning the material. George not only helps to get the correct answer but also goes far beyond what is asked and works out multiple solutions to the simplest and most difficult problems. George is able to break down problems into manageable pieces unlike any other math teacher I have ever had. I commend George for his knowledge on the subject. I know with George’s help and positive attitude, I am confident that I will do well. Without George both my algebra and chemistry skills would be nothing like they are today. Thanks George and I can’t wait for another successful year!”
✏️ “George made a huge difference in how our son approached math problem solving, as well as in how to take the SAT. George quickly identified fundamental mathematic deficiencies and provided the education required so that these principles can now be applied in any setting, not just in taking the SAT. We look forward to working with George again next year. Thanks George from all of us!!!”
✏️ “I wish we had found George sooner! He has done a wonderful job of not only teaching the current year’s math, but also of going back and filling in the missing pieces of our son’s mathematical foundation. He has helped him in the sciences, and as we move into SATs, I expect to see his positive influence there as well. Our son in a more confident student because of George. However, I think George’s greatest strength may be sensing what learning style fits our son and being able to adapt on a given day to what he needs, both emotionally and scholastically.”
✏️ “George has helped me to understand algebra better than my teachers at school ever could!”
✏️ “When most people think of a ‘tutor’ they think of an individual that helps with a particular subject area, usually through studying or practice. When I think of George I find the standard definitions of ‘tutor’ no longer apply. Although George is great at ‘traditional’ tutoring he has a skill set that enables him to do so much more. His ability to teach material in a way that is easily comprehensible makes learning material unbelievably easy. I started with George in the 8th grade when my math grades were not so great. He took my grades in my 8th grade algebra course and turned C’s into A’s. Five years later I graduated high school with an 800 in my math SAT, a 790 in my math SAT IIC, and an A- in AP Calculus BC, the most difficult math class ever offered by my high school. George truly is the best, from science, math, and in my personal case, computer programming. George has the esoteric knowledge and raw intellect necessary to come through on his business name and `instruct thoroughly’.”
✏️ “George not only taught me math and chemistry, but taught me in a way that was practical and easy. Compared to school teachers, George actually explains things in a simple way and most importantly taught me how to think through any problem, which is by far the most valuable lesson I have learned from him.”
✏️ “We felt like we struck gold shortly after George began to tutor our son toward the end of his junior year. The impact was almost immediate. He skill level went from a fail to pass in a few sessions. George has an expertise in communicating math and science surpassed by no one. He was able to identify and fill in the gaps in our sons math education in two-hour per week sessions when regular classes and after school failed. Our sons precalculus and calculus teachers were unable to communicate the subject matter in a way that our son could understand. Our son proclaimed that George was the best math teacher he ever had in his entire high school career. He had somebody who could explain abstract concepts in a way he could understand. George prepared our son for the SAT exam and continued tutoring our son during his senior year in high school for advanced math. Honors precalculus and calculus are hard enough subjects for anybody to grasp or master, but they are especially difficult when you have a learning disability. We have no reservation in giving George our highest recommendation.”
✏️ “George is the best tutor out there. With his thorough teaching, he has increased my Math SAT score by over 200 points in the past year. Since the eighth grade, George and I have been working to increase my math grades at school, and together we have been nothing but a great success. George is extremely talented. I think that to him, Perdocere is more than a clever Latin name for his tutoring business, it’s a philosophy. George knows everything about the system, whether it be public school, the SAT, or math in general. He didn’t acquire this knowledge through tricks and memorization. He learned it through simply learning the math thoroughly. I can speak from experience. Once George and I had conquered Algebra, I had the skills to conquer problems that would have been insurmountable to me just a few months before. It’s quite simple. It all comes down to his philosophy of teaching thoroughly. George produces results.”
✏️ “As parents, we all know how different our children are – and this certainly translates to learning styles. George has had to adapt to three very different types of learners over that last seven or eight years. He has successfully navigated one child through a string of 800s… brought another near that coveted goal, thus ensuring his place at the college of that child’s choice (thank goodness!!)… and now has the unenviable task of guiding our daughter through the shoals of high school mathematics and preparation for the SAT. All three of our children have enjoyed working with George; he has related to each one on a very personal level and he has adjusted his teaching style to match how they learn. He is always encouraging and has instilled in all of them the ability to ask questions and explore the whys and wherefores rather than just the answers. At the same time, however, George sets the bar high for each one of them and pushes them to achieve. Not only have they and will they be accountable to Mom and Dad – they are also accountable to George – and they seem to be more concerned about the latter rather than the former (which is fine with us). George has an extraordinary gift for teaching and for instilling a love of learning in his students. He is insistent that fundamentals be strong and he works those so that his students are equipped for higher tasks. On child ended up majoring in math in college and is now doing sophisticated quantitative analysis in an investment firm; another is doing a wonderful job navigating econometrics. We can only hope that our last one can achieve this success. With George on our side we think that this can be achieved. We heartily recommend George to all.”
✏️ “In my junior year in high school I was taking some challenging courses, courses which on my own I would have had trouble handling in combination with SATs and AP exams. However, George helped me manage not only my classes but also my standardized tests. I ended up with solid grades in my math and science classes as well as an 800 in the math portion of the SAT and a 780 in the SAT IIC for math. Without George’s tireless enthusiasm and unstoppable will to help me I don’t know how well I would have done.”