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
✏️ “I could tell, my son really liked you and already is getting huge benefits from working with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
✏️ “I am happy to have George as my daughter’s tutor. He is thorough and organized and has helped my daughter understand the subject better. I am pleased with my daughter’s improved performance in her school quizzes and tests. I highly recommend George.”
✏️ “Our daughter would have never gotten accepted to the highly selective college she now attends without George. Meaning she would have missed the opportunity to go to the school that’s turned out to be perfect for her. We thank our lucky stars for George every single day.”
✏️ “Over the last two years, week after week, month after month, George sits patiently with our son doing what George does best: teaching thoroughly. Being able to communicate with a teenager so he understands math inside and out is a gift, George has that gift.”
✏️ “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 has been active in the academic lives of our two sons for the last four years. Each learns in a very different manner but, amazingly, George has been able to unlock both of their intellectual personalities. He consistently gets to the whys and wherefores of mathematics and is tireless in ensuring that his students’ math foundations are strong. He motivated our oldest son so much that he now is majoring in math in college. He has guided our second son to the top of his math class and now beginning to guide his SAT studies. George proved that an ‘800’ was possible; perhaps he can make it two in a row. George is always willing to go the extra yard to help his students and takes a sincere interest in their success. George has a gift that few have – a brilliant intellect coupled with an intuitive ability to teach. I count on him as part of our family because of the time and effort he has devoted to the education of our children.”
✏️ “Following a couple of years with disappointing math teachers, my son was struggling in his Algebra 2 course – and then the pandemic hit, and distance learning compounded his problems. At this point we reached out to George. George took the time to work back through the older material to build up a strong foundation for future success. The first few months were triage; even so, we noticed improvements in performance almost immediately. In addition to laying a strong mathematical foundation, George has done a great job teaching my son solid study habits and test-taking strategies. My son is comfortable with the material and confident that he will perform well on his tests. I am certain that my son is now on a trajectory that will guarantee success in math through the end of high school and beyond.”
✏️ “George has been tutoring our son for four years, and we are extremely pleased with the results. George has taught our son the way he needs to be taught to, he is positive, thorough and focused. Our son has a confidence in his abilities he could’ve only imagined before. George not only teaches, he mentors and advises, he truly cares about his students and their accomplishments. We highly recommend George, he will not disappoint!”
✏️ “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’.”
✏️ “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 works miracles! When I first started with George, I took a practice SAT and sadly got a 550. George explained that he was going to rebuild my math knowledge and rewire how I looked at math problems. Over the course of the summer and fall, George continued to work with me and with his careful instruction, guidance, and support I was able to get a 780 on the real SAT. George taught me to think differently and to approach math problems in creative ways. George pushed me to be the best student I could be, but never pushed me in a way that was counterproductive. Though I was not confident at the start, George’s never ending encouragement and faith in me allowed me to finally recognize my full potential in the SAT and in my math classes at school. I can’t thank George enough!” (780 Math SAT)
✏️ “We knew our son was brighter than his grades were showing. George did wonders, going back to basics and making sure he really understood the underlying concepts for both math and chemistry. His grades have improved, his confidence is back, and he recently hit the 700 mark on his math SAT. Now, if only we could send George to college with him...”
✏️ “George has worked with our boy for the past eighteen months. The improvement in his grades, as well as his overall approach to school work has been amazing. His own words sum it up ‘George taught me a new way of thinking. He retrained my brain to think the way he does’.”
✏️ “Having George help me kept a smile on my face. I was never left hanging before a big test.”
✏️ “Before working with George, I thought of math as a drudgery. The subject required a lot of work and study, but it seemed to me that no matter how hard I applied myself, I could not affect a change in my grade. Math was a chore and an ugly spot on my report card. After being taught by George, however, that all changed. George takes the time to explain the mechanics behind a formula, never allowing memorization where there is understanding to be had. Under George’s tutelage, I began to see the beauty of mathematics, and as my interest in the subject grew, I found myself considering it less a boring necessity, but a more rewarding challenge. George’s teaching has turned my opinion of math completely on its head, and also yielded pleasant results during the final exam. Although my term grades before meeting George were not fantastic, I was able to score highly enough on my final exam to bring my overall math grade up to an A-. Without George’s careful guidance, this certainly would not have been possible. I cannot recommend his services highly enough – under George, not only my grades, but also my outlook on math changed for the better.”
✏️ “What a revelation to learn that instead of being bad in math, our daughter just wasn’t being taught in the manner in which she learns best. George identified her individual learning style and the results have been astonishing. He does a superb job of dovetailing his tutoring of math at the high school level with his preparatory course for the math portion of the SAT.”
✏️ “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!”
✏️ “It is with both pleasure and sadness that I write this testimonial for George who has tutored my three children over the last five years in a wide range of subjects (math, pre-calculus, chemistry, physics, biology, computer science, and a little engineering on occasion). George has been an extraordinary resource and has become an honorary family member and a dear friend to me and all my children. He has seen my children through quizzes and tests, helped with tricky homework assignments, and led them to superlative performances on their SATs, APs and ACTs. George has been a terrific mentor as well as a tutor, giving advice on school, the college application process, and the like. George keeps up to date with all assignments posted by the school and helps even disorganized kids get organized. He is terrific at reminding the kids of deadlines for projects, assignments, quizzes and standardized tests. He has always made time in his busy schedule for extra sessions when a big test or project is due, he explains why and how rather than tell a student just to apply the formula, he adjusts his method and style of tutoring to each individual child, he is reliable and efficient and always pleasant, and his range of subject matter knowledge is superb. I honestly believe that George’s tutoring has had a big and most positive impact on my children in many ways. On the most obvious level, he truly did help boost their test scores and probably did impact the level of college to which they were admitted. Beyond that, however, he really gave them a greater appreciation and understanding of subject matters that they were not as comfortable with, and gave them the tools to help them think, analyze and solve. These are tools that they will carry with them and use all their lives, whether they ever take another math course or not. That is what a real tutor does not just get you through the next exam. And even further, George honestly cares about his students not just their performance but also their minds, their interests, and their character. Whenever my two oldest are home from college, they are delighted to see George again, and I know that my youngest will miss George when he starts college this year, as will I. George has been a big part of our lives. We are better of for the experience in many, many ways. Thank you, George.”
✏️ “George is hands down the best tutor we have ever encountered. He understands that students cannot excel in math unless their knowledge is built on a solid foundation. In tutoring my daughter, he returned to basics, discovering areas of weakness and explaining misunderstood concepts. A comment that my daughter made in passing, “I can ask George any question about math, and he can answer so that I can understand.” While he is conservative in making promises about outcomes, he committed himself 110% to ensure as successful an outcome for my daughter as possible. Our first goal was to achieve strong performance on the math SAT, where he approached the subject matter in a methodical, knowledgeable way, she scored a 780 on her first math SAT. With that successful experience under our belt, we then wanted to ensure strong classroom performance for the fourth quarter of her junior year. My daughter was receiving B+’s in her honors pre-calculus class (and averaging B’s on her tests and quizzes), but the subject matter became increasingly more challenging, and she was faltering in her ability to grasp concepts, particularly with respect to the topic of probability. George worked week in and week out to review the various chapters with my daughter, preparing her for tests, encouraging her after a difficult test. She received a B+ for her fourth quarter work, which I believe would have been significantly lower without George’s help. In order for my daughter to achieve an A- for the year, she needed a 95% on her final exam. George worked tirelessly to help her achieve this goal, but again was cautious in guaranteeing any results. My daughter and I were thrilled to see her report card a month after her final, with an A marked clearly for her final exam! We look forward to George helping us negotiate BC calculus as well as the Math Subject II test in the fall!”
✏️ “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!!”
✏️ “The SAT Subject Test for Math Level IIC is not an easy test. One must completely understand the topics that are covered to complete the problems, and one must have precision and speed to score high on the test. With George’s help, I was able to get high scores on many of the practice tests which reflected my real score. George has taught me the best ways to approach each problem; I can now solve each question quickly while understanding the math behind each question completely. I am very thankful that I was able to meet George, for his teachings and support allowed me to success on the SAT Math Level IIC test.” (780 SAT Math Level IIC)
✏️ “During my sophomore year in high school, before I began tutoring with George, I worried constantly about the effect my math grade would have on my grade point average. George started teaching me during the beginning of my junior year, and now, having graduated from high school, I can look back and say that George’s superb skills as a tutor led me from getting B’s in Algebra II to A’s in BC Calculus. Thanks to George, math stopped being a constant source of worry for me and became a course that helped me maintain my GPA. I studied under George for two years, and my attitude towards mathematics changed immensely during that time. George’s patience and creativity make him an ideal tutor for both struggling students and those who wish to broaden their understanding of mathematical concepts.” (770 SAT Math, 770 SAT Math IIC)
✏️ “George’s capabilities extend well through college topics. After taking BC calculus my senior year of high school, I took a semester off before taking Calculus III in the spring term. What began as a speed review of single-variable calculus expanded to encompass numerous topics neglected in the high school curriculum, as well as proper explanations and proofs of many other topics. George’s first goal is to establish a solid mathematical foundation; or in a case like mine, backfill the incomplete foundation. From there, working into sciences or high level math becomes far easier.” (800 SAT Math)
✏️ “He has genuine passion for teaching in its most basic sense. His subject knowledge and teaching style encourages our child’s participation in a planned roadmap for success.”
✏️ “George gave our son the tools and confidence to achieve results above and beyond what he believed was possible. He is a terrific teacher.” (college student parents)
✏️ “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.”
✏️ “George enabled me to get an 800 on the math SAT and, for most parents, that may be all they need in a tutor. However, George isn’t just an effective tutor, he actually cares about the student. When I first started with George math was my least favorite subject, mainly because I just didn’t ‘get it.’ However, now, math is my strongest subject and I adore the class. George allowed me to not just ‘get by’ in my class, but to understand the material, and, through understanding excel. I can’t recommend George enough on both a professional and personal level.” (800 SAT Math, 36 ACT Math)
✏️ “Even though my strength has always been in writing and English, I am now an A student in math and science as well because of George.”
✏️ “After the first couple of math tests at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, I knew I needed help. After just a couple of sessions with George I immediately became a standout in the classroom, consistently on the verge of a perfect test. George rebuilt the foundation of my mathematical skills, allowing me to see the ‘big’ picture and to intertwine new ideas with old concepts. His ability to aid me in understanding the undercurrents of what my teacher was lecturing on in school allowed me to excel in the classroom. I have had George as a tutor for three years and he has inspired a sense of appreciation in the workings of Mathematics that I am now considering pursuing the subject as a major in college.”
✏️ “My son is a freshman in honors geometry – a really tough course!! George has been instrumental in explaining the concepts, teaching him how to solve the theorems and encouraging him throughout the year. Without this assistance – this year would have been much tougher. The insight into my son’s learning style and his clear and thorough explanations of each concept have given my son the confidence to tackle this vigorous course. He looks forward to meeting with George and doing his math.”
✏️ “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.”
✏️ “We would heap praises, but facts speak better. With a ‘C’ in 8th grade math, and teachers happy with ‘the C’, which translates to just passing 8th grade MCAS at the cut-off grade, we looked to George to teach our child. The weekly two-hour session is productive and fun for our child! We would never have imagined our child sitting for two hours on High School Algebra – but it happens every week – only with George. George finds a way to teach and convey concepts in math – overcoming our child’s learning disabilities. Our child brought home a B+ in Algebra, and in one Algebra quiz, got the first time ever 100%. Our child has gained confidence which beats the frustration and ‘I hate math’ during 8th grade.”
✏️ “My son is a typical middle school boy – more interested in sports than school. George has been able to motivate him to want to learn and excel in math. His teaching approach has been tailored to my son’s learning style with good results. His enjoyment, understanding, and confidence in math has increased significantly. To realize that my son’s math foundation is solidifying for the high school years is a comfort.”
✏️ “A word of advice: start with George early. Building the proper foundation in math is crucial to getting good grades in all years of high school as well as good SAT math scores.”
✏️ “George has helped me to understand algebra better than my teachers at school ever could!”
✏️ “George made it possible for my son to go to the best college for him. George is the best teacher and mentor my son could have. We cannot thank him enough. I cannot wait to see my other children grow as learners with knowledge and strategies taught by George.”
✏️ “George is a good guy. A+ tutor. Great results, my son scored a 730!”
✏️ “George started late in the year tutoring our son, in a very short time his grades were up. His scores on the SAT and AP exams were exceptional. However what is more important is that George is coaching him on how to study and not only tutoring him in a subject. He is helping him choose his courses, as well as guiding him through his high school years. The look on both their eyes while studying is one of pure joy. George is an exceptional tutor as well as a dear friend.”
✏️ “Initially we brought to George tutor our daughter in AP physics. He ended up tutoring her in both Physics and Pre-Calculus. He also provided help in preparing for SAT and ACT exams. We were very pleased by his dedication as a teacher. He goes above and beyond the average tutor by following up on exam results and checking in the night before to make sure she was ready or to answer any last minute questions. My daughter truly believes she would not have made it through those classes without George’s help.”
✏️ “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.”
✏️ “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.”
✏️ “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.”
✏️ “George has a very nice personality and is very smart. He has a nice way of conveying information to hold my son’s attention. George has been very helpful to my son, bringing his grades to a passing A and building his confidence in math.”
✏️ “I have been working with George for about six months and I have never seen myself improve this drastically. I achieved a 5 on my AP exam and a 770 on my SAT Math. I truly owe it all to George.”
✏️ “I wish all students could have the opportunity to have such an excellent teacher.”
✏️ “George is a brilliant mathematician who has the rare ability to convey that knowledge to our teenagers. He is an effective communicator who teaches with patience, determination and perseverance. George understands that confidence is the most important ingredient for learning and empowers our children to believe in themselves.”
✏️ “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.”
✏️ “Who would have thought that my son would become a curve breaker! Through the years George has instilled a great store of fundamental mathematical knowledge. On this foundation our son was able to grab Calculus by the horns and completely master it.”
✏️ “Thank you so much for all you do for our son, and for us!”
✏️ “We first looked for a tutor when it became clear that our son did not understand the material in his honors pre-calculus class and was moving from a passing grade to a failing grade as the material became more difficult. We asked George to work with our son. He first worked to stop the immediate problem by working with him on a quiz by quiz basis. As this crisis diminished, he has devised a longer-range plan to bring our son up to the point where he can achieve on his own. George has a rare skill of understanding the material and being able to communicate it in a way that our son could understand. Thanks to George, our son has renewed his confidence and improved his grades enough that he is now on a course to respectfully pass his honors pre-calculus course.”