Another one of our instructors is Albert Tu. He started working back in October and had one of the highest scores on our instructor higher math proficiency test. Not only is he extremely smart, but he also is great when working with students and makes more difficult math concepts easier to understand. So, let's find out more about him!
Q: Hey Albert, hope you're doing well. Starting off, what do you love about working at Mathnasium?
I love working with the students and getting to know where they’re at in terms of math and addressing any gaps of learning that they have. Particularly, I enjoy teaching the mathnasium way and comparing it to how I would do it otherwise if not instructed in the mathnasium way. It helps to strengthen how to explain lower level math content.
Q: The Mathnasium Method is super helpful! What is a dream job for you?
I want to be a high school math teacher. Because that is when most students are mentally mature enough to work on advanced concepts and you can really dive into the language of math in a deeper way.
Q: Teachers are so important for students' schooling. What was your favorite and least favorite subject in school?
Math because I better understood it on the spot. History was actually very interesting because I saw the cause and effect of events throughout time. Least favorite was English because the grammar aspect was boring to me.
Q: Moving on to a few personal questions: What is a movie you can never get tired of?
Batman, The Dark Knight because even though the Joker is evil it points out some societal issues that we have such as the prison boat scene. The prisoners were actually less violent than the people.
Q: Crazy how movies can point out some social issues. Do you have a favorite type of food?
American food. Specifically burger and fries, the simple classics.
Q: Classics are always great! What about pizza? Do you think that pineapple belongs on pizza?
I don’t imagine eating sour toppings on pizza. That’s the only sour topping on pizza I can think of. The sourness is too awkward, it doesn't belong on there. Pizza is meant to be a salty based food.
Q: That's an interesting assessment about pizza. Let's finish up with a final question. Do you have a favorite math concept to teach?
Currently, my favorite math concept to teach is the Properties of Equality. It is foundational to higher level concepts involving solving equations or basic real-world problems that can be represented by equations. Whether it is solving basic linear equations, systems of equations, finding the roots of polynomials, or other math concepts, students must learn these basic properties to progress and learn higher level mathematics. And, I am also curious about how students understand and utilize these concepts. They do strange things sometimes when you give zero context and only the algebraic problem.
