Ben

Certified Tutor

I think the reason I'm drawn to the role of teacher is that it's a vocation I've always held. The oldest of four children, I've been tutoring my siblings for as long as I can remember. From helping my sister draft her high school essays to quizzing my brother on multiplication in the car, teaching is something that comes naturally to me.

In high school, I expanded my teaching expertise by volunteering as a peer tutor in calculus, physics, and chemistry. It was gratifying to be able to help many of my classmates improve their grades and understanding of curriculum, and I picked up valuable experience working with students of many different capabilities and learning styles. I also spent a summer teaching young children as a bilingual literacy tutor at a nonprofit organization that serves immigrant families.

My best attribute as a tutor is my patience. I never make assumptions about a student's current comprehension or fault them for a gap in understanding. Through guided, methodical problem solving and socratic questioning, I work with my students at their pace and in a manner that best suits their unique learning styles. As a tutor in math and science subjects, I believe that the greatest (and most challenging) problem solving skill is being able to bridge the gap between the physical and the mathematical; to translate the world we inhabit into numerical relations. The teaching I do is centered around overcoming this barrier: equipping students with the insight to think critically in a mathematical sense, the quantitative skills to apply that reasoning, and the curiosity to continually push their boundaries as learners.

Originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, I moved to the Boston area in 2014 to begin college at MIT. I am currently in the course of my undergraduate studies, pursuing a double major in physics and political science. I do research in biophysics and statistical mechanics, modeling colloidal systems to better understand molecular processes in cells and the possible origins of life on Earth. Outside of academia, I am a musician, an athlete, a reader, a cook, and an adventurous soul. I play saxophone in MIT's Festival Jazz Ensemble and enjoy skiing, hiking, watersports, cooking with my dad, hanging out with friends, and trying new things.