Question: Hi, Micki. I have a question about encouraging my tutee to be more excited about the subject matter we're working with during our sessions.
I absolutely love tutoring, and my tutee and I get along wonderfully. He's a bright kid, funny, and pays close attention to the math that we go over together.
The thing is, I feel bad that he is so bored by math, and would love to be able to make things more interesting for him. Just for a little background, he loves music, soccer, and guitars. Thanks!
Answer: Great question! I'm always happy to get emails from people who love what they do, and get along well with their tutees.
Even better, you're going above and beyond the call of tutoring duty to make the material jump off the page for your tutee. Good for you!
Now, how to get him more enthusiastic and involved in math?
The good news is that your tutee likes music! That is good news because a lot of music relies on math, right down to the quarter and half notes used to compose tunes. So, definitely go with that interest. Find articles about math and music being related, put together music related problems, and try to tie the two subjects together whenever you can.
As for his other interests - soccer and guitars - those can work, too. Make up some problems using soccer lingo or guitar talk. Trigonometry that deals with shadows on a soccer field, algebra that focuses on guitar-centric word problems...pretty much anything that even mentions his favorite hobbies can be useful in peaking interest in a less exciting subject.
You can also come up with some games that fuse his hobbies with mathematics. A music worksheet that deals with fractions, for example. These games work especially well with younger tutees, but if you can find some more sophisticated, complex games they would also work for older tutees.
And don't forget about short breaks. Even the sharpest mind can reach overload status pretty quick after staring at the same material for hours on end. Try to take a few short breaks in between problems. Let your tutee know that he's doing a great job, talk about school, and get away from the hardcore math for a minute or two.
Good luck and, as always, happy tutoring!
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