What is your teaching philosophy?

I teach math to understand concepts. My focus isn't on repetition, but actually understanding where equations come from visually and through simple proofs. A deeper understanding of math, versus just knowing how to plug in values, is what I think will make a student successful in their courses.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

My first session is usually a familiarization and going over expectations from the student/parent and from me. Once that is covered, I like to work a few problems with the student to gauge where they are struggling, whether it is the overall topic, or a missed skill. I also like to ask plenty of questions so that I can better prepare for our other meetings.