I was fifteen years old when I learned to love maths. Before that, I had been an ok maths student. I did ok-ish, but I never really understood what I was doing. I got by, reasonable results, nothing amazing though. Just one teacher changed that.  More than half-way through my secondary education, a new maths teacher came into my life.  I just knew that she was speaking my language. The missing pieces fell into place. I went from cautiously getting by in class, hoping not to be called upon to answer anything, to finding a subject I loved. Looking back, I realise my teacher changed the trajectory of my life. Maths became my lifeblood. I have immersed myself in maths education.  I have been fascinated by how we learn maths. Fascinated by how it can be such a source of confusion and misery. I learned to love it, and that passion and excitement for maths never went away.  How lucky am I to have found my passion at the tender age of fifteen?

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So, I know what it’s like when education isn’t going as it should. I know what it is like to feel lost as a teenager.  And I know what an amazing impact teachers can have, when they truly care about the young people they work with.  I decided I would be one of them someday.

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I have taught in various settings over the past two decades. I have taught adults, teenagers, children, people with diagnosed additional needs and those with undiagnosed needs. What has struck me most is that whatever the starting point, the potential to progress and improve is always there. With the correct support everyone can do better in maths.  I remember once a head of school telling me there was no reason why any child should get less than a C in maths. I disagree. There are an infinite number of reasons why many people never reach the holy grail of a C (4/5) in maths. The reasons are so varied and so personal to the individual.  If those reasons are not identified and dealt with, then achievement doesn’t happen. Pretending that barriers to achievement in maths do not exist is exactly what leads to underachievement and disengagement. Accepting that there are many reasons for the vast difficulties people can face in maths, allows you to start solving the problems.

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Someone recently asked me why I tutor (why not have more time for yourself?). I tutor because I know when a parent is seeking tutoring, they are seeking this on behalf of a teenager who is under-achieving or not achieving.  This could be a teenager achieving a 6, but capable of an 8, or achieving a 4 but capable of a 5. No one likes under-achieving. I don’t believe I have ever met a student who genuinely did not want to achieve their best.  I think about how that teenager feels in class, how they feel after each test result, how they feel after each report goes home. They feel like they are powerless to change the situation. They have so many gaps, and the gaps just snowball. It doesn’t have to be that way.