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About Michael Stein
I believe honesty is the best policy. These pages are so you can get to know me as both a teacher and a person.
How I came to math
I owe my understanding of math to two things: my father and hard work. In third grade I was struggling and didn't like math at all. My dad explained what numbers were and how they relate to each other, and it clicked. I still don't remember what he said, but I remember the door of understanding opening. From then on, math was my favorite subject.
School in general was another story. I graduated high school with a 1.9 GPA and swore off college. A couple of years of menial jobs changed my mind. At 20 I enrolled at Pierce Community College and threw myself into study, seven days a week. When I earned a 76% on my first Calculus test, mostly from careless errors, I took it as my cue to go deeper. The rest of my tests were in the high 90s.
Why I tutor
I started tutoring at Pierce in 1987. I hadn't expected how it would feel to see a student's face when understanding finally arrives. Listening to students also deepened my own grasp of the subject, because you learn how people understand and misunderstand an idea.
I graduated from CSUN in 1993 with a B.S. in Mathematical Statistics, then worked as an actuary and later as a software developer. I returned to tutoring because it lets me see the results of my work in a person, which a computer terminal never did.
A classroom teacher has to cover the syllabus on schedule; a tutor can stop and answer the question in front of you. That's the work I love, and it's why I tutor rather than teach a class.
Credentials and experience
- B.S., Mathematical Statistics, California State University, Northridge, 1993 (major GPA 3.8)
- Society of Actuaries examinations: Calculus and Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics, Applied Statistical Methods
- Mathematics tutor at Pierce College and the CSUN Math Lab; private tutor since 1987; owner of Logical Choice Tutoring Service, 1993 to 1995
- Actuary (Health Systems International, PacifiCare) and software developer (Australia-New Zealand Direct Line, Yamaha Motor Corporation, Creek Systems)
- Member, Mathematical Association of America; Golden Key Honor Society
- Tutoring math since 1987, nearly 40 years, from Arithmetic through Calculus and Statistics
The full story, including the rough parts, is on My Story. My work history and education are on Experience and Education.
What I value
Honesty. If I can't help, I'll point you to someone who can. If you don't need me, I'll say so. And I'd rather work with a student who's trying hard and struggling than with one who has it easy and isn't engaged.