High school is a time when many students fall behind. It’s natural. The social pressures of high school are challenging. Many teenagers also feel as if they are “being forced” to learn subjects like math and science. To put it simply: they have a lot on their plate. But that doesn’t excuse poor results. Bad grades stem from attitude. Students who score poorly in high school are usually very capable and promising, they just aren’t applying themselves. They don’t have the right guidance. Our high school tutoring program focuses on 1) giving students all the material and resources that they need to achieve and 2) serving as mentors—gaining their trust and respect—so they look up to and admire us, rather than as another grumpy person telling them what to do. This relationship aspect of tutoring is critical, especially in high school. That’s why our program focuses so much on it. We believe that all learning gains will be significantly increased if the student likes their tutor and believes that their tutor is sincerely and genuinely interested in them as a human being.

Middle school tutoring is a different ball game than high school work. There are small nuances to each grade level. Middle school students are going through an unprecedented amount of change in their lives. Everything around them is changing: their bodies, their peers, the thoughts in their head, and the emotions in their heart. This makes middle school a perfect time for tutoring. It’s an ideal time where a tutor can come alongside the student and provide them with guidance and a foundation for future growth. One important concept we recommend in middle school education is providing the student with unconditional positive regard. This means we accept them as who they are without any judgment. We support them. We are there for them. This provides students with a safe place from which they can develop their own unique confidence, skills, and abilities. 

Welcome to our elementary school tutoring section. It’s truly never too early to start your student on a path towards learning success and mastery. Elementary school learning is nuanced. The atmosphere and learning environment plays a big role in learning. At Tutor Portland, we believe that creating an environment of kindness is critical for young kiddos to learn. Kids can pick up on kindness and respect very quickly. They are more likely to interact and feel comfortable in a setting of kindness. This page dives into some different strategies for teaching mathematics and reading comprehension to elementary school kids. We teach that children learn mathematics best when learning is visual and engaging. Reading comprehension is best developed at the elementary school level through three different strategies: semantics, phonetics, and syntax. 

More and more students are applying to medical school each year. These are smart highly qualified applicants who are crowding into medicine and decreasing acceptance rates across the country. Now more than ever, pre-medical education and preparation should start in high school or middle school. Our founder, Eric Earle, believes that anyone can accomplish their dreams of becoming a doctor. He struggled at math throughout his education. He never really grasped it. After an enlightening experience volunteering at a Neurology clinic in India, Eric realized that he wanted to become a doctor. So he quit his job and began studying with math and chemistry tutors. Eric worked and studied with these tutors at the Multnomah Athletic Club. With the help of tutors, he quickly transformed himself. He went from being denied access to a college level math class, to receiving over 100% in Calculus I and Calculus II. He also earned over 100% in advanced Chemistry and Biology courses. This was all jumpstarted by the help he had from his own Tutor Portland. He used the same tutoring you are receiving. If you haven’t tried us yet, you may do so for free: right here.

Our adult tutoring program was created by our founder, Eric M Earle, who himself is an adult learner. Eric is a lifelong learner who is constantly for ways to hone and refine his strategy. Eric knows that a 5% difference in strategy can have big results. The adult learning program at Tutor Portland is based on seven core ideas: use active learning, alignment, life experience, strategic feedback, be problem-focused, teach growth mindset, and create a collaborative environment. 

Adult learners have many advantages. They are more focused and motivated than younger learners. They can take the time to study and work through tough problems and concepts. Adult learners are also more willing to try on and adopt new ideas. They are willing to experiment with small variations in their learning strategy. 

1. Active Learning — This is how students learn best. 
2. Alignment — Alignment allows adults to focus on achieving their learning goals.  
3. Life Experience — This can be used to explain challenging concepts with ones the adult already knows.
4. Strategic Feedback — Adults are willing to adopt new methods for achieving their goals.
5. Problem-Focused — Help students apply their ideas to solve real-world problems.
6. Growth Mindset — Growth mindsets are critical.
7. Collaborative Environment — Everyone learns best in one of these. 

Summer is an important time. Many students fall behind in the summer. Research shows that the average student loses over 2.5 months of mathematical computation skills over each summer. Our program is designed to help you or your student excel and master material over the summer. Enter the fall confident. 

Mathematics is a very challenging subject. It is commonly rated as the hardest subject by a large number of high school students. Most of our clients request help with mathematics. 

At Tutor Portland, we don’t think mathematics should be as challenging as it is. Math is confusing because of the way it’s taught. Lecture-based & problem-based math simply doesn’t work. What does work? Research shows that students learn math best when it is taught conceptually. In addition, students learn mathematics when they hear themselves verbalize their mathematical thinking. This is something we always incorporate in our math tutoring.

If your child is falling behind in math, then our math tutoring program can definitely help. Our tutors are mathematics students who understand math. But even more importantly, they know how to teach it. They know five or six different ways to explain a single concept. It’s not a matter of if your child will understand, it’s just a matter of how quickly they’ll get it.