Matthew R.

I am a tutor and professional classical musician from Fairfield, CA, a town right in between San Francisco and Sacramento that’s home to a Jelly Belly Factory. My passion for music is as deep-seated as my passion for education; I started tutoring when I was a junior in high school, continued through my undergraduate degree at UC Davis and my graduate degree at UCLA, and came out the other side wanting to teach and work with students as a profession. When I’m not tutoring, I’m playing the bassoon throughout Los Angeles (including places like Disney Hall and Royce Hall) and around the country, and when I’m not doing that, I enjoy cooking and spending time with friends.

I have worked with both neurotypical students and students with varying learning differences (ADHD, dyslexia, autism) from Pre-K through college and adult learners. Working with students at so many stages in their lives has allowed me to deeply understand where deficits in understanding commonly manifest, and how best to tackle them from the student’s perspective. I’ve taught nearly every academic subject (some foreign languages still elude me), as well as coaching my students in executive functioning skills like time management, organizational skills, task initiation, and maintaining focus. My degrees in music and linguistics showed me two of the many ways that we utilize our brains, and they continue to inform the way that I approach teaching students today. My students and their parents have reported higher grades, better understanding, and a general greater outlook on their educational career; my greatest measure of success, however, is a student telling me they don’t need me anymore.

Everyone learns differently; whether a student learns best with visual aids, or with mnemonics, or by speaking and hearing, I feel that I am succeeding in my job if I’m helping a student learn in the most efficient and comfortable way. This comes from an open and honest relationship with a student, urging them to think critically about their learning, so that they can explain to me the core issues in their understanding. My goal is for them not to need a tutor anymore; for my students to have a deep understanding of how they learn, and a thirst for knowledge such that working towards understanding things is exciting.