<p>Math in general should not confuse anybody, since it is not as subjective (as for example, writing or art) as some other classes, but rather clear cut. I was able to help my D. all the way thru Calc. just by going over material in her text book, since, I have no recollection of any math formulas, but rather a general background and never had to deal with math at work. The problem is if the book is not appropriately chosen and confusing. </p>
<p>Good math teacher will make sure that EVERYBODY in class understand material and will make himself available for one on one help if it is needed. </p>
<p>The best tutor (at least in our area) could be usually found by word of mouth. Talk to other parents.</p>
<p>Well of course pre-calc is hard for those students! Having taken this ridiculous survey course in algebra, trigonometry, linear algebra and statistics, they haven’t taken the time to learn the basics, and they have to start all over. If they were actually learning what is in this text, they wouldn’t need pre-calculus at all, because the topics covered in this book are pre-calculus.</p>
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I tutor in a community college algebra class. Not sure what the should means in the sentence above. I can state with certainty that math does confuse many people, even elementary math, even with help.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang,
You extracted very little portion of my post. I explained in the same paragraph that any parent who can read English should be able to read material in a Text book and understand it, given that the book is not designed to confuse everybody. If I did it without any kind of math background beyond school and not having used any math for about 30 years, I assumed that everybody can do it. However, I still say that tutor is the best. I had no problem understanding textbook, however, my D had hardest time understanding my explanations, since I am not a teacher. Good math teacher / tutor will know how to explain clearly in most effective way.</p>