There are a few essentials I bring to tutor every student, especially for math or science tutoring. First of all, inside my bag is everything that would normally be in my handbag: cash wallet, card wallet, business card holder, lip gloss, hair brush, pill box, and my purple iPod nano. I put all this in various pockets so they don’t get in the way of the Business At Hand: tutoring. My pill box and business card holder are both objects of math geekery from kyledesigns.com.
Mathy Cardholder and Pillbox by KyleDesigns.com
I carry a handsome, well-made tote that is larger than 8.5″x11″ that has a lot of room. However, it can’t be too huge (I don’t want to lose everything and I’m only 5’3″) or too heavy on its own, and since it holds electronics and important documents, I prefer to have a zip closure for rainy days. My newest tote (a Marie laptop tote by Gift Craft) is structured, quilted and light, roomy (16″ x 20.5″ x 3.5″) with plenty of pockets, and has a black-and-white pattern I don’t hate, but I adore my leaf-green Brahmin Alden medium tote (which is 10″ x 15.5″ x 5″) and look forward to using it again in the spring.
Totes: Brahmin Alden medium tote and Marie by Gift Craft laptop tote
Connectivity is of primary importance. For that, I have a Garmin Nuvi 265WT and a BlackBerry Storm (which is dying and will be replaced by an HTC Thunderbolt in two weeks). I get traffic information, directions, and a predicted arrival time from my Garmin. It helps me change my route, find new students, and find the nearest gas station or Starbucks. It also has bluetooth so I can answer my phone without fumbling or voice dial if I hit traffic or am running early for a student that has a flexible start time. My smart phone is essential for keeping me in contact with students and my husband while I’m driving all over Maryland. It also helps me Google for local libraries, bookstores, and cafes if a location we originally decided on is not available (for example, the Olney library recently closed for renovation until Fall 2012, and a student needed to change the location from her home to some place near her school due to a forgotten after-school function). I am lost without either one of these two items. Literally.
Connectivity: Garmin Nuvi 265WT & BlackBerry Storm
Instead of relying solely on my BlackBerry, I carry an At-A-Glance monthly academic planner, 9″x11″, to write all my appointments. The box is small, but so is my time and energy. I also write appointments on the kitchen calendar and have alarms on my BlackBerry, but my monthly planner is the absolute authority.
At-A-Glance Monthly Academic Planner
In order to enter a building to talk with a teacher or get information, often it’s required that I wear my badge from my brief stint attempting to teach a pre-Algebra-II type of course to 30-student classes of very needy, jaded teenagers. Apparently, Anne Arundel County Schools still considers me one of their own, even though my fibromyalgia was not up to the challenge at all. As you may be able to tell, my badge holder is from kyledesigns.com, as well.
My Badge
Next, I carry a binder full of paper: lined paper and a half-dozen different kinds of graph paper I created. The lined paper is a full 8.5″x11″ and essential to avoid wasting time. The one graph paper that gets the most heavy use is a page that has three, 3.75″ square, coordinate grids (each quadrant is 10×10) on the right side with space for doing work on the left.
I also carry writing utensils. It may seem silly to name my preferences, but these are the basic tools of my trade and having dependable, solid instruments help me seem more dependable and solid. I prefer 0.7mm mechanical pencils that have a larger or cushioned grip and white eraser. If the pencil has a side-click dispenser (so erasing does not cause the pencil “lead” to get longer) and an extra-long twist-out eraser, so much the better. In addition, I carry erasers. Specifically, I prefer the mechanical stick that holds one giant, long, white eraser (like the kind found on the back of most mechanical pencils). I also carry a highlighter and a colored pencil, as well as pens. In pens, I also prefer a larger, cushioned grip and, although roller balls are nice, I’ve found the Bic Velocity to be very reliable (black, medium point). I use pen to write out notes or a problem for students, so they can write in pencil and clearly see a difference between their work and the original problem/notes.
Preferred: Pentel Twist-Erase 0.7mm Pencil, Pentel Click-Eraser, and Bic Velocity (medium point, black ink)
Rather than continuing to stick pencils in the little pocket that holds my phone or waste time rummaging around in my tote, I just got the cutest pencil case for them – I’m not a Hello Kitty fan, I’m a nerd and a fan of nerds and I just found this adorable. (For fun, I also bought the matching scarf.)
Hello Kitty Nerd Pencil Case (and Scarf)
Surprise, surprise! − I also carry a calculator. Actually, make that two calculators. At least. My main calculator is a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition graphing calculator. Most students and schools use a TI-83+ or TI-84+, and the buttons and functions are nearly identical. It is a must-have for all students in Pre-Algebra and above in helping students check their work, make larger conceptual connections, etc. (I’ll get into the pros and cons of calculator use at a later date.) I used my TI-85 through middle school, high school, and college (until its untimely demise after accidentally falling into my soup – calculators can survive plain water, but not broth or sugar-laced tea or any other liquid that may have crystallized flavoring dissolved in it). I purchased the calculator that had a pink faceplate and case because it makes it easier to spot in my purse and it is easier to recognize (although I do write my name on the back in Sharpie annually). My second calculator, which I generally keep in the car, is a TI-34II scientific calculator. It shows two lines and follows the order of operations. I use this with my younger students or for random “I-wonder-how-much-” musings at a traffic light. My third calculator I just received as a Christmas gift from my baby brother, Jay. He’s a big-time software engineer for a video game company now (I’m very proud of him), and he tries to stay on top of the latest. In this case, the latest is the Casio PRIZM fx-CG10 color graphing calculator. It shows dynamic graphs (for example, possible graphs for y = 3x2 + 5x + c), systems of inequalities (each in a different color), and can do all sorts of other things. I’m still trying to figure it out. So, I carry it around to fiddle with if I have some free time (I try to run early whenever possible, even if I know the student won’t be home from until our appointment time).
My Calculators (L-R): TI-84+ Silver Edition graphing calculator, TI-34II scientific calculator, and Casio PRIZM fx-CG10 color graphing calculator
I tried to decide whether to carry other mathematical instruments: protractor, compass, ruler, etc. They seemed like things I’d easily break or lose. Then, I found the tin-cased “Staedler Mathematical Tools”, which includes mechanical pencil, pen, stick eraser, compass, compass pencil, pencil sharpener, 6″ plastic ruler, protractor and 2 triangles. They’re not perfect, but it’s compact, light, stays shut, and looks nice.
Staedler Mathematical Tools Kit
Finally, it’s really helpful to have reference textbooks. My car and home are filled with them. I buy them used from Amazon.com for roughly $5 each, including shipping, and they’re hugely useful for visual explanations, practice problems, and just to back up hunches. However, they are also heavy. Which is why I love my Amazon Kindle and bring it to see every student. The publisher CK-12 offers free Kindle textbooks. They’re not perfect by any means. However, it is really great to have if we need an additional resource, especially for upper- and college-level math and science courses. I currently have 7 textbooks on my Kindle, along with useful (and fun) reading material so I can help students work on reading comprehension and games like EveryWord. I have a second generation, 6″ Kindle with Wi-Fi capability. The larger screen just seems too large to be as easily portable and the digital ink is easy on the eyes, although you do need an external light source (lamp/sun) to read it. A note about other, similar devices. I’m also not sure of whether other devices have as wide an availability of texts and books, or if they are in fact more flexible. Although the black-and-white version of the Nook uses the same digital ink as the original Kindle, the full-color Nook has an LCD screen like the iPad, which is harsher on the eyes. In other words, I just love my Kindle but I suggest you do your research before buying an e-reader.
Amazon Kindle, 6" screen, 2nd gen.
As a side note, hygiene is always an issue. I also make sure to keep tissues and antibacterial gel handy. Tissues must be at least 2-ply, and I get my antibacterial gel from Bath and Body Works in Fresh Market Apple (which smells light and fruity, not alcohol-rich or cloyingly sweet). If a student is sniffling, I wipe my nose and use the gel and offer each to my student. I also have very dry skin so I keep L’Occitane shea butter hand cream to keep my skin intact (it’s amazing) and band-aids nearby just in case. I always, always use one or the other, or both, before leaving my car.
Hygiene: Kleenex Tissues, Fresh Market Apple Anti-Bacterial Gel by Bath & Body Works, L'Occitaine shea butter hand cream, and Band-Aids
As I get new materials, or decide to rave about the functionality of a particular item, I will definitely be posting more about the contents of my tote.