Who doesn't need a little help with mathematics from time to time? It's a hard subject, after all. It's not just adding up numbers like a human calculator, but a whole set of related skills, all embedded into a greater system of puzzle solving.
Helping people with mathematics is one of the greatest parts of being a tutor, and knowing the right way for any given student can only be the product of experience. Do we need to go back to the basics for a primary school student? Does this student need to have things explained visually in order to understand and prepare for their GCSEs? Why do we learn long division at all? How does it all fit together?
Having gone through the whole education system, from primary school to PhD - with GCSEs, A Levels, an HND and a first class honours BSc between - I know how it all fits together, and why. That holistic knowledge is the advantage of getting a private tutor for one-to-one mathematics tuition. It does all fit together, and if someone is confused at school then they've probably missed the important connections.
That's enough promotional blather for now. Let's have a maths puzzle instead!
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The Tidy Squirrels
There are five very tidy squirrels, who have thirty five acorns in total. One day they decide to line up so that each squirrel has one more acorn than the one before, for a group photograph. How many acorns does the squirrel with the least have?
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