Tips & Tricks: Getting the most out of your ThatTutorGuy.com membership.


Here at ThatTutorGuy.com, we go to a lot of effort to make the site as user-friendly and intuitive as possible, so there are many ways to find what you're looking for on any given day.  But we've found that the students who get the most out of the site take an organized approach.  These are their stories...


Tip #1:  Join ThatTutorGuy.com

This is the easy part.  If you've already done this, well played.  And now for a tip which is perhaps less obvious and self-serving...


Tip #2:  Careful using the "search" button!

We know it's tempting to just go straight to the search blank at the right side of the site and start taking stabs. And you are right to be tempted. Just keep in mind that those videos (and chapter listings) all have homes elsewhere on the site, pages with other videos on that topic which Chris really thought you should also check out for that chapter. So by all means, use search to figure out what you're looking for, but then once you've found it, click the little link hanging off the bottom of each video which takes you back to the page that video came from. That way you don't miss anything important, and you'll probably find your other questions answered in the other videos on that page as well.


Tip #3:  Do your homework

I know you don't want yet another person telling you to do your homework, but if there's one thing that most struggling students have in common, it's that they don't keep up with homework.  Students who do well in math class aren't all math whizzes; they just keep up with their work, doing homework before the next class period introduces new material so that they're not lost in lecture and have plenty of time to ask questions.  Unfortunately, it's becoming more and more common for teachers to either make homework optional, or make it all due the day of the test.

You might think these teachers are doing you a favor, but they are actually killing your grade.

If you give 10 students the option of not doing their homework on a given night, 9 of them are going to take you up on it.  Even though all 10 realize that homework is there to help them learn, and even if they intend to keep up, it's just human nature to procrastinate.  Teachers know this, so the good ones "help you help yourself" by just making it due each day, but if you don't have one of those teachers, you've got to make the effort to keep up.
That's where ThatTutorGuy.com comes in.  The most common excuse students give for not doing their homework is "I tried but I couldn't figure it out."  But that's why our videos are so great!  Even though the videos might not include the exact problems in your book, Chris works enough examples that if you work the video problems along with him, you'll be able to do similar problems on your homework.  And doing your homework each night is going to bring your grade up 10 points at least.


Tip #4:  Stay ahead of your class

Even if you've been with us up to this point, you're probably laughing now.  Who's got time to work ahead of the teacher?  But you won't believe how much more you'll like lecture if you've seen the material already, and it will actually save you time by making lecture a learning experience rather than nap time.
For example, have you ever had to retake a class?  Do you remember how much less scary the material was the second time around? You could have that feeling every day if you've watched Chris's videos the night before.  And it won't matter nearly as much that your teacher sucks at explaining stuff if you've already seen it explained by Chris. During class, instead of taking panicked notes that you have no idea what you're writing down, you'll be thoughtfully psycho-analyzing your teacher, figuring out how his problems are different from the ones Chris taught you, and figuring out what your teacher is going to put on the test.
It's a wonderful feeling to not be lost in lecture!


The power is in your hands.

By joining ThatTutorGuy.com, you've already taken an important step towards make math a less stressful experience. But you've got to use it!  We promise, if you use our site to help with your homework and stay up to date with lecture, your grade will go up, your stress level will go down, and you'll have a lot more time to actually have fun!