Why Over How
"The study of Mathematics, like the Nile, begins in minuteness but ends in magnificence"
~ Charles Caleb Colton
Meghan M.
Over the past few months, Anurag, or Professor Katyal, has proved to be an excellent teacher and extraordinary person. My daughter had a shaky start to the year and had low morale when it came to math which was out of character for her. She had faced some turmoil in the beginning units and her spirits were defeated. After her first tutoring session, she felt more confident in her ability to understand the material and perform to her usual standard.
As a parent, I could see her love for math reignited through positive encouragement and continual support. Since starting tutoring this past August, my daughter has been able to achieve a ninety-eight on her midterm and an A in the course for semester one. She has voiced on many occasions how Anurag has been the only teacher who has made her feel capable of doing higher-level math and she credits him as her favorite teacher to date. He has provided her with tools to help navigate not only math but learning strategies that will be a leg up in SAT/ACT and eventually college. His consistent determination and creative problem-solving strategies have proved more effective than any other teaching style she has ever worked with and can confidently say she has benefitted from it in a multitude of ways.
What impressed me most of all was his genuine care and belief in her success. Not one single time did my daughter ever feel unprepared or unsure of herself after meeting with Anurag and his willingness to go above and beyond is unwavering. He truly cares for his profession and loves mathematics and his passion and knowledge is admirable. I want my daughter to only ever have positive and safe learning environments and Anurag has provided that time and time again. There is a difference between a teacher who works because they have to and a teacher who works because they want to and Anurag is the perfect example of someone who teaches because he wants to help students share the same love for math that he has.
We are extremely thankful for the role Anurag has played in the growth of her learning and could not recommend him enough.
Steve H.
From the perspective of commenting on referring others to utilize the guidance and assistance of Anurag, my opinions come from the impact I saw from my daughter and her personal growth.
All parents want the best for their children. Few know what to specifically expect from their formal education or their kid’s educators other than a desire that it help their knowledge and education in positive ways. It is rare, but great, when those general expectations are not only exceeded, but in
broader and tangible ways you know the process will help them throughout life. This is what I found in the ‘way’ Anurag Katyal teaches and goes about impacting his students (or at least our daughter).
While the process started with her feeling that his ‘style’ was too tough, demanding, and even out of touch, it ended with the view that he was her best teacher ever. He certainly taught the curriculum well. Evidenced by not only her success on various college prep tests, high school grades, and even
extracurricular contests. The most impactful aspect, however, was how he helped teach how and why to learn and provided a broader understanding of the learning process and its value.
Being good or strong in math can help in a very wide variety of endeavors. Enjoying the overall learning and growth process is more valuable and contributes to even more important aspects of life. Anyone looking for extra help and guidance for their children will want to evaluate what the track record of the teacher, counselor, or tutor has been. In addition to the ‘what’, the way and the why may be the most important for the child’s path to realizing more of their true potential.
We can’t thank Anurag enough.
Janice H.
We highly recommend Anurag as an educator to help your child improve their learning skills. We were able to gain an in-depth appreciation for his teaching methods and results during a year-long high school advanced math class. This recommendation comes from the perspective of the mother with input from our daughter.
When evaluating an outside coach for your child, specifically for test prep, you hope that your child will improve and gain results. Our daughter said she was the most prepared (and confident) she’s ever been for an exam. She said she was taught not only how to solve specific problems, but, any other problems that were similar. She said Anurag thoroughly understood
the test process and was able to explain the topics in a way that were easy to understand. She scored exceptionally well on her college prep test and on her grades throughout the year.
Our daughter benefitted even more from Anurag’s teaching style that not only helped for high school, but also laid a foundation for success in college. Many times throughout the year, as we heard her comments about class, I thought how he was instilling traits that would be needed to excel at math in college. There is a difference between memorization and creative problem
solving and Anurag embraces this. His emphasis on why over how can be applied to any course work, and to many of life’s challenges. Anurag’s teaching style was intriguing to our daughter in that she gained new methods of learning and problem solving. His course was rigorous and challenging.
Our daughter both enjoys math and enjoys a challenge and she rose to the level that he demanded. As she began to benefit from his teaching style, she thoughtfully said he was the best teacher she’s ever had. Our daughter was impressed that Anurag genuinely cared for the success of every classmate,
no matter where the student was in the learning process. Coming in on his own time for weekend classes, holding zoom class, and making himself available as needed for questions. While these efforts assisted her, she also witnessed friends that previously struggled with math excel and perform well on exams.
We are grateful for the role Anurag had in our daughter’s education, not only for math, but also for providing her skills that she will need in college and in life.