Math, Done Right
For U of T courses go to our 'tutoring' tab
"Let us judge people by their questions, rather than by their answers." – Voltaire
"It's not that I am so smart, it's that I stay with problems longer."
– Einstein
"Our children are only as brilliant as we allow them to be."
– Eric Micha'el Leventhal
Deep learning. Real Results.
Math isn't taught properly in our public schools. Teachers don't understand the material, can't explain concepts or answer questions, and students are chronically confused, stressed, and unprepared for university mathematics. We do math right. We explain every concept in depth (i.e. we show students where the math they're doing comes from, and why it works – not just how to do it) and answer questions before they're asked. Our students develop real, deep, lasting understanding, and head to university confident and primed for success.
​Enrol your budding scholar today, and see what math learning should be like!
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What we do, and why we do it
Math Done Right was founded by Simon Capobianco, an award-winning math teacher who discovered his love of mathematics in university, after (and despite) having a terrible experience with high school math teaching in the TDSB.
Like many students in the Ontario public school system, Simon was frustrated with teachers who couldn't answer questions (because they didn't really understand the material themselves) and parted ways with math after grade 11. This was an extremely stressful and frustrating experience, which left Simon (like many students) believing that he 'just couldn't do it.' Years later, when he re-discovered math at the University of Toronto (where the world-class faculty showed him how wonderful math can be, when taught properly) he fell in love with it, and ended up working as a teaching assistant for first-year calculus and linear algebra courses while still completing his undergraduate degree. Given his passion for teaching math properly (the way he wished it had been taught to him) he had tremendous success – TAing six different courses, running his own lecture series, and helping countless students go from hating math to loving it.
As a teaching assistant, Simon noticed that his students were chronically under-prepared for university mathematics – with disturbingly large numbers of them dropping, failing, and repeating courses each term. Concerned, he asked the professors about this, and they explained that it was unfortunate, but inevitable: Canadian high schools simply don't prepare students for university math, and every year huge numbers of first-year students fail (or drop) and have to repeat (sometimes more than once) the math courses required by their programs. One of the courses Simon TA'd was offered specifically for the large number of engineering students who had (as expected) failed or dropped it the first time around. "The slaughter" as it was grimly referred to among the teaching staff, was a yearly affair – everyone knew about it, but no one knew what to do about it; most people thought there was nothing to be done. Simon knew this was nonsense, and decided to do something about it – to give his students the learning experience he wished he'd had. He started holding regular extra-help sessions to fill-in the gaps in his students' math backgrounds, and founded a lecture series – 'Connecting the Dots: A Deeper Look at Linear Algebra' which gave students a deeper conceptual understanding of course material which was presented quickly and 'functionally' in lectures. His efforts were tremendously successful: his lectures and tutorials were packed to the doors, with students regularly standing, or sitting on the floor or stairs to learn from him, and at least once per lecture a student would shout, from somewhere in the audience: "Oh my god! I finally get it!" At the end of the year he was presented with a prestigious Daniel B. Delury Award for "Outstanding teaching assistant work by an undergraduate, and material contribution to teaching in the [math] department."
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At the same time, Simon began working part-time teaching high school math at a private tutoring centre, and it became abundantly clear to him why his students were struggling (and suffering) so much. Our high school math system is badly broken – teachers (who, inexplicably, don't need math degrees to teach critical courses like MCV4U, MHF4U, and MDM4U in Ontario) are generally ineffective, frequently incompetent, and nearly impossible to fire (no matter how much, or how bitterly parents complain). His students grumbled constantly that their teachers couldn't answer questions, didn't prepare them adequately for tests, and left them more confused after lessons than they were before. Disturbingly, he frequently found egregious mistakes in the notes they had been given, and students regularly reported being told things which were badly wrong, or being instructed to use techniques and procedures which didn't work. Crucially, almost every student Simon tutored reported asking their teachers 'why?' only to be told 'just because' which left them feeling (understandably) lost and frustrated; inexcusably, many students who wanted to know 'why' and pressed the issue, were treated like annoyances, or trouble-makers. Time and time agin, Simon would end up explaining that nothing in math is true 'just because,' that they should absolutely be asking 'why' (indeed, this is the very key to success in math) and that their curiosity was natural, good, and did not make them 'trouble-makers' – the only trouble was 1) that their teachers couldn't answer simple questions because they didn't understand the material, and 2) rather than admitting (and remedying) their own inadequacies, these "educators" preferred to shame their students for being inquisitive.
This disgraceful state of affairs left bright, hard-working students chronically stressed, confused, and panicking – with serious repercussions for their educational and professional futures (as well as their mental health). Simon was perpetually horrified to see keen, talented students, convinced that they 'couldn't do math' or 'were stupid,' attenuating (or just giving up on) their academic and career goals because their teachers had failed them. This brought him back to his own (similarly horrible) experience with high school math, and deepened his resolve to do something about the problem. This resolve was deepened still further the more he talked to frustrated and desperate parents. Over and over, parents told him that they felt helpless – they were paying tens of thousands of dollars for private schools, only to have to shell-out even more money for tutoring (and, often, online credits) just to get their kids through grade 12 math. Worse still, many tutors were no better than their childrens' teachers – friendlier, but similarly unable to answer questions – and many had been through several ineffective tutors before they found Simon by chance. It seemed as if there was no way for caring, dedicated parents to ensure that their children received proper math education, which actually prepared them for success at university.
That was when Simon founded Math Done Right – an educational organization dedicated to teaching math properly, so that hard-working, committed students can gain deep understanding and confidence, discover the beauty and elegance in math, and head to university prepared to succeed, rather than survive. At Math Done Right we give our students the deep, conceptual understanding that lets them get top marks in their courses, enjoy the problem-solving process, and gain real confidence in what they're doing, instead of feeling like they're 'bumping around in the dark' as all too many high school math students put it. We do this by emphasizing understanding over memorization, and going in-depth to explain why they're doing what they're doing, and why it works. We take the time to help every student really, truly understand the material, rather than just giving them a formula sheet so they can get through the tests and make us look good (common practice in Ontario high schools) only to crash and burn in first-year because they didn't really learn anything. By guiding our students through increasingly challenging material and problems we help them discover that learning math can be fun and exciting, and, crucially, that they can do things they didn't think they could.
Learning math with us takes effort, dedication, patience, and above all willingness to stretch one's capabilities – but if your budding scholar is prepared to take the time to really understand, ask 'Why?', and push (with guidance and support) their boundaries, they'll discover a confidence and excitement that they never thought possible, and have a huge leg up going into university, and life. Whatever their career aspirations are, developing systematic problem-solving skills and outside-the-box thinking (the key to real mathematics) will benefit them in profound and unexpected ways, and discovering that they can do things they didn't think they could do (our main goal for all our students) will help them develop as human beings, and stretch the limits of their potential beyond what they ever thought was possible. This, above all, is our mission, our passion, and our purpose.
Come learn with us!
