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I have Swiss nationality, although I was born in South Africa and completed my
schooling and University studies in South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
I enjoy travelling, and have visited most regions in Switzerland. I am fond of reading.
I am a stamp collector. I love hiking, and besides walking around in Chêne-Bougeries,
where I live, and Geneva generally, I have hiked in many areas of Switzerland.
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My Qualifications
I completed a B.A. degree with the University of South Africa,
an Arts and Education Diploma at Helderberg College, a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics
at the University of Cape Town and a Graduate Certificate in Education at the
University of Rhodesia.
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My Teaching Experience
I taught Maths for many years in missions in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)
at Teacher Training and Secondary School Levels. At another school in Rhodesia I
taught Maths in the Primary and the High Schools, and for some years I used to have
students in the afternoons sitting around my dining room table while I helped them with their Maths.
Later in the Cape Town area I was the Head of the Maths Department for more than 6 years in a
large State School, while also teaching Maths nearly full time, as well as
giving private Maths tuition in the afternoons at home.
Since arriving in Switzerland in late 1993, I did replacement Maths teaching at
the International School of Geneva (LGB Campus) in the Middle and High Schools
on a number of occasions, and from that time onwards I did more and more private Maths tuition.
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My Strengths
I have neither a Master's Degree nor a PhD. Degree. I am a Maths teacher,
not a Mathematician. While many Maths tutors with PhD degrees are fabulous teachers,
the fact that I actually had difficulties at University completing my Maths major many
years after leaving High School, has proved to be a tremendous advantage in my teaching.
I know what it is like to struggle in Maths. I tell my students that if I could make it,
then anyone who is willing to work hard can achieve success in their Maths studies, and
in their other subjects as well. It is important for us as Maths tutors to know how to motivate
our students to want to succeed in Maths. We are also there to teach our students valuable life values.
When I was in the classroom, I showed many little steps so that the students could easily
follow as we worked out the solution. I have done the same in my private tutoring over the years.
My wife used to teach Typing and Word Processing round the corner near the entrance to the
lounge, and so often she would hear the student call out happily: "Oh, is that all it is?"
Of course, when I find that a student lacks the proper Maths foundation, I go back to the
beginning and teach him/her how to add, subtract, multiply and divide positive and negative
whole numbers or fractions or decimals, how to solve basic linear equations and how to
factorize, etc. I try to get the idea across that if the student has mastered the mechanics,
and has the correct concept regarding the problem on hand, then his/her chance of success is
greatly increased.
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