Ben Gross

My passion for education stems from my love of learning and enjoyment of watching my students succeed. My first formal experience as a tutor came tutoring AP Calculus AB to my peers in high school, but I had been tutoring friends and family in different subjects long before that. I am patient, empathetic, a clear speaker, and I’m passionate about helping others — I have always enjoyed teaching, and I think I always will.

I was born and raised in the Bay Area, attended Los Altos High School, and earned my degree in math and economics at New York University. As I took advanced math courses and tutored NYU students in Calculus I-III, probability, statistics, and microeconomics, I realized that success relied upon depth of understanding, asking thoughtful questions, and creativity. However, the repetitive, procedural classes in the build up to calculus and statistics had drained some of my students’ interest and confidence in math. I found that the best way to help those students succeed was to establish every concept as a way to represent and solve real world problems. As long as they find an interesting topic or application of math, something that sparks their creativity, students can succeed. In my work as a tutor, I hope to not only improve my students’ skills, but to develop a connection between their interests and math.

Because of this, I always try to make the most out of 1-on-1 time with a student. I aim to understand what the student’s goals are, what skills they need to hone, and any motivational, organizational, or confidence issues they might be experiencing. My sessions are specially tailored to not only address gaps in knowledge, but to improve students’ attitudes towards learning by paying special attention to the topics they find interesting.

Outside of tutoring, my passions include learning new languages, cooking, and playing soccer. I’m also a big fan of the San Jose Earthquakes.