Time to Go Far in Math
Online Tutoring, Courses, and Books
OUR APPROACH
Doing More with Less
Math, as a subject, is tough to learn in a school for several reasons:
After tutoring over 1000 students of all ages in the Los Angeles area for the past 15 years. We created our unique "Math in a Month Sequence," an approach that goes against the grain of how math is presented by schools, teachers and popular media. In our approach, you get:
Our courses deliver nothing short of teaching you how to live and breathe the language of mathematics, so you can confidently master any mathematics course you face.
OUR MISSION
We Teach You to See Math, Not Memorize It
Math in a Month emerged out of a desire to address the needs of two rapidly growing niches in education, while meeting the needs of a third.
1. Homeschool parents – those seeking alternative approaches to math instruction, either for more "big-picture" learning, or to accompany a career/athletic pursuit.
2. Those seeking rapid advancement in math for their children (or themselves), aware of the career leverage gained from STEM-related degrees.
3. Students who have tried unsuccessfully at other approaches – Math in a Month delivers a visual approach, something real, accessible, and designed to help you catch up fast.
Math in a Month meets those needs by recognizing the common factor in all three groups: the need for condensed, engaging, potent study: learn more in less time.
Rather than learn isolated skills, you learn math as a conversation, so you can confidently master any mathematics course you face.
Our lessons bring you straight to the core skills and insights, and teach you to think ahead and beyond the material of your course.
testimonials
Read What Our Happy Clients Have To Say
Matt R., MIT
"Somehow Michael's lessons don't seem like lessons. They feel like conversations you've always wanted to have, going deep into any topic at hand. And then halfway through, you realize he's got you: you're speaking and thinking math now. I don't know how he does it, but he does it. And the next day, your teachers take notice that your confidence and skills have made a jump."
Michelle R., Parent
"The work Michael did with both my sons was instrumental in getting them into MIT and Stanford, but I often think that was the least amazing aspect of his work. He has so clearly put so much thought into the content delivery of his lessons that I never could sense a dull moment anywhere in his program."
Austin, U of Washington
"Michael's on another level when it comes to explaining math. Lucid doesn't even begin to describe it. He makes algebra into a puzzle, or even a comedy, where the insight is the punchline."
Michael, Brown University
"Michael gets to the root of what's important to know in a subject, and conveys it in a way that leaves such an impression that you can't unthink it. Time and time again he gave me the best advice into how to solve a problem. For getting in the game in any school subject, I recommend you read anything he has written. Find out what he knows; it will go beyond your expectations."
your teacher
Michael Surrago
Math in a Month is the brainchild of Michael Surrago, who has privately tutored over 1000 students ages 8-21 in the Los Angeles area since 2005.
From observing students' recurring math errors, he has crafted an approach to math learning that speaks first to the visual part of the brain and then the philosophical part of the mind. The result is Math in a Month, a style of learning that starts out as a natural conversation, builds up basic skills, and then accelerates practice (and progress) after this initial foundation is laid.
Unifying all of Michael's work are lessons that vertically leverage the student's existing visual, language and cognitive skillset to do something genuinely interesting with Mathematics. This approach yields a learning experience that comes much closer to true exploration than the typical school class; just think of the the difference between climbing a mountain and doing laps around a track. (They both exercise your muscles: the latter is great for repairing one's gait, the former gives the view of what these legs can do.)
Michael's current math project is a book and course in the works, From Counting Through Calculus, takes the Math in a Month approach towards the entire high school curriculum, reducing it to a captivating and accessible series of diagrams and visuals Michael teaches you to draw from scratch.
Those diagrams are accompanied by a compelling narrative, showcasing the development of math from its likely Stone Age origins, through the arithmetic and geometry of antiquity, up to the problems that gave rise to Vector Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Geometry, and Topology, four math classes at the core of Physics (post-Einstein).
Michael's ultimate mission with Math in a Month is to produce a Kindergarten-through-Calculus curriculum palatable and learnable to the typical 12 year old. Check out his blog to learn more about that.