Struggling with math? Feel overwhelmed and anxious? Sue Sheets, a professional math tutor with nearly four decades of experience, is here to help. With a passion for making math both accessible and enjoyable, Sue offers personalized one-on-one tutoring tailored to every student’s specific needs.
Sue aims to help others by alleviating the anxiety that often comes with math while helping them overcome some of their greatest hurdles. In addition to her years of experience in education, she’s an expert in her field, too, holding a B.S. in Statistics, an M.S. in Applied Math, and an MEd in Math Education.
“I remember my first day teaching as if it was yesterday,” Sue recalled. “I was in a community college classroom and knew almost immediately that teaching was precisely what I was supposed to do.”
After decades of teaching at high schools, community colleges, and universities in North Carolina and Virginia, she offers one-on-one tutoring for sixth-grade students through precalculus, including statistics.
Her approach is centered on helping students overcome “math trauma” – a term she uses to describe the emotional and mental hurdles many students face when learning math.
“I am passionate about math, its societal perception, and the math trauma many students experience,” Sue explained. “I enjoy helping them understand and conquer their math anxiety and learn to embrace their mistakes, as understanding mistakes is the key to understanding.”
After seeing so many students bring preconceived notions about their abilities to a math class, Sue views her role as a guide to help them overcome these challenges.
“Although math is a language and does require ‘level one’ mastery to be successful in ‘level two,’ anyone can learn math to any level; it just takes hard work, dedication, and a growth mindset,” she explained.
According to Sue, one key benefit of one-on-one tutoring is the ability to tailor lessons to each student’s needs.
“I can assess where the student is struggling and fill in any gaps while helping to push the student forward with the current material,” she said.
She also added that she had her own math tutor in high school and credits that individualized attention for her success.
While Sue doesn’t offer online tutoring sessions, her in-person, hands-on approach has yielded impressive results. She recently worked with a student who achieved a four on the AP precalculus exam after a year of tutoring with her.
“Seeing the anxiety that students bring to a tutoring session dissolve and their minds open to the beauty of mathematics always thrills me,” stated Sue, smiling. “A level of confidence comes over a student, and there is power in that. I always encourage them to teach a friend what they now understand.”
When she’s not helping students gain confidence in math, Sue enjoys volunteering at local events and running her dogs at Martin Park.
“My husband and I have lived in Southern Pines for five years, and we much prefer it to the traffic in Raleigh, where we lived for over 25 years,” she joked, reflecting on the local community she has grown to love.
For students looking to improve their math skills, Sue Sheets is a dedicated tutor with decades of experience. She is ready to help them realize their potential and develop lasting confidence in math.
For more information, contact Sue directly at [email protected] or click on the QR code to access her availability.
~Article and photo by Sandhills Sentinel Assistant Editor Abegail Murphy. Abegail has been writing for Sandhills Sentinel since 2021.
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