How my good looking tutor made me fall in love with maths

   

Ever had a good looking tutor? Ever had a crush on one? Whatever the answer is, it doesn't  make our school life experiences  less intriguing, in fact, it adds to the drama.  At a point in time as teenagers, we would have experienced some sort  of crazy things which include 'having feelings for a tutor'. Getting attracted to a tutor is quite normal and has two effects academically. There is a positive and negative side to it.

 Want to know how? Let's take a look at the negative aspect. Some students lose concentration while being tutored by their crush. They visualize stuffs like being in a romantic relationship with them, going on a blind date with them and many more. Having an infatuation on one's tutor can be really challenging. If not careful,  some students can misplace their priorities  and this  could affect them academically.

The positive aspect sounds funny but it's the reality. Tutors admire and love brilliant students. To make an impression, some students study hard to be their tutor's favourite. They try to bring out the best in themselves in order be noticed by their tutors. Being recognized by one's crush is a big thing to most teenagers. Apart from tutors, human beings generally love making a good impression on their loved ones. 

I will love to share a little story about my handsome tutor and how he made me  fall in love with Mathematics. 

In secondary school, my performance in mathematics was quite poor. I always gave the excuse of being in art class though the best student in Mathematics came from my class so my excuse was a flimsy one. My performance worsened when I got to SS2 and was preparing for GCE exams. Sometimes, I still ponder on why my maths was poor. It might have been because I didn't like Mr Ben, my maths teacher's method of teaching or because of my lack of interest in the subject.

On a Friday morning, Mr Williams, my school principal came to my class while a literature class was going on. He adjusted his glasses and spoke," Mr Ben got transferred to another school and a new maths tutor will resume on Monday", he cringed as he adjusted his pair of glasses again, a usual habit. When he left, I was both elated and sceptical about the news. What if the new tutor was worse than Mr Ben? I was nervous and kept hoping for the best. 

I got to school early on Monday due to my anxiety to meet the new tutor. After the assembly, the principal came to my class. I raised a brow, wondering why he came alone since he hadn't introduced us to the new Maths tutor yet. Shortly after his entrance, an old man in suspenders came in.  He almost had a full grey hair and was old enough to be my grandpa. "Is this the new Maths tutor?", everyone whispered from the back. I grinned with relief when I saw him reach into his pocket and handed a car key to the principal. "He must be his driver", I convinced myself. Mr Williams moved his index fingers, signalling him to come closer. He whispered into his ears and the old man exited the class. I was getting impatient and eventually asked, " Where is the new Maths tutor?"

 Immediately I asked, a handsome young man in a  blue jean and a vintage shirt came in. He had a brown hair and I could see his abs through his white shirt. "He's so hot", my seat mate commended. As a silly student that I was, I looked at his fingers to see if he had a ring. I was overjoyed and almost jumped from my seat  in excitement to know what he was single. I knew I had no chance with him but was still delighted.

A beautiful smile adorned his face when he saw everyone's reaction. He introduced himself as he grabbed a marker on the table. He wrote down his name on the whiteboard to make sure we got the right spelling. If phones were allowed, I am sure most girls in my class would have taken his pictures. He was just so handsome and was exactly my spec. The principal patted him at the back as he left the class. 

A week after Mr Chris, my new Maths tutor, started taking my class my performance worsened. What went wrong? Mr Chris was an excellent tutor and knew how to teach well. Even some of my classmates with poor mathematical skills got better in a week. I checked myself and eventually realized that I spent much time staring at him in class and lost focus. I only cared about my looks and was focused on how to get his attention. My performance worsened as each day went by until Chris got mad and  reprimanded me when I screwed up in his test. It was evident from his words  that he didn't like idle students. I found it embarrassing to be scolded by my crush. It was then dawned on me that I had to focus on my studies. 

In order to impress Chris, I studied Mathematics at nights and practiced some calculations. My reading table that was jam-packed with novels got replaced  with  Mathematics textbooks. No matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't understand the basics and failed most exercises. Mr Chris' words were too harsh to be ignored, especially his last sentence. He said, "Jane, beauty without anything upstairs is a waste." Everyone's mockery of me when he said that wasn't something to be forgotten. 

I approached my dad who was an engineer when he got back from work. I could see in his eyes that he was exhausted but I didn't want to go to school the next day without getting the exercises. I greeted him as I brought out my maths textbook. He quirked a brow, rubbed his chin and told me to sit next to him. "What's with the sudden interest in maths, Jane?", he asked. I replied with an energetic smile and he was impressed with my zeal to learn. Dad took his time and taught me what I needed to know that night. I went to my room with a beautiful smile on my face, having a sense of fulfilment.

While I was practicing some exercises on a rainy night, I got a message from my class captain on WhatsApp. Usually, I would have slept but my determination to learn math was stronger than I thought. I ignored the group messages and  practiced new exercises. The ones that were difficult to solve were given to my dad. After two hours of consistent practice, I set my textbooks aside as I checked my WhatsApp messages.

 As expected, there were lots of irrelevant messages so I had to send a direct message to the class captain. “There would be an inter-school competition next month. A test would be conducted and the best student would be tutored by Mr Chris for the competition." I couldn't believe my eyes. What did I just see!!! Mr Chris will tutor the best student! Even though I was done for the night, I grabbed my textbooks and practiced new topics. 

After two weeks of a non-stop practice and dad's tutorship, it was finally the day for the test. I couldn't answer all questions but I tried my best. When the results were eventually announced, Joy had the highest score and I had 70%. It was quite predictable since she was the best student. I was content with my result and wasn't bothered that I wouldn't spend time with my maths tutor. "Maths isn't as  difficult as it seems, all I need is a little focus", I  told myself.

 My determination to impress Mr Chris got me addicted to maths and I ended up loving it. Maths became a part of me and not a day goes by without solving maths. This was how my handsome tutor made me fall in love with Mathematics.

 Has a tutor ever made you like a subject? Probably because of their looks or good teaching  skills? I would love to know your story in the comment section below.