Why Did Russian Math Tutors Start?
Private tutoring is booming as students try to catch up on missed lessons and practice. The COVID-19 pandemic made parents look for solutions, leading to various approaches like alternating school sessions, combining class and online models, and homeschooling. Alexander Kolchinsky, CEO of Russian Math Tutors in San Jose, CA, has a new idea. He claims it’s more cost-effective and provides greater access to private math tutoring. His solution benefits both students and tutors by maintaining his current group of Russian math tutors.
The Divide in Education
Parental guilt is what drives the expense of private math tutoring. Teachers and supervisors notice improved grades that justify the use of tutors.
However, students from lower economic and marginalized groups remain excluded. Schools with good teachers and thriving tutors have fewer students from challenging backgrounds.
Ineffective teachers still face overcrowded classrooms, students with learning difficulties, and financial concerns. They continue to receive low pay despite high expectations.
Why Choose Russian Math Tutors?
1. Proven Success
Russian mathematicians excel in the classroom, teaching math and language side-by-side from kindergarten. As they approach Math conceptually, they help learners understand mathematical thinking and become brilliant problem solvers. Drawing on this successful method in America, many students of Russian Math Tutors achieve excellent scores in popular Olympiads like MOEMS, AMC, and AIME.
2. Cost-Effective
Alexander Kolchinsky, CEO of Russian Math Tutors, has found a way to make tutoring more cost-effective. His company offers online access to their math tutors, eliminating transportation costs and bringing Russian math classes to every home. Although Alexander acknowledges that the yearly expense for private math tutoring can add up, typically ranging between $1,000 and $2,000, he has a plan to further reduce costs and improve accessibility.
With the BYOM Program and highly competent, multilingual teachers, their cost will drop to a surprisingly low price of $5 an hour or $40 per month on a subscription, resulting in an impressive 82% savings. It will bring award-winning education to the doorstep of every American family.
3. Effective Use of Resources
Among the early phase AI tutors available today, few have matched the standard and engagement of a real live tutor. Alexander Kolchinsky believes his solution will significantly advance the Online Tutor Landscape by incorporating AI tutors. He plans to dedicate a panel on the tutor dashboard to facilitate this integration. Tutors will be able to manage details and teach up to 10 students simultaneously while still delivering personalized and interactive sessions. This approach leverages global tutors more effectively, reducing the need for a large number of tutors while maintaining a high impact.
“Basically, more students will be taught, more efficiently, and those left out before will be included.”
The Competitive Landscape
The race for dominance in online AI has begun without a clear starting point. America is now in a concerning position, with its AI output falling behind China. The Chinese are investing in American companies to train their software engineers here, only to bring them back to China. To stay competitive, we must ensure ample access to local math tutors so American children can take Silicon Valley positions and have a chance to outperform their international peers.
In China, according to Kathor, R. (2017), the online English teaching business Liulishuo (Mandarin for “Speak Fluently”), branded as an “AI English Teacher,” has skyrocketed, gaining 600,000 paying users within a year of its launch. It aligns with China’s national ambition to become the “world’s premier artificial intelligence innovation center,” as noted by Kathor (2017).
Conversely, the US finds itself lagging in this AI race. Kathor (2017) observes that Chinese academics have surged ahead by publishing twice as many academic papers as their US counterparts despite their lower quality. Subsequently, China began registering patents at a staggering rate of 190 percent more than the US, which only saw a 26 percent increase. It’s clear that the US must refuel and accelerate its efforts to maintain its global position in AI innovation.
AI Vs. Live Tutors
We acknowledge that AI tutors will only partially replace live tutors in the next 10 to 20 years. Our goal is to make the highly sought-after service of private tutoring cost less than a gourmet sandwich. This initiative will also introduce students to AI early on, fostering curiosity and adaptability in younger students regarding AI.
Developing high-quality, fully AI tutors will only be possible in the next 10-20 years. However, the hybrid model proposed by Russian Math Tutors will develop rapidly and be implemented quickly. This model offers several additional advantages:
- AI can provide personalized and engaging lessons that cater to individual student needs.
- Students in remote areas can access top-tier tutoring without the need for travel.
- This model makes highly skilled tutors available to students who might not otherwise have had access.
- Students will have the chance to test AI tutoring independently, reducing future misgivings about working with AI.
Final Thoughts
Russian Math Tutors is changing the game in education by combining traditional teaching with modern technology. Their focus on making high-quality math tutoring affordable and accessible is setting a new standard. With their innovative use of AI and online platforms, they are making it easier for more students to benefit from top-notch instruction. As they keep improving and expanding, they are helping more students succeed and making great education available to everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What’s wrong with traditional math education?
Answer: The only problem is that it is not affordable for lower income earning families; otherwise, human tutors are still the predominant choice. AI tutors are a help to Real Life Tutors to reach more students in an economical way, using Russian Math’s unique method to add value.
Q2. Why should we worry about developments in AI? What does math have to do with AI?
Answer: At RMT we use math as a medium to teach kids how to do problem solving, think independently and critically. It means they are taught Holistic, Life-long learning skills that will aid them in both future career and life, in general. With Holistic learning, students will always be one-up on machine intelligence.
About the Author
By Alexander Kolchinsky
Russian Math Tutors, June 19, 2024, San Jose, CA, USA
Alexander Kolchinsky, who immigrated to the US from the Soviet Union in 1974, was deeply interested in Soviet math education methods. Aiming to bridge the gap, he envisioned bringing this approach to American students in primary and secondary schools.
Leveraging the latest Learning Management System (LMS) technologies, Kolchinsky built upon the foundation of the Yo!Coach platform. He significantly enhanced the platform by introducing features like scheduling multiple classes, recording lesson videos, and integrating a marketing funnel.
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