PrepNow Tutor - Charles C.
“I have inspired my students in many ways: to do hard things, to be inventive, to take on really hard projects, to never quit,” says Charles, an honest, hard-working, and fun-loving educator. He attended the University of Houston, where he earned a bachelor’s in physics and a master’s in math. Charles spent over twenty-five years working as an applied mathematician. He spent that time inventing products, managing investment portfolios, and solving technical problems in business and manufacturing. His experience resulted in deep real-world knowledge so Charles became a teacher to pass along what he had learned. He has spent over a decade teaching high school physics, astronomy, and applied mathematics.
Charles equates learning math and physics to learning the piano. Neither subject requires memorization, rather they require practice. In conveying those subject matters, Charles has inspired many of his students to pursue careers in physics, engineering, and mathematics. Charles has tutored math and physics outside of his school; as a teacher, he teaches all physics courses (high school and early college) and everything in math from algebra and pre-calculus to trigonometry.
“I try to make learning of physics and math fun and intuitive,” Charles says. Math and physics can seem daunting, but Charles has a specific approach to engage students. First, he “sells” them on what he is teaching, explaining why the topic is cool or useful or beautiful. He then does example problems before giving the student problems to solve while he works interactively with them. “I have learned that many students are visual learners and learn best by ‘seeing’ a problem,” which is why he often will graph functions or use simulators to demonstrate a problem. In physics, of course, he does physical demonstrations.
As a college student, Charles’s favorite subject was orbital mechanics and rocket aerodynamics. Despite not wanting to be an astronaut, he was fascinated by the idea of space travel via wormholes. Once he became a high school teacher, he spent two years writing a textbook about the physics of space travel. In the process of writing and publishing, Charles worked with Gene Kranz—the head of Mission Control for the Apollo missions—and a number of other NASA legends. His collaborations with NASA don’t end there! He was also one of the speakers for Pi day at Space Center Houston. His demonstration was a mix of classical physics and more magical physics like relativity and quantum mechanics.
Never one to sit still, Charles enjoys tennis and riding bikes. He also flys both airplanes and drones recreationally. He spends a lot of time in art and science museums. Not surprisingly, he enjoys watching stars and planets in his telescope and imagining what is out there.
Charles is a devoted father who loves hanging out with his daughter. While she is now a teenager, when she was young, she often acted as his assistant for physics demonstrations. She was also the impetus behind the toy he invented and has since patented!
