Lara Berman: Unleashing Student Potential with Get That Grade Tutoring

When you think tutoring is just a crutch for the struggling student, think again. This episode features Lara Behrmann, the innovative mind behind Get that Grade Tutoring, who's flipping that script to show how personalized education is the secret ally for both learners in need and overachievers reaching for the stars. Together, we uncover the diverse impacts of custom-tailored teaching, showcase strategies for various learning styles, and discuss overcoming educational hurdles like dyscalculia. Lara also sheds light on the surprising benefits of virtual learning environments and how they can be as engaging as the traditional classroom.

Beyond the textbooks and lesson plans, Lara Behrmann's fervor for teaching intertwines with her love for family. Our conversation traverses the personal triumphs that come with being an educator dedicated to genuinely understanding each student. Get that Grade Tutoring isn't just about mastering algebra or acing the next test—it's about forging meaningful relationships and nurturing a deep, long-term comprehension. Keen on unlocking your child's potential or just curious about the transformative power of individualized learning? Lara and her team might hold the key. 

Contact Get that Grade Tutoring:
561-213-5027
www.gtgtutoring.com

Local Living is a community podcast for Palm Beach to Parkland. Are You A Local Business, Resident, Leader or Non-Profit? If so, we would love to have you on the podcast!
Go to www.locallivingpodcast.com for all of the info.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Welcome, welcome everyone to episode number 22 of Local Living. I'm David Conway, I'll be your host today and I met today's guest a couple of weeks ago. Extremely impressive woman. She's got a great local business, the kind of business where if you're a parent, grandparent, you may have a son or daughter that needs a little help in school. This is where you need to go. I want to introduce Laura Berman. She is the founder of Get that Grade Tutoring. Laura, welcome to Local Living.

Speaker 2: 0:50

Hi, thank you so much.

Speaker 1: 0:52

You bet Real pleasure to have you today and just want to start off by having you tell our listeners a little bit more about Get that Grade Tutoring.

Speaker 2: 1:01

Absolutely, thank you. So I actually started my company in 2013 after I had been teaching at a couple of different schools. I've taught IB visual arts for about six years. I actually went to school for political science and social economics and ended up getting an internship at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Washington DC and while I was there, I worked with curriculum throughout different refugees camps in Africa and I became very involved in what it entails and all of that.

Speaker 2: 1:41

So when I came back to Boca, I got into teaching, worked with a lot of different people and decided, based on the fact that every kid is so different and everybody learns differently. Whether it's an audio, you know they are an audio learner or a visual learner, or they need those, those manipulatives. So we I decided that working within the constriction or the constructs of a classroom made it much too difficult for me to give every single child what they needed, and I was getting very frustrated. So I decided to open a company and we I work very hard to find teachers who are the right fit for my company, because we want to make sure that they're able to teach the same concept in 40 different ways, because we want to make sure that every kid has that relationship with the tutor and enjoys the session. We want to make it fun because that relationship, that connection and enjoying yourself is 90% of the challenge, right?

Speaker 2: 2:42

And so I started the company about 10 years ago. I have about 30 incredible teachers, tutors, educators who work with me, and we just work with kids all the way from pre-K up until college level. We have people who work with teachers doing their teaching degrees or their teaching certificates, as well, as I have a tutor who does LSAT MCAT, so we go all the way through SAT ACT. I have play-based learning for the preschool kids and we just put the teachers with those strengths into the different areas that they need to be, and that's how we do it.

Speaker 1: 3:20

So you're helping students that may be falling a little bit behind in their curriculum, or they may just need a little extra help, they may want to excel, but I heard you say you also do SAT prep and what have you. Is that right?

Speaker 2: 3:35

So we actually don't just work with kids who are struggling. It's a common misconception. In fact. I just worked with a student the other day who was like I told my mom I didn't want to do this because I'm not stupid, I don't even need tutoring. I said, well, let's put the brakes on for one second, because I work with kids who literally are going to Cornell. I have somebody who just got into Harvard, I have a kid going to Columbia next year.

Speaker 2: 4:02

So we work with the top echelon of kids, all the way with kids. I mean, we have tons of kids who struggle, you know, have different learning abilities, who are not typical learners, and so the point of my company and what we do is to provide what each student needs. And so a lot of parents will call me and be like how many sessions do you think we need for SAT and ACT? I said, well, I've never met your child. Let me meet your child, do a diagnostic and see.

Speaker 2: 4:32

We may have a kid who's got all the concepts down and we need one lesson to teach them the approaches, where we may have a child who has huge foundational gaps and I may need 20 lessons to get them caught up to where they should be. So the aim of my company is to diagnose where students are in their learning and in their journey and then provide what they need to achieve their goals. So if we have someone who wants to go to Cornell and they're already in 18 AP classes and volunteering and interning, then we're there to help them excel, get further ahead and prepare them for what's coming up. Whereas we may have kids who have dyslexia or dyscalculia or who really struggle with the learning, and so then we need to bring it in and say, ok, this is what you need to know in order to get to this next step, and so let's figure out a way to get you to learn it. So if we have somebody who loves being outdoors, let's figure out how to tie that in so that it becomes something that interests them.

Speaker 1: 5:38

Now excuse my ignorance. You mentioned this calculator. I'm guessing is that the math version of dyslexia.

Speaker 2: 5:46

Yes, exactly, so they actually don't have a hard time reading. You know alphabet and actually reading, but numbers flip upside down, turn backwards. It's decoding the actual numbers rather than the letters in the alphabet, and dyslexia can sometimes incorporate both. A lot of people just say, oh, dyslexia and it's umbrella, but technically you can have a lot of students who are fine with English. I have tons of students who are incredible with their English, but the math is just a massive struggle for them because decoding it is just not possible.

Speaker 1: 6:24

So a couple of years ago, when we were all doing the homeschooling, I noticed with my kids it was tough just keeping them there, just keeping them in front of that screen. But I know that education so much of it is virtual now. Are there some tips or some suggestions that you could give our listeners to helping their kids excel?

Speaker 2: 6:49

Absolutely so. I actually have been teaching online since before I started my company. I used to use a program called Scribbler and Skype. We used to Skype and use Scribbler, but as the years have progressed and things like Zoom have become an option, it's become a much better tool for people to use, especially when doing in-person is not feasible or you find the perfect fit, the perfect tutor with the right qualifications and the right personality, but they just cannot physically meet up with you.

Speaker 2: 7:30

You want to make sure that you have a tutor who isn't just jumping on FaceTime with you and talking. You have to have somebody who's interacting. It needs to be set up in a way that the students feel like you're sitting next to them. So, for example, when myself or one of my tutors do a virtual session, we have tablets where we write. What we're writing shows up on the screen. We make sure that whatever book the student has we have at the same time. So if I say turn to page 24, I'm on page 24 too. If I need to write something, I write it, they see it and they have the same. They can annotate and write onto the screen so that I can see what they're doing.

Speaker 2: 8:12

It has to be a constant exchange of communication and the tutor needs to be very on top of it. So I'll be watching and I'll be like what are you doing? Nothing. I'm like you're on your phone. Put it away. How do you know? I didn't even lift it up. I can see it. It's reflecting in your eyes. I noticed the light on the wall. As a tutor teaching virtually, your senses have to be on a much higher end of the spectrum than somebody sitting in a classroom who's going to look at their phone or whatever it is. So I think that if you're doing virtual, which can be a very successful tool, just to make sure that you take away whatever distractions, if you know your child really will be on their phone, take it away before the session. But other than that, I think if the tutor is the right fit and can engage the student, you would get the same outcome through virtual as you.

Speaker 1: 9:08

So I do understand that probably any student could benefit from tutoring in order to become the best version of themselves educationally. Far as being proactive as parents, to understanding when I should make that call before we're in the second grading period we already bombed the first. Are there some cues or some things that students may give off? Or, as parents, what guidance can you give us there?

Speaker 2: 9:49

So I believe that all students are capable of doing any subject. You know, I often have people who say, oh, I can't do math, I'm so bad at math, I can't do English, I just don't get it. And I have to continually tell them that confidence is what makes the difference. And so one of the biggest signs I see and I have a little, I have a seven-year-old, almost eight-year-old too, and in first grade I don't know why it went into his head, how it got into his head, but he would continually tell me I can't do math, I'm bad at math. And until we managed to change his mind, he bombed every single one of his math tests. And once we were able, he had a student teacher this year and I don't know she was a special person because she constantly built his confidence. And, wow, he did such a great job, you're so good at math. And one day he came home and he had a letter from her and in her letter she had written I'm so proud of you. Your math has gone from, you know, really struggling. You're now one of the best in the class of math. And now math is his favorite subject. He's had a hundred on every test since then.

Speaker 2: 11:00

And what that tells me and I've seen it time and time and time again as a teacher is that confidence is the key. If somebody believes they can do it, they may need help understanding the concept, but once they believe they can do it, they will understand that concept and they will be able to thrive with it. And so one of the things that I tell parents all the time because they're like well, I'm not sure if we should do tutoring If your child doesn't believe that they can do it, you need tutoring, because we're not there just to teach them the concept. We're there to use the positive Wow, that was great, try again. You're doing so well, I'm really proud of you.

Speaker 2: 11:39

Oh, my gosh, that was amazing. And the more confidence they build, the more independent they're going to become. And we don't believe in what we call band-aid tutoring. I don't believe in just teaching them a concept so that they get an A on a test. I want them to build that confidence and eventually be able to be like oh, you know what we got this, we don't need you anymore. Thank you so much, laura. You are great. We'll refer you to some friends, because that is the goal of tutoring it's to get them to work on their own.

Speaker 1: 12:05

Quick question. So you've got a student and they say dad or mom, I really don't know why I need to know the different tectonic plates or what the faults are called. How am I ever going to use that in life? And my response on the inside is well, education helps you become a more interesting person, You're going to lead a more fulfilling life. But I know that's not going to translate to a 12-year-old, so answer that question for me. Why do they need to know that?

Speaker 2: 12:45

So I actually agree. I think that there are lots of gaps in the education system that could be filled with more interesting information that students will need you know in their future. But learning things that they won't need is not really about learning that concept. As you said, tectonic plate so when am I going to need to know the Pythagorean theorem? Right, I get that all the time. I'm a math teacher and if I tell you at least once a class, I get asked when am I ever going to use this?

Speaker 2: 13:22

It's not about the information, it's about the way you think.

Speaker 2: 13:26

Okay, so we want to create synapses that create different neural pathways in your brain, and every time you learn something new, whether you're learning to decode a formula or input information into a formula, or how tectonic plates move, or how the tectonic plates movement connects to an earthquake thousands of miles away, which then will cause a tsunami on the other side of the world.

Speaker 2: 13:51

Understanding those connections and building a foundation of neural pathways is really the purpose of learning these outside facts, Understanding how things come together, understanding why one thing causes another thing. They may forget it in two weeks' time, but that neural pathway has now been created and the next time they are asked a question about wait, why is the bottom of the tie flat when the nail's at the top? Their brain is able to comprehend. Well, hold on one second. There is a cause and effect. The nail's in the bottom, so the air's coming out, so the tie is flat on the bottom but round on the top. Ok, now I get it. And so it's not really about the information that they're getting. It's more about building the critical thinking, the neural pathways, the expanding of understanding of connections, of material, if that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 14:44

It does make sense. And let me ask you, if I can switch a little bit here, change direction. I know that, I know you're a mom, I know you're teaching and tutoring from morning till night. So when you're not teaching or tutoring or building your business, what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 2: 15:11

What do you like to do? For fun, that's a good, I mean, guys are the limit. So travel, take my kids. But really and truly, what do I like to do? I love being with my family. As you said, I work a lot During the week. I'm 9 to 5, actually way longer than 9 to 5, more like 8 to 9.30 working. So when I have my weekends free, I grab my kids, we go to Meisner, we we spend a lot of time there. There's actually some really great um what they call nature reserves, like the Loxahatchee nature reserve on four foot one.

Speaker 2: 15:46

We like to go hiking through there, walking around. I love being outside, we love the beach, you know, just kind of spending time with my family. And actually a lot of the time is spent during my free time helping my son with projects. I love it. We sit together, we do projects, we build different things, we work on STEM projects. I have two kids, but my older one is in primary school. The other one is still in preschool. So my oldest son, you know he he loves reading things and coming up with things and we'll build something that we'll build a fake robot out of a box or. You know, we spend a lot of time just hanging out building creativity. I'm not a big tv video game person. I, like my mother's, a theater teacher, so creativity, just out there doing that sort of thing, is what we like doing.

Speaker 1: 16:40

You know, I just heard you say, for the person who is teaching and tutoring all day long for fun, she likes to help her children with school projects. You were born to do what you do.

Speaker 2: 16:58

You were born.

Speaker 2: 16:59

It's funny that you pick up on that and say that, because I often say you know when people are like, oh, if I win the lottery I'm going to do X, y and Z, and I say all the time, if I won the lottery I would still continue teaching. Maybe I'd do a little bit less. Maybe instead of 8 am till 9, 30 pm I would do like a more nine to five type thing. But I absolutely love it. I love that every day I get to connect with a different kid, I get to learn their stories, I get to help them when they're struggling. If I tell you how many kids the first five minutes of the lesson are telling me about a kid that bullied them or a kid who said something mean, and I'm able to give them advice. And the next time I see them, oh, my gosh, lara, I said X, y and Z, and now we're hanging out, we're friends, you know, and just being able to like and interact with kids and hear about their day, and it's every two hours. It's something new, it's a new kid, it's a new thing, and then seeing their growth and their improvement from where they start.

Speaker 2: 17:56

I actually side note I had a kid that I've homeschooled now since she was in second grade. She's a tennis player and she just got accepted into Cornell to play for the Cornell team and she's graduating high school and I was literally online with her yesterday crying and I was like I don't know how am I going to go without seeing you? I've seen you for the last 10 years. You know it's it's hard. It's hard because these are my little babies, but I try to keep in touch with them all. They add me on Facebook or Instagram and stuff. But I do. I love it. I love my job, I love what I do. It's interesting, I learn and it's just. It's a nice place to be. It's nice to be able to wake up and enjoy what I do every day.

Speaker 1: 18:41

I can feel your passion, so I want you to share something that our listeners are going to get when they call Get that Grade Tutoring. Can you tell us something about the experience that they can expect?

Speaker 2: 18:57

Okay. So I have a motto Get that Grade Tutoring Learning Made Fun, but it's so much more than that. When people call my company, I've mentioned it a couple of different ways, but we truly don't want to be the company that provides you with this band-aid tutoring. So when you call us, the first thing that we're going to ask is what is your child like, you know? Do they? Are they shy? Are they outgoing? You know what? Are they struggling with that type of thing?

Speaker 2: 19:30

So the first phase is going to be really to pay you with a tutor, because you could have the best teacher in the world but not have a good connection with them. You're going to learn nothing. You could have a mediocre teacher, but the most incredible connection and love them. You are going to get so much more out of that year than you would in any other year. So our first goal is to make that connection and match you with somebody who is going to be a good match.

Speaker 2: 19:56

And then, once that happens, that tutor's job is going to be to find out what motivates that student. Are they motivated by animals? Are they motivated by being outdoors? Do they like talking about video games? And once they've identified what the motivation for that student is then understand what type of student they are Are they an audible learner, are they a visual learner and create classes that are not only fun and engaging, but that are going to stimulate the student in a way that they have not been stimulated before, you know, and so that is our goal. Our goal is to make sure that we identify anything that they're struggling with, create a connection and then teach it to them in a way that they are going to digest it and retain it to become confident to work on their own. That is the ultimate goal.

Speaker 1: 20:41

And how can we get a hold of you? What's the best way to reach out?

Speaker 2: 20:45

Well, I've got my cell phone all the time, so text message is usually best, because if I'm with a student I won't answer the phone. What's the? Number yeah, the number is 561-710-8416. Or just email me at gtgtutoringcom and fill in a request. Submission online.

Speaker 1: 21:16

Laura, it's been a pleasure to have you today.

Speaker 2: 21:19

Oh, it was such a pleasure talking to you too, David. Thank you.

Speaker 1: 21:22

And once again, everyone. That was Laura Berman. She's the founder of Get that Grade Tutoring. I'm David Conway, your host for Local Living. We thank you for joining us today and we look forward to seeing you next time.