What in the world
does English, Math & More do?
Since 2011, EMM has been in the business of delivering adults and teens shame-free, private tutoring, English lessons, and test prep, helping them pass academic courses and high stakes professional or school entrance exams (e.g., Praxis, CSET, CBEST, GRE, SAT, ACT, HSPT, IELTS, and US Naturalization). Sometimes, customers are stretched in unfamiliar ways that help them learn stuff they’ve gotten away with not knowing (or unlearning grammatical, mathematical, or pedagogical information and methods that are just straight up incorrect or harmful). Some customers just want to get ahead of the curve or enrich themselves to get a personal sense of satisfaction, and that’s okay, too.
At a Glance
Founder
Kenisha Carr (Pictured at Right)
Memberships
Modern Language Association, National Tutors Association, TESOL, and National Association of Mathematicians
My Background & How I Can Help You Get What You Want
I have a degree in English language and literature (with special emphasis on secondary education) and an ESL certification. Primarily, I teach English and language arts at the secondary and post-secondary levels (i.e., middle school, high school, college), but I have a knack for teaching math (specifically, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry), so I offer lessons in those areas, as well. Prepping students for standardized tests–CBEST, CSET: English, SAT, ACT, HSPT, GRE, US Naturalization (Civics and English)–is a strength and love a mine, too.
Focusing on students’ different learning modalities, goals, abilities, and interests helps me boost students’ confidence, which helps them achieve their academic goals. My tutoring and test prep students become optimally prepared for tests. Knowing tricky grammatical and mechanical principles or determining probabilities may not always be necessary in communicating basic ideas, but it helps in understanding broader ideas (in math, at least). This knowledge makes a big difference in determining students’ class placements, and it makes an even bigger difference when competing for college placements and scholarships. Show me a rightly placed preposition, and I’ll show you the money. While I love a good challenge, it’s disheartening to be approached by students (or parents of students) who earn A’s and B’s at school but can’t crack 1050 on the SAT, or who take an ESL course but can’t (or are afraid to) speak English (when necessary to meet a goal). There are standards to be met, and I do whatever I can to help my students meet or exceed them.
Let’s get busy getting you over your academic, professional, or personal hurdles.
The Story of English, Math & More
Which Way to Go?
Well, after leaving full-time teaching in early-2010, EMM’s owner, Kenisha, temped at Google for a year before taking a month-long trip to Dakar, Senegal. Knowing that she’s not a conventional vacationing kind of girl, she decided to spend time language swapping: she tried learning Wolof and French in exchange for offering English lessons. She never thought it would happen, but Kenisha fell in love with teaching again, which shouldn’t’ve been a surprise. As an old acquaintance of hers told her: “You’ll always be a teacher. It’s who you are.”
A Bit of Extra Motivation
Between that, issues at a niece’s school (such as her eight-year-old niece being dressed by her grandmother, for Halloween, as a member of The Black Panther Party but thinking she’d been a gang banger for Halloween because her teacher taught her class that members of The Black Panther Party for Self Defense were gang bangers with afros), and being frustrated by some issues occurring at her nephew’s school that could’ve been curbed with extra support at home, Kenisha found herself blabbing’, nearly nonstop, about learning.
A Swift Kick in the Behind
After listening to her complain one-too-many times, an aunt suggested that Kenisha “go get a small businessman’s loan and start [her] own education company.” No applications were ever submitted for a business loan, but Kenisha did find information about business development programs. In 2011, she joined one.
Starting the Service
That year, English, Math & More (or, EMM) was started as Fill Me In English Language Services. The initial intention was to offer English language lessons to speakers of languages other than English. As life would have it, though, between 2011 and 2014, Kenisha’s customer base became (mostly) filled by English-speaking adults who wanted help for themselves or their children that included math education, test preparation, accountability coaching, and editing. They needed the help, and Kenisha needed the business, so off they went, and here she is still helping folks — English speakers and non-English speakers, alike — leap over learning-, language-, and goal-related hurdles.
Frequently Asked Questions
SAT Reading, SAT Writing, SAT Math, CBEST Reading, CBEST Writing, CBEST Math, Praxis Core Reading, Praxis Core Writing, Praxis Core Math, ACT Reading, ACT Writing, ACT Math, ACT, Science, HSPT, United States Citizenship (Naturalization), ASVAB, GRE Reading, GRE Writing, GRE Quantitative, CSET English (Subtests 1-4), CSET: Multiple Subjects, GED
I’m sorry, but I can only determine that after meeting for a diagnostic session.
When you visit a competent doctor, he or she runs tests, asks questions, and observes you before trying to help you make improvements. Well, the same is true for the work I do. I can’t help you until after I’ve figured out what’s going on with you.
What I can tell you is that, on average, customers use 20 hours.
Currently, you have a choice of two (2) places to meet in Downtown Oakland, one (1) place to meet in East Oakland, and one (1) place to meet in Alameda.
Home visits occur on a ridiculously strict case-by-case basis. They cost a bit more, too, to accommodate for travel time, gas, and vehicle wear.
No. It is a coincidence that I only have photos and recordings of past customers who are speakers of Spanish and Chinese. I’ve worked with speakers of French, Brazilian Portuguese, Wolof, Pulaar, and Kiswahili.
Tutoring & Test Prep Sessions (Online): $49 – $59 per hour
English Lessons (Online): $49 – $59 per hour
Accountability Sessions (Online): $9 per session (Sessions last 2 hours.)
Proofreading: $.02 – $.05 per word
Editing: $.03 – $.06 per word
Audio Transcription: $1.99 – $3.99 per minute
-Each tutoring or test prep customer begins with a comprehensive diagnostic session.
-Written and oral assessments are used to gauge strengths and weaknesses.
-Periodic quizzes are administered; their regularity depends on how often students meet with me or how well students progress.
-Exit exams are administered at the end of students’ programs.
-Be on time.
-Consider shifting your priorities and invest adequate time and energy into getting the results you want.
-Openly communicate your needs, pleasures, and nots.
-Understand that while you may notice improvements as early as the first session, ultimate success will take time, so sustained efforts will be required.