Teacher Feature | Introducing Eddie L.

At Pacific Preparatory, we are so lucky to work with the most thoughtful and inspiring instructors, all who bring lessons to life with engaging connections to student interests and their community. This month, we are excited to celebrate Eddie!

Meet Eddie! With 25 years of experience teaching high school and junior high math, Eddie has guided students through every level of math in both private and public schools across the Bay Area. He has a remarkable track record in preparing students for standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, AMC8, AMC10, and ISEE, and served as a dedicated MATHCOUNTS Coach for over 15 years. Eddie’s students have achieved impressive results, with over 30 middle schoolers scoring above 700 on the SAT Math section and more than ten earning perfect 800s. His MATHCOUNTS teams have consistently placed in the top three at the Diablo Chapter Competition, including three first-place finishes, and eight of his teams have advanced to the state level. Eddie is also experienced in leading and managing both math and athletic programs. His teaching philosophy centers on challenging students while supporting their unique learning journeys with engaging and enjoyable methods. Outside the classroom, Eddie is a competitive year round swim coach in San Francisco and has two teenage daughters. He has run and owned his own swimming and water polo programs for the last 25 years, and he swam Division 1 in college for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He is excited to bring his passion and expertise to Pacific Preparatory, helping every student build confidence and find joy in math.

What do you find most rewarding about working one-on-one with students?

The entire experience from start to end is extremely rewarding for me when working with a student of any age or level. More specifically, I love to see their confidence improve throughout our sessions, as they often start needing a lot of prompting when solving a complicated word problem. Throughout our sessions, noticing that they can eventually navigate independently with the plan and approach for these application problems is a really great feeling that I have prepared them well to be self-sufficient and problem solve on their own. One of my goals for the students I work with is to prepare them for success in future classes for the rest of their educational experience. It is a very fulfilling feeling when my former students come back several years later and tell me how well I prepared them for their higher level math classes, tests, and competitions.  I also am excited for them to see how proud they are of themselves for improvements in their current grades and test scores.

How do you approach helping a student who’s feeling stuck or unmotivated?

I have used many different methods and strategies for helping students truly comprehend critical math skills and concepts. The use of manipulatives and diagrams has really helped younger students avoid memorizing processes, and instead learning what they are actually doing to a deeper level. These manipulatives can be used online or in person and can include: fraction circles, base ten blocks, decimal grids, number lines, area models, and more. These can even be very helpful and useful for Algebra and Geometry students with examples including: balance equation scales, algebra tiles, geometric 3-d solids, and charts/pictures to dissect challenging word problem applications.  

How do you keep sessions engaging and fun while staying focused on goals?

I prioritize ensuring that my sessions and classes include fun and engaging components. I feel that it’s very important to make the learning process challenging and structured but at the same time enjoyable and exciting for my students no matter what their age and level might be. I integrate challenges, games, and competitions for the students to become passionate and competitive with during their sessions. They can be motivated in this way to apply what is taught in a manner that is entertaining and educational. My students thrive when reviewing the concepts through different activities with examples including: math bingo, ratio relays, pizza fractions, equation building games, and more. In my years of teaching, I have discovered many online resources that help reinforce concepts in a really fun way while maintaining a focus on the learning goals and skill improvements. These have been best used as a follow up or reward to prior structured lessons, independent practice, and student guidance and can even be integrated into solving higher level math application problems to a deeper level.