Concord Resident Hopes To Help Local Students With SAT

CONCORD, N.C.,None — Ravi Prakash said he always had an interest in tutoring and teaching students. And after retiring as an engineer with IBM four years ago, that is just what he is doing.

Prakash has spent the last few years tutoring local high school students as they prepare for the math section of the SAT, and he plans to start another class next month.

"I wanted to make a career of teaching after I retired from IBM," Prakash said. "You hear about (us), as U.S. citizens, not having enough math and science, and those happen to be my strengths."

In the past, Prakash found himself helping his own children, their friends and children of his friends.

That was when he first had to the idea to offer tutoring. He decided tutoring for the SAT was a good way to help students because it is so important for getting accepted into college.

"What I learned from (helping others) was how to orchestrate class," Prakash said.

The first of his eight tutoring sessions begins with the students taking a test in "The Official SAT Study Guide," second edition, by the College Board.

Students then score themselves, and Prakash goes through the various problems within the test.

His way of teaching during all the sessions, though, is for the students to try and answer their questions, rather than just being told the answers.

"My emphasis is on how to approach the problem, how to rationalize and quickly come to the answer," Prakash said.

After several years of offering the tutoring sessions, Prakash has learned what works best.

Prakash previously provided free tutoring sessions in the afternoon at the library and other sessions in the evening at a cost.

He said he found that those who paid for the class were more motivated and improved in their scores greater, so he will charge for all of the upcoming sessions. The total cost is $300.

Because Prakash did not want to be paid for offering the sessions, he decided to use the money for scholarships for students graduating from local high schools. Previously, five Concord High School seniors received them, he said.

After tutoring for several years, Prakash also found that having a small group works best, so the maximum amount of students he will tutor is 10.

Linda Barnett, of Concord, said having the small group was great for her daughter, Katherine Barnett, a former student of Prakash's.

"She felt very comfortable asking questions and feeding off other kids," Barnett said. "The smaller setting made it more comfortable for her."

After receiving the tutoring, Katherine's SAT score went up, and she is now a student at North Carolina State University.

"His class helped her in that, and I heard that from others," Barnett said.

She added that she also appreciated that Prakash has and will continue to use to money from the tutoring sessions to provide scholarships to local students.

"I just love the fact that he wasn't satisfied with only doing the course," Barnett said.

Prakash said he just hopes to give back to the community and help challenge students.

"To me, there is no more happiness than, five years down the line, a student acknowledging that somebody has helped (them)," Prakash said. "That will be the most satisfaction I can derive from these things."

For more information about the tutoring, email raviprakash102000@yahoo.com.

WSOC