Hi, I’m Paula.
Once you get to know me,
I think you'll see
what I mean.
Tutoring is my calling.
Once you get to know me,
I think you'll see what I mean.
My Foundation
From my earliest memories, my mother taught me one thing above everything else: people are what matter. She had a habit of asking unusual questions. We'd be driving down I-5 and she'd point to a stranger and ask, "What color socks do you think he's wearing?" She wasn't asking me to guess correctly. She was teaching me that every person has a life I can't see.
At the same time, my dad taught me some basic Native American ways. He taught me that nature has its own balance, and fighting against it only brings trouble. Even when I don't understand it, I've learned to trust the way things naturally are.
As a teenager, those lessons became more than theory. Understanding people without trying to change them became the way I made sense of the world.
People are what matter.
Every person has a life I can't see.
People are what matter.
Every person has a life I can't see.
What my struggles taught me
I know what it feels like to sit in a classroom feeling lost and alone.
School and I did not get along. Not because I wasn't capable, but because nobody ever taught me how to learn. Information was just supposed to soak in somehow, and when it didn't, I was left to figure it out on my own.
My parents are still surprised that I do this for a living. I tell them it's because I'm on the other side of similar struggles many of my students are facing. I let my students be human. I don’t need them to be anything other than who they are when they walk in the door.
My first student was Danny, a student in my high school's special education program. I just treated Danny the way I treat everyone else. I was curious about him and wanted to understand what was really getting in his way. Instead of forcing a sequence of steps, I started with where he was and helped him from there. Soon, his teacher told me he was doing better than he had in years.
School and I did not get along. Not because I wasn't capable, but because nobody ever taught me how to learn. Information was just supposed to soak in somehow, and when it didn't, I was left to figure it out on my own.
My parents are still surprised that I do this for a living. I tell them it's because I'm on the other side of similar struggles many of my students are facing. I let my students be human. I don’t need them to be anything other than who they are when they walk in the door.
My first student was Danny, a student in my high school's special education program. I just treated Danny the way I treat everyone else. I was curious about him and wanted to understand what was really getting in his way. Instead of forcing a sequence of steps, I started with where he was and helped him from there. Soon, his teacher told me he was doing better than he had in years.
I began tutoring professionally in 2008. At the end of that school year, two of my students, Ben and Cameron, were moving on to a math class that was beyond me. I told them honestly that I couldn't help them anymore.
Ben looked me dead in the eye and said with a smile, "I don't care. You'll figure it out. I'm not leaving, and you will teach me."
Cameron folded his arms and said, "You can't leave us hanging."
So I taught myself pre-calculus. Later, I taught myself trigonometry and calculus too. My people needed help, and I just couldn't let them down.
A few years after my time with Ben and Cameron, I moved to California to help raise my nephew. In September 2012, Exponential Tutoring helped its first student.
More than a decade later, I'm grateful to every family who has trusted me with their child. Thank you for giving me a place where I get to be who I am.
I began tutoring professionally in 2008. At the end of that school year, two of my students, Ben and Cameron, were moving on to a math class that was beyond me. I told them honestly, I couldn't help them anymore.
So I taught myself precalculus. Later, I taught myself trigonometry and calculus too.
Not long after my time with Ben and Cameron, I moved to Ventura to help raise my nephew. In September 2012, Exponential Tutoring helped its first student.
More than a decade later, I'm grateful to every family who has trusted me with their child and helped me become part of this community. Thank you for giving me a place where I get to be who I am.
Ben looked me dead in the eye and said with a smile, "I don't care. You'll figure it out. I'm not leaving, and you will teach me."
Cameron folded his arms and said, "You can't leave us hanging."
My Path to Exponential Tutoring
My people needed help, and I just couldn’t let them down
I began tutoring professionally in 2008. At the end of that school year, two of my students, Ben and Cameron, were moving on to a math class that was beyond me. I told them honestly, I couldn't help them anymore.
Ben looked me dead in the eye and said with a smile, "I don't care. You'll figure it out. I'm not leaving, and you will teach me."
Cameron folded his arms and said, "You can't leave us hanging."
So I taught myself precalculus. Later, I taught myself trigonometry and calculus too.
Not long after my time with Ben and Cameron, I moved to Ventura to help raise my nephew. In September 2012, Exponential Tutoring helped its first student.
More than a decade later, I'm grateful to every family who has trusted me with their child and helped me become part of this community. Thank you for giving me a place where I get to be who I am.
“Paula Morris changed my life when I started using her as a math tutor in high school. I had struggled with math my whole life, but Paula not only helped me succeed in math, she gave me space to be myself.
She has a huge heart for her students and helps them find their strengths.”
— Juliette
