Mathnasium Reviews

The tutoring approaches that were challenging that were pushed on us to teach, did not always work well for the kids and ended up causing rework in the tutoring process. This did not bode well when there were 4-6 kids at the table that all expected equal amounts of help for the short time they were there. The approach was to teach in under a couple minutes, give a problem to solve, and move to the next child which could mean not getting back to that child for several minutes. This would leave a negative impression on the child and parent and make the tutor look bad - not the program. Additionally, there were typically a child or two at the table with attention issues that could be very disruptive and ruin an entire session for the others but management didn't care to address that issue swiftly, so it also would create negative feedback.

Again, this is specifically for the Santa Monica center and not corporate HQ. I was a Center Director at the time I worked there: 1) Owner is micromanaging to an extreme -- he has used the security cameras to instruct employees how to behave (giving notes as extreme as telling people to face certain directions at specific times). That being said, he also frequently changes his mind on what the priorities are and is rather abrasive in the way that he tells employees what he wants. 2) I cannot speak for how the situation is now since it's been some time since I worked there, but at the time that I worked there, there was only one tutor who was solid on higher level math. This would lead to him being constantly in demand and the other tutors being unable to help students who were at a more advanced level. 3) There were issues with staff undermining instructions from management. They are all mostly college students who (understandably) want to have fun and chat with each other, but they'd frequently lose sight of the fact that they were there to work and could be irresponsible. In this case, it didn't help that management was also inconsistent, but from my experience, there were some times when rules had been established for quite some time (ex. taking out the trash at the end of a shift) and they still wouldn't do it despite constant reminders. 4) Some of the kids were difficult and misbehaved, which distracted the kids who were there to learn. 5) Some of the parents were difficult and demanding, to the point of interrupting tutoring sessions to "helicopter". Others were also lackadaisical in their attitudes about picking up their children, which led to management having to stay late to wait with kids while their parents came to pick them up (often without much of an excuse as to why they were late). Many of these parents were also lackadaisical in their attitude about paying tuition on time, which is another issue entirely... 6) Management tried to cut costs by pinching pennies. They would frequently send tutors home with no notice to save money on paying them for their entire shift. This was awkward to do as a Center Director because I was frequently told "Go on the floor and send _____ home right now" and led to low morale. It also led to being short-staffed later because a rush of students would come in right when tutors had gone home -- again, priorities shifting on a dime and seemingly on a whim by management. 7) The schedule was pretty all-encompassing -- Monday-Thursday 11-8, off Fridays, then weekends 10-2. It was hard to have much work-life balance. 8) No healthcare benefits (at least at the time I worked there).