About The MathDoc
Welcome!
My name is Feenix Pan, and I’m the founder of Door-2-Math. Of course I have help with website design, marketing, and bookeeping, but when it comes to students, I do the teaching exclusively.
As a child, I struggled with math. If that isn’t bad enough, I come from a family of professors and scientists. Talk about pressure!
‘Fortunately for me, I did eventually get some help and overcame my math handicap to earn 3 advanced degrees in science and engineering. But the math struggle that I endured as a child shaped my thinking and outlook through out my academic career. In graduate schools, I had opportunities to teach at undergraduate level, I would not just put in the hours, but made sure that my students got it. I must have done something right, because I received teaching awards at two different universities!
When it came time to graduate from the U of Arizona with a PhD in Optical Sciences (#1 program in the nation) I had a choice of accepting one of several job offers, or choose a path where my passions lie. Contrary to the advise of professors, colleagues and relatives, I chose to dedicate my career helping students who struggle in math. I believe that it’s not the math but the fear of math that’s limiting our potential. And this is what I’m still doing full-time today, making a difference one student at a time!
Since founding Door-2-Math in 2002, I have worked one-on-one with over 100 families, as their children’s math coach and private educator, to rebuild math confidence and keep their academics ahead. (The number could easily be much higher if I use a cookie-cutter approach, but I want to only take on a handful of students at a time so that each student I take on can receive the my undivided attention when he/she needs).
Also as a mother of two school-age children, I consciously blend the parent’s perspective with that of an educator to a child’s math education. From these experiences, I have seen many adverse situations where students have triumphed and realized that math is conquerable. I have seen the joy on students faces and their parents’ pride at the first A ever on a test. I have worked with parents, students, and teachers from just about every type of school in Tucson (and Phoenix) and hope to use this experience to help many more students and their parents in the future.
On a personal note, tennis, cello and HoganDaz ice cream are ‘few of my favorite things’.
Best,
Feenix Pan