About Me
Hi, I’m Chris Chidlow, Founder of Leg Up Math Tutoring. I got the name from my male dog Alfie. When my wife and I take him out for a walk, he has to pee on EVERYTHING! That got me thinking about “Leg Up”, and obviously to give someone a “Leg Up” means to help them. I’m good at math and know from being a teacher that I was pretty good at helping kids too. So the name Leg Up Math Tutoring was born.
I’m a former high school math teacher who now tutors full time online, and I love it. Seriously! I know it’s not the most glamorous job (Online Math Tutor), but I’m my own boss and work with great kids from great families. Leg Up Math Tutoring is a one man show, just me. So below is a bit of a snapshot of the guy that will (hopefully) tutor your child for the next few years and help them improve their math confidence and academic grades.
I was always destined to be good at math. My grandmother lived with us when I was young and used to be a school teacher. On the holidays she would give me math problems and puzzles to do, probably to stop me from watching too much tv. At school I was always good at math, but I would often rush through the questions and make silly mistakes. Sometimes getting in trouble for messing around with my mates while others finished. It wasn’t until high school that I realised I should slow down and really read the question. That is when my math success started to show.
I did a mathematics degree out of high school because math was something I was good at. Following graduation, I worked in the Qld State Govt doing various roles in contracts and procurement, including a year in London. I was almost 30 when I decided to live and work in the Canadian Rockies (Banff). A few different jobs at a 5-star resort and a short lived attempt at being a golf teaching pro later, 6 months quickly become 10 years, and I ended up back in SE Qld wondering what career I was going to pursue.
I thought it was time to dust off the math degree and put it to work. A teacher friend said I would be perfect as a math teacher; ok let’s give it a go. First day back at uni and my professor advised we had a pop quiz. I wasn’t worried, I have a math degree (duh). I FAILED! (doh) A massive wake-up call, but I hadn’t really used math much in the past 20 years, so not surprising. That semester I studied hard and almost aced a 3hr, non-calculator year 10 math extension exam. Redemption! I still had some skills 😊
Now, teaching is hard. RESPECT to all the teachers out there, they are much tougher than me. But when I tutored before school and kids were asking questions and actually trying and thanked me afterwards, it felt good. A friend asked if I wanted to try online tutoring through his business part-time. I said yes immediately and loved it straight away. My life goal from then on was to start my own tutoring business, the sooner the better. I was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone, as I was always taught that you worked hard for someone else and received a regular pay cheque. Now nothing happened for the first 3-4 months, things started moving after 6-7 months then after 9 months I finally had enough after school clients to take the leap and go full time. I’ve never looked back. Every now and then my friends ask, “Will you ever go back to teaching?” I reply, “I won’t, you can’t make me!” And I’m serious. I love it that much that I will do anything to stay tutoring and so far, so good.
