Sara Bourne, Chemistry Tutor

Just wanted to add my praise for Sara Bourne as an AP Chem tutor. We just finished with the year. At BHS it is common take AP Chem as a 10th grader, so our student, like many others, had no previous experience with chem. The class is  focused on the exam, with very rapid run throughs of practice material. This style works well for people who can get their mind around treating the subject like a pure puzzle: you definitely learn the tricks, with little time for tangents or  "why" questions. Our student was very distracted by "why," and could be found slowly puzzling over the tests when almost everybody else had finished. Finally we heard about Sara, who has a wonderfully clear style of explaining things, is very positive, patient, and encouraging and always willing to talk about "why." Chemistry concepts, notation, and even the constants can seem very weird without experience; at one point in the class the students were told to us the natural log instead of common log to get the right answer. On one hand, that's as easy as choosing the right button on the calculator, but on the other hand, what happens if you say: "what's a natural log?" Sara expects and understands questions like these and is more than ready with a answer! We're so glad we found her.