After twenty years of teaching and tutoring mathematics at many levels, I’ve found that the real problem often lies with what I call DTSD—Disrupted Teaching Sequence Disorder. Math is highly structured, and understanding an advanced concept usually depends on mastery of more fundamental concepts that came before it. A student who never fully understands fractions may become intimidated when they begin appearing in algebra, and that weakness can later interfere with understanding trigonometric ratios. Likewise, students who do not understand exponents have little chance of making sense of logarithms. When one part of the sequence is disrupted, the resulting gap can follow a student for years, making increasingly advanced mathematics seem far more difficult.

Full Disclaimer – DTSD is not a medical or clinical diagnosis. It is merely a useful way to refer to a common educational problem. Disrupted Teaching is also not an attack on teachers. Life is unpredictable, and DTSD can happen when a student changes schools, a teacher has a life event (pregnancy, divorce, serious illness) during the term, a school district suddenly changes curriculum, or something happens personally with the student, such as physical injury or family trauma.

            Then there are societal disruptions to teaching. During the COVID Pandemic, nearly all education went online. Teachers were neither trained nor equipped to effectively deliver instruction through video apps that were made for business conferences and small meetings. Younger students missed out on fundamental skills like handwriting, learning to stand in lines, and basic social skills. Older students had to learn Algebra on a computer screen, often experiencing lag, static or disconnection, with no effective way to ask questions or provide feedback to the instructor. All of this took place against a backdrop of rising death tolls, social isolation, rapidly changing restrictions, and uncertainty about when—or whether—normal routines would return.

Whatever the original cause, DTSD becomes self-reinforcing. One missing prerequisite stops a student from understanding material that builds on it. Hard work does not change the outcome because the student is missing knowledge or procedures the new material assumes they know. When hard work does not translate into better grades, the student becomes frustrated, anxious, and possibly avoidant. These mindsets interfere with learning other concepts in the class, which widens the disruption. Missing prerequisites compound until the student experiences skill deficits as part of their identity: “I am Bad at Math”.

Tutoring can break this cycle. Good tutors will check for understanding, identify missing prerequisites, and back-trace those missing prerequisites as far as necessary. A good math tutor is prepared to teach fractions, algebra, trigonometry, and logarithms all in the same lesson if necessary. A good tutor is also supportive. Classroom teachers must maintain pacing, standards, and expectations for an entire class; a tutor can focus entirely on helping one student find the missing step and move forward.

Bad at Math is often a cover story – even when the student genuinely believes it. It can cover a lot of more specific things the student may not know how to articulate. “There are parts of math I never learned.” “I need to find out what step I am missing.” “I may be behind in math, but I am capable of learning and catching up.” Peeling back the broad conclusion to identify the specific skills a student needs can require more individual attention than a classroom teacher has time for. An experienced tutor can make a real difference. The goal is not simply to help a student survive the next test. It is to repair the sequence so that math can start making sense again.