FAQ

TFF was started in the summer of 2011.

TFF was started in the summer of 2011.

Who founded TFF?

TFF founders are parents and grandparents of elementary/middle school children. The founders were looking for a math enrichment program for their children and could not find one that matched their expectations. After spending time working with their children, they realized that without consistency, proper homework, and a group environment it would be very difficult for them to develop passion for math in their children. This is how TFF was conceived, with the thought that other parents out there might be looking for the same. You can read about the qualifications of the founders under “About Founders”.

How does TFF compare to other math enrichment programs?

TFF is a program conceived by parents that didn’t find a compelling math enrichment program out there. We would leave it to you to compare TFF with other programs. The below summarizes what we believe should be offered by a Math enrichment program, which is what TFF offers.

♦ Classroom Instruction
♦ Weekly homework booklet
♦ Homework correction
♦ Homework should also allow for mechanical practice
♦ Focus on word problems
♦ Instruction and homework should target competetitive exams, MATHCOUNTS / AIME level or even more compelling
♦ Availability of problem solutions
♦ Program is motivating and engaging to keep students interested and excited to attend the classes
♦ A program for all ages. Continuity is key, so a strong program for students of all ages

Is TFF a franchise?

TFF is not a franchise. The program, the material and the methodology is all conceived and built by the TFF team. We adapt the program based on the strength of a class.

Who builds the TFF material?

The TFF team builds all the material. The TFF material have two aspects. The class books and the weekly hwk booklets. The class books are carefully crafted to replace those bulky heavy text books. We focus in making the learning enjoyable, simple and purposeful. Students and parents can review the class book to learn what was taught and discussed in class. The weekly homework are built to give the student the required practice to assimilate the various concepts learned in the school year. TFF has been granted permission from Continental Math, Math Olympiads and MATHCOUNTS to use their problems as long as they quote them. More than half the problems in the class book and homework, are written by the TFF founders. We also designed many mechanical pages to give children a lot of mechanical practice, and also variety of practice to nail a specific concept.

Who are the teachers at TFF?

TFF hires the best high school students to teach the elementary and middle school programs. We are very particular in the method used to solve problems, and as such we make sure teachers follow the procedure, and focus on the right things. These teachers have won accolades in math competitions, are class presidents and scout leaders. TFF believes that younger children would like to learn from their older peers and these older peers can make the class more enjoyable and fun for the students! TFF’s high school program is taught by professionals who have 15+ years of experience and have been very successful in their chosen careers.

What is the minimum age for a child to join TFF?

TFF caters to students from Kindergarten to High School.

How long is the TFF program?

TFF school year program is from September to June. Classes meet once a week. TFF has students from 1st grade through high school.

Can a child join the program in the middle of the school year?

TFF staff tests the students before they are placed in the program. Students can join in the middle of the school year if we decide that the student can cope up with the demands of the class. This might require the student to take some special classes at TFF to catch up on missed material. Usually we prefer parents to engage and catch them up; they will be required to buy all class units that were covered so far.

How many students are there in a class?

TFF fosters group learning, and most importantly group games to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Our classes will have a minimum of 6 students and a maximum of 12 students, although having 12 students in a class is rare.

What is the teacher to student ratio in the classroom and in the Lab?

For the lower levels, if we have more than 6 students in a class, we might have 2 teachers in the classroom to make sure all students get done with the work in their class books.

How will parents know what was discussed in class?

Students work on their class units during the class. Parents can review the units to go over solutions and new topics covered.

What do students do in the Lab?

Students will get homework help and will go over last week’s homework corrections. The rest of the time, students play Lightning Math, Jeopardy and a variety of table games, puzzles, build objects using origami, build geometric solids, etc.

How many homework are there in a year?

In a school year, there will be 36 classes with booklets.

How long would it take a student to complete the weekly homework?

New students to TFF take about 2.5 hours to complete the weekly homework booklet. Students who are used to our program take about 1.5 hours to complete the same booklet. As the student gets used to word problems, they will be able to complete the homework faster without much help from parents.

How much parental involvement is expected?

As with any program, parent involvement is crucial for the success of the child. Though parents are not expected to correct the child’s homework or teach them new concepts, they are encouraged to take an active interest in what their child is doing and help them through the problem solving process. We also encourage parents to go through the corrected homework with their child.

We do understand that sometimes parents might be teaching differently; that is perfectly fine as far as the student is not getting confused; moreover parents can also look at the class book for guidance. Any method that gets a student to understand a problem and solve it intelligently to get to the right answer is perfectly acceptable. If we do see the student is getting confused because of different approaches we will touch base with the parents. In reality there are not many different approaches for the same problem; so possibility for confusion is quiet limited.

Are homework answers / solutions available?

Homework solutions / answers are available in the tablets at TFF. Weekly homework answers are also posted online on our website. Parents can have students check their homework problems solutions based on the answers.

Can a student choose not to do the homework?

Students can choose not to do the weekly homework. This will adversely affect the student’s performance in the TFF class / tests.

Are homework grades important?

TFF staff look at the students homework grades and test scores to decide on promoting to the next level. Consistently getting low grades in the homework would mean that the current level is not right for the student and would be recommended to do a lower level.

Who grades the homework?

TFF staff will grade the homework turned in by the students.

What is the late homework policy?

All homework booklets are property of TFF. Every homework booklet will have to be turned in complete or incomplete. Late homework will not be corrected.

What material gets covered in every homework?

Weekly homework will consist of 40% mechanical operations to develop speed and accuracy, 50% analytical problem solving, and 10% puzzles and brain teasers.

Homework will not only cover current topics, but will also cover ANY topic the student has learned before. This is the only way we can help the student not forget earlier concepts learned.