PERSONAL HISTORY 

Fred Ebert was raised in Bergen County, NJ by two educators. His mother taught at a one room schoolhouse in Virginia after attending college. His father was a musician who played 13 instruments and was the director of education for one of the largest public school systems in the state. Fred studied dance (tap, jazz, and ballet) for 15 years and taught tap dance.

He helped his high school (Dwight-Englewood School in NJ) win the regional fencing championship in foil and saber and ran on the cross country team. He headed the chess team and they won the regional championship. He was a child actor from ages 9 to 14 to earn the money to attend an Ivy League school. He was accepted to all the Ivy League schools to which he applied, and chose Princeton.

Fred attended Princeton University (undergraduate and graduate school) to earn the education to become a professor of mathematics in the Connecticut College System. He’s now retired. His degrees are in aerospace engineering and physics. While at Princeton, Fred tutored the children of faculty members in science and mathematics.

Fred funded his education as a child actor, appearing in TV commercials, radio theater, TV specials, and Broadway theater. He also did many voice overs, including dubbing foreign films for the CBS Afterschool Specials.

He hosted the highly rated “Stump the Professor” radio show that aired on KFI (Los Angeles), KIRO (Seattle), and KOA (Denver) and others. The show addressed any caller’s science questions and the platform was used to introduce non-scientists to the beauty of science and mathematics.

Fred functioned as a research scientist for United Technologies and holds 8 US patents in control theory and weapons guidance. He held top secret special compartmentalized clearance as a consultant to the armed services and intelligence agencies. More than 20 years ago, he developed artificial intelligence systems with learning algorithms and the ability to rewrite their code based on their statistical observations.

He has been honored to support our troops as a consultant. While he was too young for the Vietnam War and too old for the conflicts in the Middle East, he has been able to offer our brave men and women tools that assist them in protecting the freedoms we all hold so dear. Among other soldiers, he has worked with the SEALs to provide them with equipment and tactics that increase their already impressive skill sets. This was very rewarding work for Fred.

He has always tutored high school and college students, following graduate school, using the philosophy that learning does not occur on a clock, and sessions should be driven by goals and not hours. Having two learning disabilities himself, Fred had to adjust the way he thought to fit into and thrive in a world “made” for central tendency learners. These disabilities have strengthened his ability to teach others with disabilities. He has developed a unique pedagogy called “Freducation” that partially mimics the structure of an oral exam, where the student, with focus and coaching, does most of the work during the lesson by explaining the meaning behind the topic and describing how to apply the given material to problem solving. This not only drives grades upward but also increases confidence and self-esteem. It is vital to success that a lesson not be stopped because the hour is done; the goal of mastery of the topic must be accomplished. Along with subject learning, organizational and study skills are concurrently taught with the unique student’s needs and abilities driving this process.

Fred teaches ALL levels of high school and college science and mathematics. This goes well beyond what K-12 “Learning Centers” can provide. And we do so at a greatly lower price, because they view learning as “on the clock” and will stop a lesson at the one-hour mark, even if 15 more minutes would make the difference between understanding and continued confusion about the material. Our course selection covers the “usual courses”: physics and chemistry, algebra I & II, geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus, and calculus I & II. We also offer calculus III & IV, differential equations, set theory, quantum theory, topology, modern physics (relativity), organic chemistry, and many others. We go well beyond what ANY franchise “learning center” can provide. Parents have also given our “Study Skills and Organization/Time Management” course high marks. We assist the student in the long process of becoming a mature, adult learner.

Fred has been married to a fellow educator for over 25 years. While they do not have children of their own, they take the education of others’ children very seriously and draw great pleasure in watching students thrive and become competent scientists and teachers themselves. They care for them as if they were their parents. No sacrifice within reason is considered too much in assuring their mastery of scholastics.

Our corporate philosophy embraces public service and we have supported a local shelter for decades. When a student cares to assist us, they are welcomed and those students have come to appreciate something “bigger than they.” We also, upon occasion, employ students to work for us and they have told us that this opportunity shaped them in a positive way and prepared them to thrive in the workplace. We feel that learning goes further than just getting homework assignments handed in on time and scoring well on tests. Students have verbalized that our view that they are “more than a student” helped their development in a positive way that they value long after they have graduated.

Fred is well versed on using multimedia technologies to perform education at a distance. If a student is away at college or in high school in another country, he has already mastered the learning curve of Zoom, FaceTime, and shared “whiteboards” during a lesson. In fact, he learned and practiced this decades before the pandemic, and is now letting others “play catch up.” Whether at a distance or in person, we have a proven pedagogy. Your child is ready from day one to thrive under our care. As a cautionary note, sometimes students do not fully appreciate how difficult a course will become or which subjects in a course are mandatory for ultimate success. They think, erroneously, that they can do it all by themselves. This takes too much of their time and does not lead to rapid increases in understanding. If the parents trust our abilities and track record and avoid the temptation to take the path of least resistance and “give in” to their children, then we can make great strides. Usually, a student who turns down our expertise is looking to avoid accountability or play video games rather than forestall immediate pleasure for a greater accomplishment. In other words, when we have the parents as active partners in our goal to help their children become great students, we can accomplish even more. Usually, the student comes to accept our help as they themselves see the changes we are helping to forge.

We will work with small groups or pods of students looking to take the same standardized test or small groups of students in the same class, provided they are relatively near each other in ability. We also will work one on one in person or via the internet. Feel free to check out our offered services in math tutoring, chemistry tutoring, physics tutoring, and test prep.