Home / Physics Tutoring · La Grange
One-on-one AP Physics 1, AP Physics C, and honors physics with a Golden Apple-winning teacher. In-person across the western Chicago suburbs and online for students anywhere in the U.S.
From the first time a student sees a free-body diagram to the night before the AP exam.
Algebra-based physics covering kinematics, dynamics, energy, momentum, rotational motion, simple harmonic motion, and waves. Heavy emphasis on the kind of multi-step reasoning the free-response section demands.
Level · High School · College PrepCalculus-based physics for students serious about engineering, physics, or hard sciences in college. Mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and the underlying mathematical reasoning that holds it all together.
Level · Advanced High School · Early CollegeFor students moving fast through honors-level material — stronger problem sets, deeper conceptual demands, less time to fall behind. Sessions are tuned to whatever unit is in front of you this week.
Level · High School · HonorsStandard high school physics and introductory college physics. Whether the goal is just to pass, or to build a foundation strong enough to choose a STEM major later, the approach is the same: actual understanding, not memorized templates.
Level · High School · Intro CollegeBuilt around the student in front of me — not a fixed curriculum.
Most students don't struggle with physics because they're not capable. They struggle because the explanation never quite landed.— Aaron Podolner
Whether that's "I have a test Friday and I'm lost" or "I want a head start on AP Physics C this summer." No assumptions, no cookie-cutter starting point.
Every formula has a story behind it — what it's modeling, why it works, when it breaks. We work that story until the equation is the obvious thing rather than the mysterious thing.
For AP and final-exam prep, we drill the kind of free-response problems where memorized templates fail. The goal is a student who can think, not a student who can recognize.
Western Chicago suburbs in person — anywhere in the U.S. online.
I'm based in La Grange, Illinois and tutor in person across the surrounding western Chicago suburbs. For families farther out — or anyone who'd rather skip the drive — online sessions work just as well, and that's how I work with students across the United States.
If your town isn't on the list and you're somewhere nearby, ask. The list is conservative, not exclusive.
If yours isn't here, ask through the booking site.
AP Physics 1, AP Physics C (Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism), honors physics, and standard high school physics. I also work with students taking introductory college physics courses.
Both. In-person sessions are available across the western Chicago suburbs — La Grange, La Grange Park, Western Springs, Brookfield, Riverside, Oak Park, Hinsdale, and the surrounding area. Online sessions are available to students anywhere in the United States.
Sessions are one-on-one and built around what the student actually needs that week — whether that's current homework, a unit they're stuck on, exam prep, or filling in foundational gaps from earlier in the course. Every session prioritizes understanding the underlying physics over template-matching, because templates fail the moment a problem is worded slightly differently.
Yes. AP Physics 1 and AP Physics C exam prep is a significant part of what I do. My classroom students achieved a 98% pass rate on AP exams, and my tutoring approach uses the same emphasis on real reasoning and free-response problem solving that drove those results.
Primarily high school students taking physics for the first time through AP-level seniors, plus early college students in introductory physics courses. The approach scales to whatever level a student is working at.
Booking is handled through the Mr. Podo Physics Tutoring site at mrpodophysicstutoring.com, where you can see availability and reserve a session directly.
Whether it's a single session before a test or ongoing weekly tutoring through the school year, scheduling is handled through the Mr. Podo Physics Tutoring site.