Alison: Quebec City tutor

Certified Tutor

My teaching philosophy has been influenced by my experiences as an educator on both the basic and the higher education levels. My first teaching position was as an Adjunct Professor at an open enrollment community college in the suburbs of Washington, DC. My classrooms at the community college consisted of students aged 18 to retirees who came from the DC metro area and countries all over the world. Working with such a varied student population taught me that there is no singular right way to teach a student. Diversity in education inspires innovation, experimentation and growth.

As a teacher in an urban setting for the past three years, I have continued to grow as an educator. I have spent the last two years teaching middle school in Ward 8 in Washington, DC. While many students in Ward 8 may look similar to an outside observer, a closer look reveals complex individuals with diverse educational, social and emotional needs. In this environment I strove to solidify my understanding of what it means to be a teacher. A 'good teacher' has to be ready to change, to be willing to admit when an assignment or learning strategy has fallen short of the mark and when traditional teaching methods have to be reassessed and reformulated. A 'good teacher' grows with his or her students and all parties leave the classroom as more highly skilled learners and teachers than they were when they arrived.

First and foremost, my students come to the classroom to learn, in whatever form learning may take. I remind my students that this is a collective process: the student has an obligation to work hard and to desire improvement, and the teacher has an obligation to meet the needs of his or her students, giving them the tools they need to learn. I plan to bring this teaching philosophy to my work as a tutor. We will work together to build the skills necessary for success.