Henry
Certified Tutor
I'm a Boston University graduate with a B.A. in economics and history. I've tutored students in a wide range of subjects including world history, US history, macro/microeconomics, statistics, algebra, Spanish, and geography. Before becoming a tutor, I worked at multiple museums as a tour guide and class instructor. Everyone has subjects that give them more trouble than others, but I'm a firm believer that anything can be learned by anyone, and that learning is more about good habits and creative teaching techniques than it is about natural aptitude for a subject. I was personally able to test this idea when I changed my approach to learning Spanish after struggling for years in formal classes. After re-engineering my study strategy to complement my strengths and weaknesses, I was able to teach myself to be a fluent Spanish speaker in less than a year. With the lessons learned from this experience in mind, I seek to teach my students learning skills that help them get the grade they want in the short-term, but also prepare them to conquer future academic challenges in the long-term.
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Undergraduate Degree: Boston University - Bachelors, History and Economics
Hiking, Playing Basketball, Drawing, Reading, Practicing Spanish
- Algebra
- AP United States History
- AP US History
- AP World History
- College Geography
- College Level American History
- Economics
- European History
- Geography
- High School Geography
- High School Level American History
- History
- Math
- Other
- Social Studies
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
What is your teaching philosophy?
If motivation is a strong desire to accomplish something, then the first step to motivate a student is to establish appreciable and desirable incentives. This is best accomplished by identifying a goal through an open conversation. Sometimes the student is unaware that they even wanted something until they have said it themselves. In other cases, the student has difficulty identifying academic goals because they might not strongly desire a high score. In both of these scenarios, a free-flowing conversation between tutor and student is the best way to elicit a goal that will incentivize the student.
Even when a student strongly desires something or is clearly aware of what their goals are, it is very helpful to write the goal down and to form a plan for reaching that goal. Sometimes our personal objectives can be so great and effort intensive that we shrink before them. Developing a plan with many steps is an effective way to help students maintain motivation and focus. The sense of success from completing each portion of the plan will boost confidence and encourage further effort. Creating a detailed and multi-tiered plan will also help students manage distractions and challenges. Instead of being overwhelmed by the demands of the larger goal, the student can maintain focus by adopting a one step at a time approach.
The tutor's job is to oversee the development and execution of this plan. A tutor cannot do the work for the student, but they can promote a resilient attitude towards challenges by providing encouragement. Reminding a student of their strengths is one way of encouraging the type of confidence that drives a rigorous work ethic. Tracking results and clearly linking progress with the student's efforts is an even more effective way of encouraging a student to keep going. A student's motivation and ambition are deeply personal feelings, but others can encourage their growth by inspiring a sense of personal competition. Nurturing this sense of personal competition requires clear goals, detailed plans, and consistent encouragement.