My teaching philosophy is to listen first. There's no one-best-way to teach; every student has different skills they need to develop. While two students might both need help with essay writing, one student may be struggling with syntax and grammar and the other might be struggling with overall essay structure. Because it is a more intimate, one-on-one setting, tutoring is a great opportunity to figure out exactly which skills a student needs help with. Listening is the first step in this process. Once it's clear what a student needs help with, my next step is to test different teaching methods to see which one the student best responds to. Practice questions might be best for one student, while clear and concise explanation might be best for another student. The key is to be empathetic and adaptable enough to sense when a student is engaged, when they are not, and to be willing to try different teaching methods until finding one that works for each student.

Have a conversation. In a first session, I want the student to tell me what they need help with. I want to look over an essay, a homework assignment, or whatever the student is struggling with, and have them show me where they're having trouble. I also want to get a sense of who the student is as a person- are they outgoing or shy? How do they think? Is there a subject that they excel at and a subject they struggle with? I want to use all of this information to tailor a tutoring program that I think will work for the student.

By helping them find their strengths. So much of learning is having the confidence to believe that you can learn anything you set your mind to. I want to help students build this confidence by helping them improve in areas where they are struggling. And I want them to be excited about learning too. When students get excited, they start to seek out the knowledge on their own accord, which makes learning much easier.

Positive feedback. Even if a student is struggling with their work, I want to constantly emphasize the things they are doing well.

Try to figure out why they're having trouble. Usually, if a student is struggling to grasp a skill or a concept, it's because there is underlying knowledge or training that they haven't had. My job is to be able to pinpoint the foundational concepts that a student must grasp before they can grasp the more complex concept.

By teaching them how to distinguish between major and minor points in a text. Especially in literature, authors often embed key plot points amidst flowery detail and excessive description. I would open a text with the student and work through specific passages, some essential and some non-essential, to help them begin to develop the ability to distinguish between the two.

Excitement. The best tutoring experiences I've had have been the ones where both the student and I get excited about what we're doing. At that point, we're working together to solve problems, and when we arrive at the answer, it's a moment of triumph that we can both celebrate together.

By being excited about it myself. If I'm bored, the student is going to be bored. If I'm excited, it can be infectious. That's why I want to tutor English- because I naturally get excited about English, which makes it easy for kids to join in on my excitement.

Have them show me that they understand by answering practice questions.

Incrementally. I think building confidence starts with getting one question right, then two, and then developing a firm grasp over entire categories of questions, and then moving on to new categories. As students begin to be successful with individual questions, they build up to becoming successful in the subject as a whole.

By listening to them. I would let the student explain to me and show me what they are struggling with.

By figuring out what they are need help with, then testing different teaching methods until finding one that works.

I prefer to work with paper and pen. Sometimes I find computers distracting, and I like to be able to pen notes and underline passages in the tutoring materials. If I'm working with a student on an essay, I'll usually ask them to print it out.