In a first session, I would like to begin by getting to know the student personally and discovering his/her learning type. I believe that a strong friendship is the basis of a successful tutor and student relationship. I desire to be more than just an academic guide, but also be able to serve as a mentor to the student. It is imperative that the student feel comfortable with me.

My teaching philosophy is to make learning enjoyable, as it has always been for me. I firmly believe in learning because the student is genuinely intrigued in the subject rather than studying to pass an exam. If I come across a student that is unenthused in a particular subject, I attempt to make it as fun as the material can be by integrating arts and crafts or music into the curriculum.

I can help a student become an independent learner by giving him/her techniques that they can use and develop on their own. Further, I would hope that in motivating students during our sessions that they would have more of an inclination to learn on their own.

I would help a student stay motivated by helping them to understand that to be able to achieve what we desire in life, we must put in the effort. I would not mean to pressure a student, however, I believe that when a student has a better understanding of living a balanced life, that they will be more inclined to be motivated in school if it means that they can simultaneously lead their social lives.

If a student has difficulty learning a concept, I would try and reintroduce it in different ways until we found one that worked best with the student. If the student still has difficulty after a period of time, I would take a break from it and come back to it later, with the intent that the student would be looking at it from a new perspective.

Foremost, I help students who are struggling with reading comprehension by explaining to them that they must not focus on every detail, but rather the larger picture of the passage. If a student gets caught up on difficult vocabulary that impedes upon their interpretation of the sentence, I help them find other ways to navigate the meaning of the sentence by using context clues.

I have found it most successful to begin working with a student by taking personality tests/learning tests so that the two of us might discover his/her best learning style and go forward from there.

I would help a student get excited/engaged with a subject in which they are struggling by attempting to make the material fun. If the subject is history, for example, I would have the student draw pictures instead of writing out a summary of the historical event. If the subject is math, I would teach the student a fun song/anagram to remember the material.

I would make sure that the student understands the material by having a conversation with them about the curriculum. I would ask for them to explain specific concepts to me verbally. I believe that until they can discuss a specific concept eloquently, that they have not yet mastered the material.

I build a student's confidence in a subject by beginning with the easiest concepts and rewarding the student when they have mastered them. I slowly push the student harder with more difficult concepts. If they are struggling, however, I will go back to basics with them. If the student can handle the more difficult concepts, I will slowly step back and allow for the student to learn increasingly more independently, until the student has their desired confidence in a particular subject.

I evaluate a student's needs by foremost discovering their learning type. From there, I will discuss with the student with what subjects they are struggling. I will then try to find the best way to integrate their learning style with their most challenging concepts. If possible, I will further get in contact with the student's teacher to understand from him/her with what the student is struggling and if the teacher could provide any further feedback that would benefit our tutoring sessions.

I adapt my tutoring styles to the student's preferred learning style. If a specific style is not working, then I will try another. It is all about trial and error. Whichever style has the most success rates with the student is what we will work on.