Amy
Certified Tutor
I have been a Certified teacher since 2014. I have taught every grade from kindergarten through 8th grade. some may have been in summer school, but I have also tutored kids in preK through Junior year in high school. I have helped kids get ready for elementary and middle SSAT tests, with great success. even if I myself have not taken the middle school SSAT test for Varsity. People often ask me why after 23 years working in different aspects of health care why I would want to become a teacher. and deal with other people's kids when I had a good job that I was really good at. I didn't have a response to that question right away. I had to sit with it a few moments and look at the big picture. And then, this is what I said to those people asking, I said,: Did you go to elementary school? oh yes they said, my fourth grade teacher was so cool. I asked: do you suppose that Doctor so and so went to elementary school? well I'm quite sure they did. why are you asking me these obvious questions? everyone who works here had to go to elementary school. I simply smiled that's my why. And I tutor because my seventh grade algebra teacher tutored me, an honors student who would get kicked out of honors if I did not at least get a B in his class that I was failing. Who taught 7 classes a day came to school 45 minutes early every day to help one student be successful in his class. That was a teacher who truly cared about education. and I wanted to strive to be like him.
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Undergraduate Degree: Saint Louis University-Main Campus - Bachelors, General Studies
Graduate Degree: University of Missouri St Louis - Masters, Elementary Education
Reading, Stained Glass, Jewelry making, hiking, biking, travel, board games, skill games, watercolor painting, clay bead making, cooking and baking,
- 1st Grade
- 2nd Grade
- 3rd Grade
- 4th Grade
- 5th Grade
- 6th Grade
- College English
- Comparative Literature
- Creative Writing
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School
- Elementary School Math
- Elementary School Reading
- Elementary School Writing
- English
- English Language Arts Substitute
- High School English
- Literature
- Math
- Middle School English
- Middle School Reading
- Middle School Reading Comprehension
- Middle School Writing
- Other
- Pre-Algebra
- Reading
- SSAT Prep
- SSAT- Elementary Level
- Substitute
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe that all kids have the potential to be successful in learning if they have the right guidance.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would want to talk with them and find out what they are having trouble with, and maybe why they are having trouble.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By giving them the necessary tools to find answers they need to be successful. And have a desire to find the answers on their own.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
By helping them be successful, and once they are successful and get a taste of it, I would hope they would want more.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would try to find another way to explain it to them, or help them find a way to solve the problem.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would go back to reading basics and teach them how to pick the text apart, and go over it with them step by step.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Doing an interest survey with them and find out what motivates them, what they like, how they learn best and so on. Also find out what they have difficulty understanding.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
By celebrating each little success they have in that subject until they are excited about it themselves, and have the growth mindset that they can be successful if they work hard.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Most of the time, a summative assessment of some sort and by looking at work they do on their own.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
By celebrating all the accomplishments in that subject, and showing them that they are capable of doing the work on their own.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Speaking with them and their parents, giving them a baseline assessment and by listening to what they tell me they need help with.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
First by assessing what the student’s needs are, and then by finding ways to meet them where they are academically.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
The student’s text and homework, along with supplemental work that I find on the internet or that I have access to by being a teacher.