Samantha: Montreal tutor
Certified Tutor
Passion! Zest for life! Love of cheese! These are three qualities that I hold dearly. I hope to bring that passion and high-energy quality to the students who I guide in their journey of learning (unless you have a dairy allergy - I am sorry, but will not force my beliefs upon you). I am a certified teacher in the state of Texas for Social Studies and English, grades 7-12. I just completed a student teaching internship in Lake Travis ISD, where I taught Pre-AP Texas and U.S. History. I received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Italian from The University of Texas at Austin, where I also devoted much of my energy to studying French and English. I studied abroad with the Rome Study Program in 2013, where I delved into Italian language, art, history and of course, food! While pursuing two degrees, I was in the leadership of the Creative Arts & Theatre Organization within the UT Austin Student Unions, There, I not only performed in nearly twenty shows, but also seized the opportunity to direct, compose, and play piano in an original full-scale musical! My involvement in theatrical leadership has developed into my love of teaching, the career I am currently pursuing today. As an educator, my belief is that all students should be pushed to their highest potential in a way that caters to their already expansive list of gifts and talents. The intensity of which I care for my student's success entails that I provide a dynamic, vibrant, and encouraging energy for my students, especially in the fields of college admissions essays, SAT/ACT prep, and AP test prep. I will work with you to ensure you feel prepared, confident, and able to tackle the challenges of your environment - your "stage", per se - and emerge with skills that are translatable to college and even life! And a love of cheese. I wrote my college admissions essay about the life-changing power of goat cheese and was accepted into every single university (including such names as UT Austin, The University of Chicago, Brown University, and NYU) that I applied to. Give me the opportunity to challenge you, and I will help you find your voice and your success as well!
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Undergraduate Degree: The University of Texas at Austin - Bachelors, History and Italian
- SAT Verbal: 700
- SAT Writing: 720
Music, cheese, traveling, spicy food, and dogs
- ACT English
- ACT Reading
- AP European History
- AP World History
- College English
- College Essays
- Comparative Literature
- Conversational Italian
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- Government
- High School English
- Italian
- Languages
- Literature
- PSAT Writing Skills
- Psychology
- Public Speaking
- Reading
- Social Sciences
- Social Studies
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
Respect, care, and passion drive students to believe that they can do well. I believe in challenging students and attempting to fully understand where they struggle, and work extensively with them to figure out their weak areas while amplifying their strengths. This renders a student more confident and capable in an area they may have originally perceived extremely difficult.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would love to assess the student's learning style - audio, visual, tactile, and such - by taking a learning test. It is also invaluable to sit with the student and set high but realistic goals with them to figure out where their boundaries and their skill sets lie. Especially in the areas of test prep, outlining test anxiety or fear can often be one of the biggest obstacles to conquering it. The first session with a student tends to be more on the diagnostic end, because without that, we could end up moving in the wrong direction for too long and render the rest of the future sessions counterproductive.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Students need structure. Setting some more concrete schedules or timetables can develop into healthier habits later on. For example, having the student fill out sheet where they have to do thirty minutes of SAT prep per day on an area they particularly struggle in can do wonders for their scores. The improvement is motivation: even slow progress is still progress. With that, encouragement of those said healthy habits renders them more confident students. Confident students, in my opinion, are independent students as well.