John
Certified Tutor
I am a passionate educator with extensive experience working with kids and adolescents in and out of the classroom. I have a New York State teaching certification and a master's degree in Elementary Education (grades 1-6) from the Relay Graduate School of Education. I received my B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College, graduating in 2014. I have spent much of my time in the last 12 years teaching and coaching kids of all ages and backgrounds. My content knowledge spans all subjects for elementary education, with a focus in English and Math. I am also a proficient Spanish-speaker, and am available for test preparation, college essay writing, high school reading and writing help, preparing for high-level college experiences, or other inquiries. Outside of academics, I thoroughly enjoy traveling, I am an avid reader, writer, and I love soccer Academic progress is always possible! I look forward to meeting you.
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Undergraduate Degree: Dartmouth College - Bachelors, Psychology
Graduate Degree: Relay Graduate School of Education - Masters, Childhood Education (1-6)
traveling, reading, skiing, going to the beach, soccer, writing, politics, education
- ACT English
- ACT Reading
- ACT Writing
- American Literature
- Elementary School
- Elementary School Math
- Elementary School Reading
- Elementary School Science
- Elementary School Writing
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- High School English
- High School Level American Literature
- High School Writing
- ISEE Prep
- ISEE-Lower Level Mathematics Achievement
- ISEE-Lower Level Quantitative Reasoning
- Languages
- Math
- Middle School Reading
- Middle School Reading Comprehension
- Middle School Writing
- Other
- Public Speaking
- SAT Reading
- SAT Writing and Language
- Science
- Spanish
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Spanish 3
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
You can't teach a student you don't know, so getting to know your students is critical. Everyone can improve on the skills or subjects they're working on. Look at a problem from a positive mindset, and use what you have and what you know to be more successful.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I think the most important thing is to get to know the student academically outside of the classroom, understand what his or her goals are for the sessions, learn about what sort of issues they may have been having with a certain subject, and try to figure out what strategies might work best with this student. This can be achieved through activities, games, or in conversation, depending on the age and what the student wants. Then, get down to business trying to assess the student academically.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
A student can become an independent learner by identifying strategies they like, and then having a tutor help them utilize those strategies. Students can learn how to ask smart questions, and use what they know to tackle things they don't know. Strategies and habits are key.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Coming up with immediate, short, and long-term goals are very important, as well as recognizing and celebrating the accomplishment of those goals. Try to focus on where the student wants to be in the future, and connect this work to getting there. At times, take a break and look at the big picture; laugh while we work.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Problem-solve, and assess where the difficulty is coming from. Is the student not understanding what is being asked, is the student lacking baseline understandings of previous concepts, or is the student skipping or missing steps in a process? Break the skill or concept down and work our way back up.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
First, focus on what kind of strategies are we using while reading. Is the student annotating? Is the student using strategies to understand words that are difficult? Focus on the main idea of each paragraph, and go from there. Identify what it is mostly about, who the audience is, and general comprehension. From there, we can move towards understanding the whole text. It requires a deep analysis of paragraphs and connecting them to the whole text.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Getting to know a student, helping them feel successful, finding commonalities in our lives, showing them that I am dedicated to their success, and starting small and working towards more difficult material.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
There are a few different approaches. I could connect the subject to things they are interested in so I can help get the student excited. I could also show the student research about growth-mindsets, and explain to them that improvement is truly possible. I could also find games that can help with baseline skills.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would introduce the skill, work on the skill with the student, move to independent work, give questions where the student has to apply knowledge to a new context, and check for understanding at the end. I would also have mini-checks for understanding along the way.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Make sure the goals are lofty but attainable, break the goals down into smaller steps, celebrate the successes, and be sure to look back at all the progress that has been made.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Through an assessment, conversation, looking through prior work, and continually learning about the student's habits.