Joshua: Downey tutor

Certified Tutor

Other than the amazing feeling you get when you see a student understand something you are teaching and the joy and pride in their face when they get something right, when it finally clicks, I just have always wanted to help students that struggled with the subjects I used to struggle with. A lot of teachers nowadays don't have the passion and love for teaching that is needed to truly help students and have them enjoy being in classes and learn. A lot of teachers don't have the patience to truly sit down and help a student until they understand the concept they are struggling with. I want to help students the way I would've wanted to be helped.
Honestly, every experience I have had working with students has been wonderful. Sure, there are times where a couple students have acted out and not listened to me, but after a few tries of just getting to know and understand I am here to help them, they started to listen and, little by little, understand what I was trying to teach them. Like I said before, there is just something so fulfilling when you see the look of relief, joy, and pride in the face of another student when they finally understand something they have been struggling with.
I attended the Church Farm School in Exton, PA up till my sophomore year, when Covid started. During Covid I unfortunately lost my uncle, who we were living with at the time, which meant we lost our home and had to move. We had a home in PR so we moved there and did homeschooling via Monarch AOP and then, in the second semester of my senior year, I attended and graduated from The Kingdom Christian Academy in Dorado, PR. At the moment, I am currently attending the University of Puerto Rico in Bayamon.
I am in my first year of university right now and am working towards getting my Bachelor's degree in Preschool and Elementary Education and my teaching license.
I tutor in the subjects of Math K - 10 (that includes PreAlgebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry), English up to the 8th grade, and Fine and Visual Arts.
My favorite subject to tutor is Math, mainly because I find it fun and relaxing since it's the subject I am the most comfortable in and have tutored in the most. I also just enjoy seeing the faces of the students when they finally understand a concept in Math since I know that Math tends to be one of the trickiest and most difficult subjects for most students.
I believe that all students are different and unique. That all students have a different way of learning and that NO student is stupid or lacking the potential to grow and learn. A lot of the time it just takes teaching the student in a different way that matches the way they are more comfortable learning in. I want to create a space where students can feel comfortable getting things wrong and not be embarrassed or ashamed. Failing is part of the process and path to success. Without failures there would be no way for you to learn. I want to create a space where students can grow to their full potential and be the best students they can be.
When it comes to my tutoring style, I tend to do a mix of visual, social, auditory, and logical learning. Here's an example: I would write on the board (or drawing software) the math problem and draw out the steps in a clear and concise manner that has many cues, arrows, circles that lead the students' eyes to the more important parts of each step (visual learning). I read aloud the steps, once written out, first and then explain each step using the drawings I made (auditory and logical learning). Afterwards, I would ask the students to ask me questions and try to start a conversation based on the topic and problem to help those struggling to understand the way I solved the problem on the board (social learning).
Outside of academia, I enjoy animating, coding and working on small games, working on art commissions, playing tennis, and just driving. Driving tends to be one of the most peaceful and calming activities for me.