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Ethan

Certified Tutor

I have been a private tutor since 2006, working with a range of students from grades 3+ in a variety of subjects from test prep and study skills, to history and government, to mathematics and the sciences. My students have enjoyed understanding concepts through problem solving, emphasizing understanding over rote memorization. Since moving up to the northeast, I have taught multiple levels of mathematics at the university level. I have experience in helping students keep up with their studies and well as designing plans to help students advance through material at an accelerated pace. My academic interests are in resource economics though I have training in mathematics, the natural sciences, and public policy. Through my interests in music, teaching, and research the most valuable skill I have learned is the ability to communicate material in a clear and approachable manner. Past students have remarked that my teaching style is animated and are surprised at their ability to focus and understand concepts even after a long day of school, practice, or work. When I am not teaching or grading papers, I can usually be found playing some brass instrument or another, umpiring baseball, trying out a new recipe in the kitchen, or spending far too much time on Netflix.

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Ethan’s Qualifications
Education & Certification

Undergraduate Degree: Harvard University - Bachelor in Arts, Environmental Science and Public Policy

Test Scores
ACT Composite: 36
ACT English: 35
ACT Math: 36
ACT Reading: 36
ACT Science: 35
SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1510
SAT Math: 760
SAT Verbal: 750
GRE Quantitative: 168
GRE Verbal: 166
Hobbies

Music, Theater, Baseball, Local Restaurants

What is your teaching philosophy?

Everyone learns at their own pace. But, everyone learns faster when the material is interesting and applicable. Many caution to not lose the forest for the trees. In my research, my teaching, and music, I always try to keep in mind the context and applications of the material I wish to communicate.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I usually have students send me diagnostic material before the first session. That way, the first order of business is getting to know who you are and what your interests are. Then, we'll dive right into some material and, over the course of the session, develop a plan for how to cover content and strategies for the road ahead.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

The challenge I give myself every session is to make the content applicable, exciting, and interesting. I feel that if I can do that AND set specific, achievable, short term goals for my students, they will begin to become more proactive and independent about their preparation of the material.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

Everyone learns differently. If a student isn't getting a concept immediately, I'll try to explain the concept in a few different ways. Then, we'll walk through some applications of the concept and think about some real world examples. If it's still not making sense, we'll put it to the side and come back to it later after thinking about related topics that may make more sense.

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

I'm a big fan of marking up passages and making sure the students digest what they read. If reading comprehension is an issue, we will likely try to summarize the main idea of each paragraph of a passage together with a short informative phrase. This will give us a quick reference point for when we need to answer questions about the passage.