Despite the norms of compulsory education, everyone learns differently; therefore, everyone is ready to learn different things at different paces, at different times. In every last one of us, optimal learning occurs when we positively and actively respond to a conscious awareness of our own individuality.

First, I seek to learn about a student's personal habits and preferences. All learning extends from our fundamental personality -- when we forget to account for personality, we often forget how to learn. Then I let them guide me through their current work, so that I can observe any weaknesses that may be present in their foundation. I find that we can always move forward from these two starting points.

I don't help them BECOME one -- I remind them that they ALREADY ARE an independent learner. Every concept must be actively taught to the self, even in the presence of a teacher, if it is to be understood. There is nothing inherently comprehensible about the phrase, "2 + 2 = 4." In order to think about any concept, however simple, our mind must break symbols into conceivable mental objects and then learn to move those objects around in our imaginations -- this process cannot be taught to anyone. It is essential to being a human being. Intellect is an innate component of our minds. My primary strategy of encouraging independence is to encourage students to give themselves more credit for the enormous amount of independence that they have already proven themselves to have. I also help them learn to more effectively use the Internet as a tool for learning. (i.e., I help them see that the Internet is much more than a repository for cat pictures and selfies.)

First, I find out WHY they're not motivated. There is an ENORMOUS variety of discouraging stimulation in this world. If, e.g., a student is demotivated because their parents have divorced, I sympathize with their loss, and with their very-accurate impression that there are more important things than school, while encouraging them to remember that continued intellectual growth is vital to their ability to transcend their current circumstances. If a kid feels frustrated by school, we discuss WHY, and if they have legitimate complaints (e.g., about the nature of the student body; after all, some social environments can be very irrationally hostile toward certain kinds of people), I point out that they will be better-equipped to improve these circumstances if they have a thorough understanding of the concepts that underlie these problematic relationships -- especially math, language, chemistry, biology, psychology, and history. If a student has illegitimate complaints, I will try to help them see the silliness or contradiction inherent to their perspectives, in a non-confrontational, nonjudgmental way. If a student just can't understand any good reason to be interested in an academic subject, I ask them about their personal hobbies, and we discuss the way in which those hobbies relate to that academic subject. Of course, none of my strategies is "set in stone" -- I try to be as flexible as possible in my response to every student, given that every one of us is unique.

That depends on why they're struggling, but, in general, I attempt to gather diverse resources that speak to their level of understanding. I genuinely believe that anyone can learn anything through appropriate exposure to the right information in the right context.

Aside from the probably-obvious (I walk them through examples, and break down passages with them), I encourage kids to spend more time reading, by referring them to material that speaks to their unique interests and abilities. All reading and writing trouble stems from a lack of practice in the art of carefully, patiently digesting literature -- many kids are discouraged from reading by the paradoxically rushed-but-rigorous (and often boring) practices of literary dissection that are so common in systems of compulsory education. In my experience, if you hand someone the RIGHT book, or the RIGHT link, they will want to read it, and they will AGGRESSIVELY make sense out of it. Unfortunately, the vast majority of schools apply a "one-size-fits-all" mentality, and force the same book on massive groups of significantly-different children, with widely varying interests, and a broad range of capacities for understanding. This NEVER works out for the majority of students, but sadly, schools continue to do this anyway. Inevitably, those kids who are prepared to like the given books, or who have practiced reading a lot, will do well on tests, while the remainder of the class will be immensely discouraged by their relative "failure" (compared to their peers who get much higher grades). The best thing for a student in this latter position is to discourage them from comparing their progress to that of others, and instead focus the student's attention toward reading material that actually intrigues THEM, even if that material is ENTIRELY extracurricular. All forms of reading practice are better than a complete lack thereof -- and kids do not get to practice reading in a patient, productive way when they're desperately trying to rush through an overwhelming chapter in search of "the important parts" that will be on their quizzes. They must be encouraged (but NOT forced) to get some other forms of practice.

Empathy and patience are absolutely essential to helping people grow. Every productive strategy is an expression of these traits.

I ask them questions and wait for them to explain what they know. If they can't clearly explain what they know, they don't yet know it well enough.

First, I might need to remind them that they are human, and that all humans possess an immeasurable capability for growth. Then, I might need to remind them that they must accept their current abilities in a peaceful and honest way, in order to move beyond them as quickly as possible. Then, we practice.

I talk to them about their challenges, and I attentively observe the difficulties that they encounter when they work through their current material.

I figure out what those needs happen to be, and I do my best to meet those needs by any possible strategy. I never apply strict, formulaic recipes to students -- each person needs something a little different from the last.

Every single concept in every single textbook in every single school can be learned in many different ways from the Internet, if your Google-Fu is strong.

I would identify various relationships between their personal interests and that subject, and I would help them learn about that subject through those relationships.