Teaching is not just providing students with the right answers but rather getting students to ask the right questions so that they lead to the right answers. I encourage students to be reflective learners so that they realize their "mistakes" were actually clues/pieces to the solution. I recognize the diverse needs of students and positively support their academic and social growth every day in every way. Together, we will learn, grow, and celebrate success as we go.

If it's a long-term tutoring period, then I like to start off with a personal assessment of the student by asking about out their interests and what their academic strengths and weaknesses are. It's important to get to know the student so that I can meet their specific needs. I also like to go over expectations for tutoring sessions like doing the work, being respectful, breaks, etc.

Plain and simple, I will not give you the answers but I will definitely guide you to the answers. Depending on how you progress, I will know when to pull back and gradually you will become proficient on your own.

It's tough being a student - I totally get that! I help you stay motivated by praising your improvements, providing encouraging words, and helping you look at the big picture in that your value is not defined by a grade or percentage.

I ask questions specific to the skill or concept and look for evidence in the student's work to see where the difficulty is occurring, why it's occurring, and then break down the skill or concept in ways that the student comprehends it.

I offer different strategies for the student to use, which can range from taking notes to actively reading with sticky notes, as well as going over a comprehension question and finding the evidence in the text to support correct answer.

Provide them with real world contexts that involve the subject matter so that it's more relatable/applicable, and show the connections between their interests and the subject matter. For example, it could be when shopping for items being able to calculate the % discount off items to see if they're really saving money or not, and this is an obvious real world application of decimals/percentages. Lastly and honestly, it's ok to dislike a subject, but you still need to get through it so you can spend time on other things that are more important to you.

I just let the student attempt an assignment to see where he or she stands and work from there. When I meet the student where he/she is, it's easier for me to provide the appropriate support needed for him/her to learn. Most times there are gaps to fill in or concepts to revisit before they can catch up to where they are currently.