Sarah
Certified Tutor
I am multi-media artist and educator working at intersections of audio documentary, performance, and media literacy. I have worked with middle and high school students in a variety of settings and contexts, teaching visual and performing arts, journalism, politics, and art history in classrooms, museums and other non-profit organizations, and in community-based mentorships in New York, Chicago, and Vienna. Through these experiences, I have developed a diverse skill set to address challenges to individual learning and growth.
Dedicated to supporting differences in learning styles and abilities among individual students, as well as differences in life experiences and cultural identities, I have experience working with students from a wide variety of backgrounds, including students speaking and writing in English as a second or foreign language. I am particularly passionate about working with students on writing, and helping them develop as critical readers and listeners. I love sharing resources with students, and helping them expand and deepen their interests.
As a 2014-2015 Fulbright Fellow I participated in the Masters in Critical Studies program at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. I received a BA from the University of Chicago in Visual Arts and Anthropology in 2012.
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Undergraduate Degree: University of Chicago - Bachelors, Anthropology and Visual Art
Graduate Degree: Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien - Masters, Critical Studies (Fulbright Fellowship)
Art, radio, social documentary, dance, basketball, martial arts
- 10th Grade Reading
- 10th Grade Writing
- 11th Grade Reading
- 11th Grade Writing
- 12th Grade Reading
- 12th Grade Writing
- 9th Grade Writing
- ACT Writing
- Adult Literacy
- American Literature
- Anthropology
- AP Art History
- Art
- Art History
- College English
- College Essays
- College Level American Literature
- Comparative Literature
- Creative Writing
- Drawing
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- ESL/ELL
- Essay Editing
- Expository Writing
- Fiction Writing
- High School English
- High School Level American Literature
- High School Writing
- Homework Support
- Journalism
- Literature
- Other
- Painting
- Photography
- Poetry Writing
- PSAT Critical Reading
- PSAT Writing Skills
- Public Speaking
- SAT Writing and Language
- Social Studies
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I approach my work as an educator—within art education organizations, classrooms, in community spaces, and in one-on-one tutoring—as an active process of simultaneously creating access to language, and collaboratively creating new language. I am committed to helping students develop and strengthen their voices, and increasing media literacy, empowering students to approach their worlds critically and with great curiosity.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I love learning what students are really curious about, and providing resources for them to deepen their knowledge and interests.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would first review the way that the skill or concept has already been introduced to the student, to try to identify where the difficulty lies. Then I would try introducing the skill or concept in a new way.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
It is often helpful to slow down when reading is difficult. When students struggle with reading, I try focusing on a shorter passage of text, and talk through all of the details within the reading. Depending on the student, I also try reading out loud, and discussing the bigger themes and questions posed by the reading.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
It's very important to me to make sure students feel comfortable asking me questions. I ask them questions about their studies but also about other things that they are interested in, to get a better sense of how I can make the subjects they are learning relevant to them as individuals.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
It's important to make sure a student who is struggling feels safe asking for help when they need it, so I would first try to make it clear that I am there to support them! Then I would try to relate the subject to other subjects or activities that I know the student cares about, so that the topic feels more relevant.