Alisha

Certified Tutor

I believe stories are powerful. This is probably because I was an English major. Across cultures and generations, stories have been used to convey concepts and ideas in a poignant way. I would like to share a few stories that helped form the four components of my teaching philosophy.

In order to receive an AA degree from my local community college, I was required to take a lab science classsomething I dreaded so much that I had managed to avoid it after my sophomore year of high school. I was terrified that I would fail. However, I was lucky enough to sign up for a class being taught by a professor who passionately loved the subject of Biology. Her lively, enthusiastic personality were the key to my success in college science. She would often stop mid-lecture and ask, "Isn't that cool?" in a very excited way. Her enthusiasm and passion were contagious. She taught me to be excited about the topic I'm teaching.

After I transferred to university, I signed up for a Women Writers class. The class required a great deal of reading and it was difficult to keep up. Yet nearly every class I remember hearing my professor say things like, "As I was reading this last night" or "last night I was looking up articles related to this topic." She was a tenured professor who has been teaching for over fifteen years yet she still took the time to read books again, scan articles, or do further research to plan our class sessions. She taught me to be extremely knowledgeable on the subject material.

The final semester before I graduated, I took a Literary Theory class. Sometimes I wish it had been the first class I took in college because it was such a great experience and we discussed so many of the "big" questions of life. It is the only class I have ever taken in which the class spontaneously started clapping and cheering for our professor on the last day. One of the reasons I think the term was so successful is that the teacher allowed us plenty of interaction and discussion time. She taught me how important it is to allow students to discuss the topic because this verbal processing can lead to greater insights/revelations about the material.

I have also been lucky enough to interact with many of my professors outside of the classroom. I still keep in contact with the professor who taught me in my first college class ten years ago. I remember sitting in his office one afternoon. Somehow we got on the topic of his job changing to a full-time, permanent position and his excitement to teach another class each quarter. I remember he said, "You know, my wife and I put so much energy into our jobs. We'll often get home and just collapse on the couch. And we love every second of it." I have heard so many of my professors make similar statements over the years. They work tirelessly so their students will be successful. He taught me to never give up on a student, to work hard for them, and always advocate for their success.

Along with my other teaching experiences, I have been privately tutoring my friends and family for over a decade. My brother told me recently that if I didn't start teaching or tutoring soon, I'm wasting my life because I'm so good at it. He may be a little biased, but I do very much enjoy helping students achieve academic success, and I LOVE helping students improve their writing skills.