My philosophy is to allow students to become global, lifetime learners. This is accomplished not by covering material, but by ensuring that students are grasping important concepts and reaching their learning potential.

During initial sessions, I like to get an idea of the expectations needed from the learner and how we might best be able to accomplish that goal.

When students become more confident and take charge of their learning experiences, they are becoming independent learners. This does not happen automatically, but is gradually learned over time.

I am very animated and lively. This helps in keeping students on task. I also like to take short, frequent breaks whenever students are becoming exhausted with the workload.

I try to use as many tools as possible to allow students to grasp the new skill. For example, it helps knowing how best the student learns--tactile, visual, or auditory. Knowing this information allows me to switch up the delivery of instruction.

Practice, practice, practice. I like to have students orally read during each session. This helps me hone in on what specific words or patterns the student is having difficulty with. The comprehension difficulties stem from understanding of the reading text, so that is always a first step to help the student.

First, I do a get to know you activity. This has proven to be very helpful with the younger students. They appreciate you more when you know a little something about them. I also like to sit with the student and parents to know exactly what it is they want to get from the sessions. That gives me a starting point of how to guide the subsequent lessons.

I try to make any subject I teach as fun as possible. I often use real-world applications for the older students.

There has to always be some culminating activity for independent practice. This is one way to ensure that the student understands the material.

I offer praise whenever an opportunity arises. I also like to make practical applications, such as specific knowledge that has be learned from a previous session. Additionally, frequent exposure to the subject helps build confidence as well.

Once you build a rapport with the student, after several sessions, you get an idea of what the student's needs are and how best to approach them. I keep checklists of skills learned and rank the skills based on how well the student is doing.

As a tutor, you have to have adaptability. Some students thrive on the least amount of distractions and less talk time, while others may thrive on more talk time with a not too quiet environment. Knowing your student's needs will help you as a tutor to adjust accordingly.

It depends on the subject. For lower elementary students in reading, I usually keep basal readers, pencils, crayons, and a magnifying glass (for new vocabulary words). For elementary math students, I keep scratch paper, pencils, erasers, protractor, multiplication facts on index cards, etc. For writing students, I keep folders with types of writing, examples of writing (every grade level), and a list of transitional words.