Svetlana

Certified Tutor

I graduated from New York University and NYU Berlin/Humboldt University in Germany with a double major in Theatre and German as well as a focus in Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. I also earned my certification to Teach English as Foreign and Second Language from the International TEFL Academy. In addition, I'm currently studying to become fluent in Russian.

I am someone who loves to learn, so much that I pursued two majors, attended classes at international universities, and earned a separate certification to teach. I look forward in pursuing further degrees in German studies, Russian studies, and Holocaust studies among many other options I am considering. I work in very collaborative subjects: theatre, dance, writing, film, directing, etc. so my passion lies in working with people. I want to share my knowledge with other people, encourage their own ideas, and learn from them myself. I believe that teaching is both a collaborative and learning process on both sides; my students have constantly presented me with new ideas and challenges that have only further fueled my passion in working with other people and education. I love watching the accomplishments my students make both with me and in furthering their own work later on. They have constantly taught me as well and I have helped further interactions between different cultures and subjects, enabling my students to connect ideas and experiences that they never before tried or thought possible, as well as teaching them lifelong skills that they have proved to me serve them in more than one area. I think it's important in teaching any subject that, no matter how specific it might be, it is always applicable in a personal way and can always be furthered and used to further other projects instead of staying within one topic realm. I encourage the movement from knowledge to imagination in any educational scenario. Personal interaction with any knowledge I pass on is constantly encourage on my part; as Peter Drucker said, "Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes".

My personal heroes and mentors have been people who have constantly challenged and encouraged me, far beyond my time with them. People are social creatures, and ideas, and therefore movements, events, and accomplishments, are always created through the sharing of knowledge, informed by an understanding of the factors, cultures, and information that surrounds it. To put it simply, I believe that sharing is a strength, and that includes both the sharing of knowledge and the sharing of vulnerability in a desire and openness to learn. I work to incite a stronger desire to learn in all of my students, whether that comes in the form of taking on challenging projects, creating self-work, collaborating with others, or continuing in academic atmospheres--none of them are mutually exclusive.

I have worked internationally and with students of different languages in various topics, including groups of people from different cultures and speaking different languages simultaneously, acting as a liaison and collaborator encouraging interaction and creation. I tutor in the arts (theatre, film, dance, writing, directing, public speaking) and in the English and German languages, including reading, writing, editing, speaking, pronunciation, accuracy and fluency, literature and analysis, and cultural studies. I am also open to other subjects related to these fields. My personal favourite subjects to tutor are the arts and German. I am a creative person, and the arts are some of the most collaborative subjects in the world--they require collaboration, in fact--and I have a passion for working with people. I am a Russian born in Europe that emigrated to America and lived in the melting pot of New York City as well as Germany, which has fueled my interest in and perspective of various cultures and how they intersect with each other. I find the German language and culture to be one of the most misunderstood and beautiful, with much more than meets the eye, so it is my great pleasure to be able to teach others, whether it's in grammar and mechanics or introducing them to what I consider is some of the best literature in the world.

My approach to teaching is creative, hands-on, varied, and collaborative: I address all different learning styles and incorporate contemporary examples and activities as well as the student's personal interests and hobbies into the lessons. I am an active teacher, and as I say to all of my students in any of my fields, I am in the trenches with you. Knowledge is never acquired individually, but with help and interaction with outside sources and the rest of the world. I use realia (props/objects and materials from everyday life), media, and physical connections such as writing, and encourage the students to produce their own work through writing samples, sample activities, bringing in texts or other resources that they enjoy working with, and various creative activities like drawing, painting, filmmaking, or other activities that they enjoy completing and that incorporates our subject matter. I work with students' specific needs by presenting an initial evaluation tests that assesses not only their level but their previous progress, goals, personal interactions with the subjects, interests and hobbies, and learning style. I constantly check in with my students every lesson on their thoughts, questions, and requests and keep track of their progress to show them their growth and to encourage them. It's important for me to connect with the student and keep them in conversation with me, with the subject, with their work, and with their progress.

In addition to the above and outside of the academia, I also enjoy working with animals, volunteering for and engaging myself with the mental health conversation and organizations, international politics and trends (again, the intersection of cultures and meeting of various ideas to start new conversations), cooking, modeling, fitness and yoga, painting and drawing, poetry, design, fashion, movies and media (impatiently waiting for the next season of Game of Thrones...), reading (currently working my way through the classics while simultaneously working through the GoT novels), trying new activities, travelling, and anything to do with outer space. If I wasn't doing what I am doing now, I would love to work for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. And who knows, maybe one day it will still happen!