Brittany: Elmwood Park tutor

Certified Tutor

I am currently a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University and am working on my research while living in Washington state. My current academic focus is on paleoanthropology and human variation, but it is through my graduate career that I discovered my passion for teaching. In the course of my program, I was given the amazing opportunity to teach several college courses as a graduate teaching instructor. Though I first cut my teeth in education as a substitute teacher which allowed me to work with a wide variety of subjects and ages, it was the opportunity to teach one-on-one and as a classroom instructor that solidified my love of education. I was able to tailor my teaching methods to each student and offer different methods of studying and learning to optimize their personal goals. This allowed me to use my own education and experience to assist my students more than I could as a substitute, and this is what I aim to bring to each student I have the privilege of tutoring. Many of my students have asked me for letters of recommendation and support, which I have gladly given, and I cannot express the joy it gives me to see them succeed, whether through a better grade, a better understanding of the material, or an acceptance letter to a long sought after program. In the course of my teaching experience, I have instructed courses on writing, cultural anthropology, and physical anthropology, and worked with students of various levels of comprehension in each. Working as a substitute has also shown me how to help children of all ages and abilities with their life and education goals, and I have had experience in bilingual, inclusion, and special needs classrooms. In my own education, I have a wide variety of subject interests and training. My undergraduate degree is also in Anthropology, and both this degree and my current program require an extensive amount of reading and writing to and from a variety of audiences. I have used this experience to work with students on essay writing, writing clarity, reading comprehension (including how to find good sources online and in a library), and many more aspects of writing, English, and Language Arts. It is my firm belief that each student can achieve the academic goals set before them, but that each student is unique in their academic needs and the teaching methods best for them. I strive to get to know each student I am work with so that I can help them in the best way possible for them to achieve success. This includes students of all learning types (visual, audio, kinetic, etc.) and education levels. I believe in showing students the real-world value of what they are learning, and how their education can influence their life and their personal goals. My passion for teaching and for seeing students succeed is what drove me to become a tutor and I hope to help as many students as I can.