What is your teaching philosophy?

As a fifteen year philosophy professor, I am convinced that there is within each and every human being the capacity to learn. The way in which that capacity may be nurtured and brought to fruition varies among individuals. Thus, my teaching philosophy is to always try to meet the student wherever he or she is, use discernment to determine how he or she best learns, and engage in a dialogue toward the end of mutual understanding and increase in knowledge and wisdom.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

Ask some questions that will assist me in better understanding how he or she learns.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By sparking the desire to learn within him or her, and by demonstrating how learning inherently enhances one's life and quality of existence.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

By teaching them the value of self-motivation and the rewards cultivation thereof brings.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

I explain it in different ways, using different examples, until it clicks.

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

I have a set of suggestions regarding approaches to increasing one's ability to focus and comprehend. They range from breathing exercises to self-awareness increase to keeping a "reading" notebook. I create within students an appreciation for language itself, and show them how fascinating the study of words via etymology can be.

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

Reveal myself to them as both student and teacher. Students are inevitably greatly inspired by me, my integrity, and my genuine love of learning.

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

Demonstrate to them the meaning and value within that subject, and the ways in which it is indeed applicable to their very lives, often on a daily basis.

What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?

Asking questions, creating scenarios in which they put to use their knowledge by means of thought problems, etc.

How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?

By affirming their increase in knowledge and understanding, and helping them see the practical applicability of what they are learning in terms of improving quality of life.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

By talking to them.

How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?

By discerning how they learn, potential blocks, and mainly affirming their value as people.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

Pen and paper. Relevant texts when appropriate.