What is your teaching philosophy?

I firmly believe that self-confidence, far more than ambition or natural aptitude, is the greatest determinant of success in an academic setting. By "confidence" I mean not only confidence in ones mastery of topical material, but also, more fundamentally, confidence in one’s ability to learn and think independently. As an instructor, I am dedicated to helping students succeed because I know from my own experiences as a student that, at every level of education, from elementary to graduate school, the support and encouragement of a passionate teacher can turn a diffident or apathetic underachieving student into a classroom star.

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

The first meeting is for getting to know the student and establishing a direction for future sessions. I will ask a lot of questions about what the student hopes to gain from tutoring, and how they hope it will help them achieve both their specific objectives (e.g., passing a class, acing the SAT math section) and long-term goals (college applications, future career). Then I will have the student work through some diagnostic materials from the tutoring website in order to get a clearer picture of where they currently stand: how they think, how they approach new problems, and which areas (if any) are more or less difficult for them.