What is your teaching philosophy?

As a teacher, one needs to be a careful and patient listener, and always strive to find innovative ways to connect to each student, bearing in mind, each person has their own strength, weaknesses, and methods of learning.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Understand the student's goal (specific grade / score, placement in class, etc.), and remind them to constantly visualize achieving that goal (when the going gets tough).

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

The first session is to assess the person's goals (e.g. general improvement in a subject matter, versus score for a specific test), to help set the pace of future sessions.