Sarah
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Columbia University in the City of New York - Bachelors, English - American Literature and Creative Writing
ACT Composite: 32
ACT English: 35
SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1490
SAT Verbal: 760
SAT Writing: 730
GRE Verbal: 162
American literature, southern literature, writing, blues and swing dancing, horseback riding, cooking, baking, NPR
American Literature
AP English Language and Composition
College Application Essays
College English
College Level American Literature
Elementary School Writing
High School English
High School Level American Literature
High School Writing
Middle School Reading Comprehension
Middle School Science
Middle School Writing
Other
Study Skills
Study Skills and Organization
What is your teaching philosophy?
All students can benefit from a relationship with literature and writing, whether through an increased ability to communicate their ideas clearly and persuasively, or from simply experiencing an expansion of their own worlds through reading. It is a matter of finding each student's personal connection to the text: is s/he interested in considering it as a historical document? Finding patterns in images or themes and approaching the piece like a code to crack? Or is it a matter of finding something that relates to the student's own experience and working from there? Once there is a personal interest in the work, it becomes to easier to read critically, or write confidently. And once a student feels comfortable, even writing the essay for her SAT will seem like a manageable task.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I'd like to assess a student's needs before our first session. With SAT prep, I need to know if there is a baseline we are working with. If not, then we'd spend the first session determining areas of strength and weakness before proceeding. For literature subject help, I'd like to know a student's syllabus if working with a specific text. In our first session, if working on understanding a text, I'd like to establish what goals have been set forth by the teacher, or if there is a particular critical approach the student needs to understand and apply. If writing an essay, I would assess what part of the process the student needs assistance with.