Emily
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Barnard College - Bachelors, English Literature
Graduate Degree: Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism - Masters, Journalism
SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1500
Soccer, Baseball, Writing short stories, Journalism, Documentary films, Running
American Literature
College Application Essays
College English
College Level American Literature
High School English
High School Writing
Journalism
Middle School Writing
Other
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe in an open discussion with students, where they openly express difficulty areas and we use writing exercises to better grasp the concepts at hand.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
First, a friendly introduction! Then, depending on the subject area, I would ask them to describe their current studies for which they are seeking help, and evaluate how well they think they are doing in those studies. We would then talk about what they do and don't like about the work for the subject, and I would come up with more fun ways to see the problem subjects that might motivate the students to just get started.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
It's all about intrinsic value. It's hard to want to learn on your own if you don't see the value in what you're learning! That's why I like to explain the real-world value of learning different subjects and ask students how pieces of writing may connect to their own lives. Through relatability with a subject, a student will be more motivated to learn independently.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Smaller exercises. If there's a difficulty with a concept, it's usually because the concept is too wide in scope. We would break it down into smaller parts; for example, write about one character in a novel or one object in a poem, and from there see how it might relate to bigger themes.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I think part of the work is knowing the words. Have they done the studying to memorize bigger words? Do they keep a dictionary handy to look up words they don't understand? It's important to keep expanding your vocabulary to grow as a reader. After that, I think imagining you were in the writer's shoes helps a lot. Given the topic and the writer's investment in it, would you feel angry? Frustrated? Excited? What are key punctuations and phrases that indicate that tone?