Martin

Hello,

I'm a retired teacher, but since I love teaching English and history, I'm staying engaged with students through one-on-one tutoring. I got my high school diploma from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, MA; my BA in Fine Arts from New College of Florida (the honors college of Florida's state universities) in Sarasota, Fl; and two masters in the Humanities from Saint John's College in Santa Fe, NM. Both colleges emphasized self-directed learning, collaboration, Socratic seminars, great books, intensive study and writing, and this has informed my own teaching style. I have taught as an English and history teacher in all types of schools: private, public, charter, and online. I have worked as a private tutor for English, drawing, and SAT Prep. I've worked with and tutored all kinds of high school students: ESL, ESS, at-risk, and dual enrollment in community college classes.

I have a great passion for my subjects and a strong desire to communicate that to others. I strive to meet students where they are at, getting a sense of their strengths, challenges, and interest in the material so that our time together is as rewarding, interesting, and fun as possible. I see myself more as a coach or mentor rather than a teacher since no true learning can occur without mutual respect. My main focus is always to foster a genuine understanding, even an appreciation, of the subject. When students create their own meaning and insight, that's theirs forever. As a consequence, recalling facts and organizing information, which has to be done, becomes much easier. As a rule of thumb, my lessons begin with Socratic questions and speculative or analogical thinking to develop critical thinking and effective communication skills before going into the factual or technical sides of the subject matter after which students can demonstrate they've mastered the concepts needed to succeed on a test or essay. If a student is earnest, I will always go the extra mile for him or her.