A+ Above And Beyond Tutoring
About
I'm a Highly Qualified English Language Arts teacher with almost 30 years of experience in the classroom: middle school, high school, Community College, and college levels. I have extensive experience with both at-risk students, AP level students, and everything in between. I specialize in tailor-making my tutoring strategies to fit each student's needs. I am particularly adept at teaching writing, as I am a professional editor. I also possess two master's degrees, one in education, and one in British literature. My students have always been my passion, and my drive has always been for their success! Carpe Diem!
Highlights
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Our first session would involve getting to know each other, and a brief discussion about the student's experience in the classroom. Then, I would give the student a brief assignment -- something fast and easy -- to assess the student's abilities. These two factors combined would give me a clear picture of the direction we should follow.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
My undergraduate degree is in Journalism, so that contributes to my knowledge of writing. Being a published writer and a professional editor also contributes to my writing expertise. Lastly, I earned my standard fee is between 30 and $40 an hour. a double master's degree, encompassing both education and English literature.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
My standard fee is between $30 and $40 an hour, depending on the travel distance.
How did you get started teaching?
When I was pursuing my journalism degree, I had a fantastic professor by the name of Dennis Allen. I was a considerably over active student in discussions in this particular course, which was Short Story. I was eager for the course to cover the author Stephen King, as we were focusing on American authors. Professor Allen pulled me aside after class one day and informed me that I would be teaching the story that I had suggested the very next class session. He gave me no more directions or instructions than that. This was considerably difficult because not only was I teaching my peers, I had never even considered how to communicate anything to an entire class, much less assess their understanding. So the very next day, I stood in front of 50 of my peers, and taught the story the best that I could, including discussion, a holistic assessment, and a short writing assignment, all by pure Instinct and the seat of my pants. The class went very well, and Professor Allen again pulled me out into the hallway after the session. His words were as follows: "You are a natural. You absolutely must pursue a career in teaching. Do nothing else." And that's exactly what I did.
What types of students have you worked with?
I have taught middle school, high school, Community College, and college students. Many of my years have been spent working with at-risk students. However I have also talk college prep and AP level students.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
Recently, I have been working as an editor of a former student's PhD dissertation. It has been extremely rewarding and even hilarious to find that this student had retained what I had taught them about research, writing, and even how to please their professors. Although I had taught this student over a decade ago, there were still light bulbs going off while we worked on this paper. What was the most amazing was that this student is teaching a small course on writing and research himself, and I'm finding that he has borrowed quite a few of his tips and educational gems from his time as my student.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
When looking to hire a tutor or teacher, it is important that this is an individual that you can talk to easily, that you can understand easily, and that seems to be devoted to your success, rather than just there to earn a wage. Students are always bright enough to tell what teachers are there because they want to be versus teachers that are there because they have to be
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
1. If this is tutoring for a course at school, what are the exact expectations of the teacher of this course?
2. What are the student's strengths and weaknesses in this area?
3. What are some activities that the student can do independently to help build their resources in this area?
4. What are the student's expectations of the tutor?
5. Is the student willing to put in extra time in his or her schedule for the things the tutor may expect of him or her?