About
I am personable and smart, with a widely varied background. I have taught all kinds of content to students from pre-school to college, and in a variety of settings. I listen well, both to students and parents. I have a personally customized approach with every student I work with because each student is unique.
I love seeing transformation occur in people's lives and tutoring can provide significant steps for transformation. I help students gain academic improvements and better understanding of how they learn and how they can learn more successfully. The academic impact is clear, but the value goes beyond just the academic. Learning to set and achieve goals, recognizing steps of progress, and being more aware of the process of development will serve students in many other areas of life.
Highlights
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Julie C.
Becky W.
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Spend a little time getting to know the student. Interests, school situation, subjects liked and disliked, attitude about school, learning, thoughts about future.
Focus in on more current or specific needs. Ask student to show me current assignments. From here, it may depend on subject/age level. What was hard/easy? How do you do this? etc. Have them do a few problems/write a little/ read out loud a little. Review their work, coach, ask them questions to ensure that they got it.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Bing School on Stanford campus, trained in heavily Montessori-influenced educational program.
One-to-one tutoring in program using Reading Recovery methods for emergent readers in grades K-3.
Center director for Oxford learning, using deeply researched curriculum designed to improve cognitive development as well as gains in specific subject areas.
Completed program with A+ Teachers of Tomorrow, leading to certification for 8-12 Language Arts and Social Studies.
Tutored for More Than A Teacher test prep company.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
If the primary content is coming from a school and my role is guiding a student through it, I charge $35/hour. If I am doing more of the content creation and/or if the subject matter is more complex/technical, I will charge more, usually at $55/hour. Also, if there is more than a few minutes travel time, I will add travel costs into the total price.
How did you get started teaching?
I began teaching my peers, even in middle school. My first paid teaching gig was Algebra 1 for one of my classmates as a high school sophomore. I guess one of my teachers must have recommended me to the family. At Stanford, I designed a course through the Undergraduate Specials program. I am actually the teacher of record for 23 Stanford Alum for the course I taught during my senior year.
What types of students have you worked with?
Every kind. Young children struggling with reading, students with identifiable learning disorders -- ADD, dyslexia, etc, gifted and talented, average achievers, highly motivated, and unmotivated. I taught preschool, emerging readers (K-3), a 6th grade class, high school, college, adults, and pretty much everyone else.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
My daughter asked me to create a treasure hunt for her 8th birthday with 88 clues. I did this, including coded messages, a half-completed hangman page, a message on my voicemail, photos, game pieces, and many more typical clues. She seemed exhausted, even when her good friend helped her with the last 30 or so clues. But then she asked me if I could do shorter ones on a more regular basis, and we have talked about some of the really cool clues several times.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
See how the conversations go. Is this a person who you can talk with and who you think you'd enjoy working with?
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Ideally, and depending on age, students will think through how they learn and how they like to learn. They should be aware of the goals they want to achieve. Since those are often not thought out in advance, I expect to cover them early on in tutoring sessions and continue coming back to them at intervals.