Joyful Learning

I assess the student's familiarity and comfort with the topic by talking it through with them.  If the student has a vague familiarity, I ask them to solve a problem and help them solve it from there.  If they are completely new to the topic, I break down the basics and ensure fundamental concepts are understood, then slowly start working through practice problems with them.

I have been a tutor at SpiderSmart Tutoring in Arlington, VA, both in person and remote, for 4 years.  There, I tutored students in grades K-12 in all subjects, as well as standardized testing and college course preparation.

I typically charge middle and high schoolers $50/hour.  For college students and higher, depending on the difficulty of the subject, prices will increase, typically $60/hour for help with english, writing, and humanities, and $75+ for math over Calculus I.

I tutored as a community service activity with my sorority and fell in love with helping the students we had become interested in STEM concepts.

I have worked with every type of student, from rowdy and outspoken to soft and shy.  My experience tutoring my younger sister, however, makes me confident I can handle any child.  She suffers from ADHD and a variety of other developmental and learning disorders; it's hard for her to focus on completing tasks like homework and projects without her medication.  She has gone through countless tutors because they have all been too frustrated to deal with her constant distractedness.  The time I went off to college was around the time she started needing tutoring in classes (she was in 4th grade at the time).  When I began to tutor her over Skype and Facetime, there was a noticeable improvements in her grades.  Some grades even went up two two letters.  I knew how to appeal to her hyperactive mind with engaging activities catered specifically to her that made her excited to learn.  I know that with my skill set I can cultivate any child's desire to learn.

In May of 2019, I participated in a Days For Girls sewing event in Seattle.  We sewed and put together re-usable sanitary napkins for young girls in Kenya.  This was an enriching and rewarding experience not only because it is such an important cause, but because I was able to make connections with many other like-minded individuals dedicated to giving back to the community, both locally and abroad.

I would tell that student to be wary of teachers who can only teach a subject in one way.  Teachers must be able to be adaptive and flexible in their learning techniques to ensure the concept is absorbed by the student.  I would also suggest they look for tutors who are employed in the industry they are seeking assistance in, though this is not an absolute necessity.

Students should think about the specific concepts within their school subjects that they are struggling in, and the ways they may struggle in the classroom (teacher going to fast, lack of focus, concepts taught in a different method of learning than what is best for them, etc.).  Other than that, the student should not be burdened with needing to know in-depth information regarding the topic before it has been taught to them effectively to meet their needs, that is what they are coming to get tutored for.