Rebecca

Certified Tutor

I graduated from Occidental College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Comparative Literature, emphasizing critical theory. My tutoring spans a diverse range of experiences: I tutored math at an inner-city school in Los Angeles, English to students in Hyderabad, India, and reading to rehabilitated refugee children in Arizona. After graduating, I instructed reading programs for the Institute of Reading Development, where I saw that, as my students' reading skills improved, their overall confidence skyrocketed. They became better students because they stopped feeling incapable and inept. This experience is the foundation of my tutoring philosophy. I believe education increases one's own sense of ability and self-worth. Because of this, I aim to inspire interest and excitement in my students, not simply teach them effect ways to memorize a textbook. In this way, I agree with William B. Yeats in that "education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." I empower my students to seek answers on their own and develop their critical thinking skills. As a tutor, I structure my teaching around the student's individual interests and needs. For example, one 6th grade student loved to perform onstage, so we wrote a play to explore theme, plot, and dialogue. My favorite subjects to tutor are reading, writing, English and American history. In my free time, I teach yoga and write creative non-fiction. I love cooking, eating, and travel.