Jonathan

Certified Tutor

A tutor's primarily responsibility is to act as a resource for students struggling with material. Rather than doing the work for them or lecturing them on the homework they're supposed to complete, tutors should instead be there to provide feedback to students as they work through the material. When they make mistakes, tutors should correct them, but, more importantly, they should also help the student understand why the mistake happened. The goal of a tutoring session is not to just complete the work -- many assignments are lengthy, and in many cases, completing the entire assignment with a tutor is expensive and a waste of time. Instead, tutoring sessions should focus on leaving the student with the tools necessary to complete their assignments themselves, as well as tests and quizzes that the tutor won't be present for. For this to happen, sometimes explicit instruction is necessary, but more often than not, the best thing for the tutor to do is to allow the student to work as they would normally, and then address mistakes or other problems as they occur.

I feel that my education and past experience as a teacher have equipped me with the tools necessary to be a fantastic tutor in several different subject areas. I have worked with students learning English as a Second Language in several different environments and have always been met with success. Also, my background in creative writing will prove useful to students struggling with writing of any sort, from creative assignments to essays, as I feel that the principles of writing I learned in college are applicable to all different forms of writing, not just short fiction. I gain great satisfaction helping people who are struggling with a task or a concept overcome said struggle -- this has led me down the path to becoming a teacher, and I feel that it would also serve to make me a great tutor. I have an abundance of patience, and I can accommodate all kinds of learner types -- I am not the kind of tutor or teacher to just read the material to the student and expect them to "get it" immediately.