Find a Local Tutor Who Gets It

Through my experience working in education as a tutor, academic intervention counselor, English as a Second Language teacher, and university teaching assistant I have come to passionately believe that educating is not about imparting knowledge; rather it is about creating a relationship through which the educator learns about the students’ interests and perspective, in order to tailor the subject matter specifically to the student’s ability to understand the world. Educating is never a money-making chore for me, but is always a fresh new and exciting opportunity to learn about another person, and to expand my own understanding of what is being taught by viewing it from the student’s lens. While working with Americorps as an academic intervention counselor and lead after-school tutor at Kennedy High School, I was constantly challenged to reexamine my understanding of the wide range of subjects I tutored. In this inner city school, many students were years behind what they were studying, so I was constantly having to teach elementary algebra to students who were struggling with geometry, basic vocabulary and comprehension skills to students behind in US History. I learned to break concepts down to basic building blocks, use metaphors to help students apply subject matter to their real-life experiences, and to encourage students to teach one another as their learned. Using these techniques I was able to assist my students to not only understand the material, but also to become excited to think about what they were studying and to gain a sense of ownership and pride over their education! I have always been passionate about teaching. I loved my one-on-one time as a Teaching Assistant at UC Berkeley during office helping students to understand class material better and to develop their research projects. I thrived while developing the curriculum to teach workshops in Mexico about immigrant’s rights in the United States and passionately worked to improve the program as I began teaching the workshops. I really enjoyed learning to view my own language from a foreign eye as I tutored students in Morocco in ESL. From my perspective, teaching is about building relationships of mutual intellectual growth. Relationships are built on trust, which people can only gain if they show respect to their students. Thus I always work hard to be punctual and respect my commitments to students and employers. I am excited about the prospect of working with an organization that seems to share my commitment and passion for education like Grade Potential.

I really do believe that learning how to study is the most important thing one can learn in their life. It is what sets me apart from my peers at UCSB. I can put in half of the effort that they do because I know how to study and I have very efficient study skills. I'd love to teach kids this skill because it can be the difference between average and above-average! I also have a very different perspective of learning and I really do enjoy it as opposed to simply trying to get a grade. I hope to instill that virtue in my students.

I am a very good listener and I love school. I think anyone has the potential to succeed with proper guidance and support. I am considering teaching as an occupation for the future. I work well with others and feel confident that I can guide students to success. I tutored 10-20 students for an hour and a half once a week for a year and a half at Rutgers University.

I think I'd be a wonderful tutor for Grade Potential because I love and understand educating. I am approachable, easy-going, and accommodating; I know there are many pathways to learning and believe passionately that everyone can have a positive learning experience if a teacher is willing and able to invest time and energy into their progress. I believe real academic progress comes through empowerment and encouragement, which can only be achieved by building a quality relationship with the student. This requires the fulfillment of all commitments made to the student and to the employer, which I would not hesitate to do. Compassion and tenacity are two traits I believe I possess in spades.

I would be a good tutor because I am a good fit for tutoring. I have strong people skills and my communication abilities are excellent. I have a knack of being able to explain things to other people clearly so that they are able to understand the subject at hand. I am also a very patient person which allows me to explain things to people clearly and allow them to actually understand the subject. If I am selected to become a tutor for Grade Potential, there will be no problem in terms of keeping my appointments and fulfilling the commitments that I make to Grade Potential because I am a dutiful person that is organized and always prepared. I take all my commitments very seriously such as school and extracurricular activities and I am not the person to ever miss any of these engagements.

My background and education is what makes me a good candidate to work as a tutor at Grade Potential. I have had lots of experience working with students on all different levels and have witnessed success in the student's learning. I have the ability to communicate well with children and try to connect with them using multiple learning strategies. I am a reliable person because this is a job where you have to be responsible, not only for yourself but for the ones you are tutoring. Dedication is important to be successful and you have to demonstate that and teach it to the ones you are tutoring. I have been a tutor independently as well as working for the Huntington Learning Center. I tutored for all levels of elementary school and all subjects.

As the video described, in order to be a successful tutor one must have excellent subject background and understanding as well as interpersonal communication skills. I feel I have both of these. I have pushed myself to excel in all classes I have taken but I have had great success with both History and English and so I fulfill the first qualification. Secondly, I have worked at golf courses and restaurants since high school. I currently work at AJ Spurs in Grover Beach which has given me considerable experience with customer service. Whether it is in a restaurant or at a tutoring session in the library these are service industries and if one is to be successful in the service industry one must develop the skills necessary to get along amiably with the patron. Additional attributes that will aid me in being a good tutor include: punctuality, thoroughness and self-motivation.

I have taken advanced English courses since middle school, and tested out of one of my required English courses in college. I utilize the tips I have learned over the years in revising friends' essays and helping them write to the best of their abilities. I also help non-native speakers with sentence construction on a regular basis, explaining concepts on a simple and easy-to-remember level. I am nearing fluency in Spanish, practicing at least an hour a day with native speakers. I have nearly completed the requirements for a minor in Spanish at my university. I often help my English speaking friends with their Spanish homework, and explain those concepts on a simple level as well. I have successfully managed three jobs, marching band, a full-time course load, and a long distance relationship all in one quarter of school. Now that my schedule is more open, I definitely have absolutely no problem with being committed to the program.