Find a Local Tutor Who Gets It

I was an excellent student all the way through high school, taking as many AP courses as I could. But I also understand what it feels like to be behind and not understand - in college I took a course that resulted in tears over almost every assignment, as I just could not understand the material. I know how much value a tutor is to a struggling student, or even to a student who just wants to get ahead. I am a passionate individual who desires to make a difference in people's lives through creating opportunity and in helping students to realize their potential. Spending a year as a university teacher, I dove straight into writing 4 two-hour lesson plans per week and managing over 210 students. My experience as a director of summer athletic camps at Elings Park prepared me to be extremely on top of things organizationally and in communication with parents.

As a teacher, I strive to cultivate a love of learning and a sense of community in each of my students, which in turn builds self-esteem and confidence. I found that creating an environment with mutual respect, high expectations, and responsibility is critical in order to ensure a student’s sense of success and confidence. I feel that it is important to educate the whole child through engaging and practical curriculum because our students are eager for relevant and meaningful experiences in school. When students are able to feel fully supported by their environment, teachers, and peers, they reach a new level of achievement and sense of well being that would otherwise be unattainable. I am also very timely and reliable. When I make a commitment, I make sure to keep them. This is part of being a positive role model for students.

I believe I would be a good tutor for Grade Potential because I am passionate about working with someone who is struggling with a subject that I understand well, and helping them figure out how the subject works, as well as giving tips for how to succeed in the course. I have excelled in all of the courses I have listed above, and would love to share with others ways to not only pass the course, but ways that could even make it more enjoyable! I understand how it feels to struggle in certain subjects, and I am so grateful that there are tutors available to help me when I need it. I am extremely reliable, and have never been to work late. If there was ever an appointment I needed to cancel, I made sure that it was taken care of days in advance. I am very organized, and my car is very well taken care of-- reliable transportation is very important to me.

In the past experience section, I said "I have been tutoring my friends for free/for fun ever since I can remember." I understand this sounds not only cliche but also exaggerated. However, I literally remember as far back as 1st grade helping my friend learn to read and 3rd grade helping another friend learn to write cursive. In 6th grade, I specifically remember going through my friend's essay sentence by sentence and helping her improve her writing and understanding of what makes a good essay (although, of course, I did not word it quite like that back then). I have stayed up late helping friends with their essays in high school and college even when I had homework of my own to do. At least three of my friends who are in Calculus this year have sent me--on multiple occasions--screenshots of a problem they are stuck on in hopes that I understand and can explain it to them. Sometimes these text messages came in the middle of the night, but no matter how tired I have been or how early I have to wake up, I could never turn it down. This year, I regularly Skyped my friend from home to help her pass AP Economics and happily brought her from a D to a B in the class. When I don't understand a question my friends ask me, I look it up until I understand enough to help them understand. Like I said, I've tutored for fun for as long as I can remember. I get a thrill off knowing that I personally helped another person understand something they could not. My friends have always told me that I should charge for tutoring, and have often offered to pay me, but I always turn them down. Now that I have bills to pay, however, I figured that I might as well get paid to do something I love. As for reliability, I have been employed by three companies and have never let them down. I show up on time, put everything into the job that needs to be done, and stay upbeat and friendly all the while.

I have been told countless times how good I am at teaching others. I am very quick to pick up concepts in math and science. I can take the vague explanations of a confusing teacher, and then explain those concepts to someone else in a clear, more organized way. The most common thing I hear from friends is, "Why didn't the teacher just say it the way you did? That made so much more sense!" I love teaching, and I love helping a student conquer a subject they once thought would conquer them.

To be a great tutor takes a combination of in-depth subject knowledge, ability to inspire passion, and highly developed communication skills. As mentioned in the above section, reliability is an absolute must as well. The following describes my skills in each of these critical areas: 1. In-depth subject level knowledge: To begin with I am an "A" student. I graduated with a 4.17 GPA as valedictorian from H.S., with a 3.86 GPA as a valedictorian nominee from college, and earned a 4.0 GPA in all 52 graduate units during my masters work. Beyond this I am currently studying for the CSET examination in September for social science. Topics I am studying in-depth and have mastered include: American History, World History, Geography, Economics, Government, and California History. There is no question that I have the in-depth knowledge required to be a great tutor. 2. Ability to Inspire Passion: I love looking at subject from an outside the box point of view. Instead of looking at learning as a way to memorize, I see true learning as the ability to put knowledge in the unique perspective of each student. Instead of stopping at Who, What, When and Where- I seek for my students to understand Why and So What? What does the subject they are learning mean to them in their life and in the context of how they understand the world. This approach gets individuals excited and passionate about a subject instead of arduous memorization. 3. Highly Developed Communication Skills: My diverse work experience (please see resume) includes highly accomplished positions in public affairs and sales. It is through these jobs that I have finely tuned my ability to read individuals, understand them on a personal level, and apply the most effective communication for their specific needs. This will bode well in tutoring and teaching. Each student will require a unique approach to learning. I have the communication skills to truly understand a student and develop the best method for teaching him or her. 4. Reliability: There is a reason why I am the "emergency number" on over 12 people's contact lists. I am responsible, reliable, punctual and professional. I have had job that relied on these aspects and believe that if a person is merely on time for an appointment than they are in fact late. I have references that I am happy to share that can attest to this. I take deep personal pride in being incredibly trustworthy and reliable in all aspects of my life.

I really love math. Math has always been my favorite subject since I was eight. I really enjoy helping people as well and may get a math minor to accommodate my civil engineering major. I may even plan to do a part time teaching job to go along with my civil engineering degree. As the community service coordinator of the Math Club in high school, I went to various elementary schools and asked them if high school students could set up a tutoring program at the school. I chose to be the high school director for the Society of Women Engineers because I wanted to make a difference in the high schoolers' lives. I want to give them as much advice and help as possible before they set foot in college. This quarter, I am the math grader for Calculus II. I grade quizzes and homework each week.

I feel that I would be a good tutor because I am reliable, and have had experience working with troubled and low-leveled students before. I often see results from positive reinforcement, and a lot of patience.I have tutored a couple of students while I was in teaching a classroom.