1^st lesson free

Andrew

Rate $50
Response 1h

$50/h

1^st lesson free

Reading
Redaction
English Literature

Experienced tutor in English in Renton, Andrew offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Reading
Redaction
English Literature

Lesson location

- online

About Andrew

Hello! I'm a professional educator with several years of tutoring experience, as well as experience teaching English as a second language, and teaching college writing and literature at the University of Connecticut. When I launched this profile I thought I would mainly tutor students in reading and writing and help them with college admissions test prep and essay development. However, given our current strange circumstances, I'd also love to put my experience as someone who was homeschooled and who has designed syllabi to use. If you have an unmet need as we go into this coming school year in very altered conditions, I would love to talk to you to think through how to address it.

I have always loved seeing others learn, and helping them along that road. As early as 9th grade, I took my passion for geography and taught a small group of homeschooled 1st-graders a brief introductory course in it. In Boy Scouts I frequently occupied mentorship roles, teaching skills to the newer recruits, and as soon as I arrived at college I organized and coached a small debate club of middle and high school students. After college I was talked into tutoring English by an older friend who had been tutoring professionally for quite a few years, and I quickly grew to love it. After a couple of years of tutoring part-time, I spent one year teaching English as a second language in Japan's public school system, before returning and working again as a tutor, this time for C2 Education. After that, I spent two years earning my MA in Medieval Studies (a combination of English, History, and Language studies) at UConn, which I have just completed.

I've worked with a wide range of students with all different kinds of learning goals, so I'm extremely adaptable and try to approach each student on their own terms. In the past, I've worked with elementary, middle, and high school students, taught college students, and even helped adult ESL learners practice their conversational English. I've tutored students individually, in small groups of up to three, and I've also taught classes to students k-college. Sometimes this has involved helping a student with reading for school; sometimes it involves working closely with them to develop their writing skills; sometimes I help them develop better study habits and organization, or plan for an upcoming test.

If I had to single out any particular strengths, I would say that I have a great deal of practice giving detailed feedback on student writing, both from my work at UConn (which involved a great deal of essay grading) as well as from work I did previously as a partner in a small editing start-up. Besides that, I always make a point of understand each student's particular motivation, getting to know them, and being a patient teacher. To the extent that I do have a particular style, I strive to be Socratic and ask the student questions to prompt their own ingenuity, rather than simply explaining everything up front.

Before attending UConn, I earned my Bachelor's degree at Arizona State University, where I majored in both English Literature and in Political Science, with a focus on International Politics. What this meant in practice was that I spent a great deal of time learning about both history and government, and while my tutoring has mostly focused on English, I have also worked with students on AP US and World History. Besides this, history and government remain abiding passions for me, and all of the humanities and social sciences are inextricably linked; I often find that my historical knowledge becomes relevant when teaching English.

If you've read this far, thank you for your interest! Please don't hesitate to contact me with any preliminary questions. I'm always happy to talk and discuss possible tutoring strategies, and I can also send you my resume as well as any other information you need. Thanks!

I've always been driven first and foremost by the joy of sharing something I find fascinating with others, and seeing them discover its value on their own terms. I'm the friend who can never stop recommending great books or films, or who is always trying to shoehorn interesting historical facts into conversations.

I also enjoy working with kids, which I've been doing for quite a long time now. I've worked with students from 1st grade all the way through college, and I've enjoyed the unique challenges posed by every grade level and individual learner.

My earliest experiences, when I was still in high school myself, were an outgrowth of my own desire to vicariously experience the joy of learning through others. I think this is partly attributable to my education - I was homeschooled in an environment which prized independence and curiosity, but which was also highly collaborative. I did not initially think that I would make a competent tutor, and only began tutoring because an older friend who had a well-established tutoring business persuaded me that it would be a good fit for me, and began referring students to me. I quickly discovered that I did have an aptitude for it, and have enjoyed it ever since.

My experience teaching and mentoring extends back to when I was in ninth grade, when I taught a group of first graders a six-week informal introduction to geography. Around the same time I was mentoring younger Scouts in my troop, and when I began college I also began coaching debate. My formal education has been in English and Political Science, which translates to a great deal of experience reading and writing, as well as a strong background in history. Since finishing college, I have worked as an independent tutor for about two years and for another year as a tutor for a tutoring center, which gave me additional training and greater familiarity with standardized test prep. I have also spent a year teaching ESL in the Japanese public school system, and I most recently taught the required freshman English writing course at the University of Connecticut for two years.

About the lesson

My process varies depending on the student, since I've worked with a wide range of grade levels and subjects. In general, I tend to begin by asking a lot of questions about what the student finds challenging, what their goals are, and if there are specific materials or processes that they enjoy working with, or find beneficial. This often takes the form of a free consultation meeting with the student and parent(s). In the past, I've then often proceeded to use my role to give the student structure for additional assignments, if they have time for that, or else I simply work with them on the work they're already doing for school. In all cases, I try to lead the student to make their own connections by asking them questions, rather than simply telling them how to approach things (although this obviously varies depending on what the situation calls for). I try to always put the student in the role of driving their progress as much as possible, with me responding and guiding, so that they gain a sense of independent ownership over their education which will persist after they're done working with me.

I have worked with students in elementary school through high school, with college students in my role at UConn, and even with adult students of conversational ESL. Additionally, the English fluency of my students has varied widely.

I would strongly encourage you to have a conversation with them about what your struggles and goals are, how you like to work, and how they like to work, before making any sort of commitment about lessons.

A few things worth thinking about before reaching out
I would try to think about classifying areas of difficulty, to try to break things down into specific things to improve - although your tutor should also be able to help you with this. I would also think about which areas are your highest priorities for improvement, and what your timeline is - is there a specific goal you're trying to reach.

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5h: $250
10h: $500

free lessons

This first lesson offered with Andrew will allow you to get to know each other and clearly specify your needs for your next lessons.

online

$50/h

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My pricing is flexible and negotiable, especially depending on distance. The hourly price I listed on this profile is a ballpark estimate, but it is not fixed.

Experienced tutor in English in Renton, Andrew offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Lesson location

About Andrew

About the lesson

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Pack rates

free lessons

online

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Experienced tutor in English in Renton, Andrew offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Lesson location

About Andrew

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

free lessons

online

Details

Other tutors in Reading

Andrea

Poe

Mary

Pierre

Michelle

Adrien

Davis

Suzie

Alexandre

Rekha

Nagatt Rose

Aryaman

Pablo

Susan

Al Hamza

Mark

Johann Nicholas

Connor

Dr Fouzia

Crystal

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