Joanne K.

specializes in English, History, Math Tutor Berkeley, CA · female

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Personal Statement

I've been tutoring since my sophomore year of high school, so I have had eight years of experience tutoring children and youth from grade levels K to 12. I also have experience teaching certain subjects to people my age. I have the most experience tutoring English, particularly for ESL students, but have also tutored in math (in levels up to calculus), physics and history. I am a teacher by nature. My strengths are: - Empathy: I naturally empathize with students to understand what they might be thinking (e.g. when they can't find the words to say) and detect/maneuver around/deal with students' frustration and anxiety effectively. - Connectedness: I connect well with student; students come to trust that I seek their well-being and willingly cooperate with my means of teaching. - Positivity: I see the positive more than the negative, see the potential in students that others/they might not see in them/selves and use it to bring morale to students. - Developer: I find joy even in the smallest developments/signs of growth in students and seek to develop their abilities to their best. - Adaptability: I am adaptable to work with a diverse group of students under various conditions without too much difficulty. I would say that the most important quality I have as a tutor is patience. From experience in tutoring at least 20 students, mostly on a one-on-one basis, I have learned how to adapt to different people. My goal is to help students understand the material rather than simply memorize relevant information. I try to emphasize skills that will be helpful, not simply for getting into college, but for life in general. I find that a student's confidence in his or her abilities as well as personal hobbies and interests are crucial for learning, so I use different methods and tactics to motivate him or her. ________ Teaching Style: a) Utilizing various ways to engage students in learning: - Identify and teach at the students' pace and with their primary method of learning (imaginative, analytic, practical, dynamic, auditory, visual, tactile/kinesthetic). - Integrate games or other activities, using the students' interests or experiences to explain concepts in ways easier to understand. b) Developing and strengthening critical thinking: - Use the Socratic method of teaching - rather than simply providing answers, stimulate students to think critically and draw out their own unique ideas by asking questions such as, "So what?" c) Improving the students' self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities: - Discover and foster the natural strengths that students already possess (and intervene to prevent thoughts that reinforce negative self-image) to create a positive emotional and mental (internal) environment conducive to effective learning and development, as low self-esteem ravages many students' ability to learn and perform tasks. d) Engaging parents to partake in their child's learning process: - Discuss the student's performance with his/her parents after each lesson and suggest ways in which they can actively create a favorable (external) environment. For a complete resume, please message me and I will get it to you as soon as I can. Thanks!

Berkeley, CA 94703