My Philosophy & Values

There are a lot of people online who will promise to add 100 points to your SAT in two weeks, or to “fix your essay fast.”  That’s not what I do.  

Some things are worth our time.

We live in a world of quick fixes.  Ironically, this myopic obsession with the final product often causes us to neglect what we know to be the best process to get us there.

A National Trend of Literacy Loss

In education, the emphasis on standardized testing has contributed to a depressing flattening of our children’s education.  By reducing our kids’ understanding down to a single number, it becomes far too easy for all of us to focus on that number instead of what it’s supposed to represent.

 

I believe this pervasive attitude contributes to the troubling downward trend in student proficiency in the language arts.  When I talk to guidance counselors, college professors, and my former students about the biggest hurdles in the jump from High School to College, one answer is universal: writing. And the research bears this out; even high-performing students are heading off to excellent schools with major deficits in their reading and writing abilities that seem to follow them into the professional world.

My Approach

In a decade of classroom teaching, I made it my mission to strengthen my students’ writing.  Working with students of all proficiency levels from a wide variety of backgrounds, I learned just how many subtle skills and techniques go into effective writing.  I refined my process, developed a wide range of curricula, and my students improved, but in a full-class environment, it was impossible to really engage in the personalized, 1-on-1 coaching needed to build real high-level writing skills.  I became a tutor for the opportunity to do more of this work that is most beneficial to my students, and professionally gratifying for me.

I believe in building great writers from the ground up.  The secret to this is actually no secret at all: great writers need to be great readers, and get meaningful practice at each skill every day.  Through a personalized program with me, students will become habitual readers and writers, which is the single best predictor for long-term academic success.  In our work together, students will become better writers, readers, and thinkers through daily immersion in great writing.

Our tutoring program will be something akin to a cross between an individualized 101-level college literature class and a writing workshop.  All programs will be tailored to the student’s strengths/weaknesses, goals, and tastes, but as a baseline:

• We will work with great works of literature (fiction & nonfiction in a variety of genres) at the student’s grade level as mentor texts.
• Students will build habitual active reading, practicing collegiate-level annotation, notetaking, and prewriting.
• By engaging in college-level analytical discussion each week, students will explore what speaks to them in each work and learn to hone that curiosity into a well-supported interpretation of the text.
• Throughout each unit, students will regularly exercise their writing and revision skills through short form writing and targeted practice. 
• At the conclusion of each unit, students will compose a college-level summative essay through a structured writing workshop (usually literary analysis or research paper, but creative writing and personal essays are also an option, especially if preparing for college application essays).

What About Test Prep?

While it may seem anathema to much of what I’ve described above, I actually love preparing students for the SAT and other standardized tests.  Although this usually offers us a shorter timeline, I believe our best approach involves more than just drilling practice problems for a few hours a week (though we will do some drilling as well!).

While we all have a number goal in mind, we can’t lose sight of the fact that any test is designed to measure a student’s skills within a particular subject area, and the best way to do that is by building those skills.  Using diagnostic data from practice tests, I will design a study program that targets areas for growth and builds the testing stamina through regular reading and practice.  By developing expertise in the assessed areas, students will command confidence in their approach to the test and build skills that will remain useful long after test day has come and gone.

Learning for more than just the SAT

(or college admissions, or even career)

Students who are well-read, thoughtful, and well-practiced at the language arts will not only be more skilled writers, but will also simply have much more to say.  Central to my vocation as an educator is building more thoughtful, interested and interesting, creative, and curious young people.  At the beginning, I lamented the “quick fix” culture that wants to streamline our children’s learning according to some tested standard.  The reality is that kids today read less than ever, and this isn’t just due to technological distractions: schools are asking kids to read fewer books as well (often in favor of short articles targeted to build tested skills).

I think that when we let testing dictate learning, we lose something very precious.  Our students lose the intellectual and cultural connection to the past and the world around them.  Our highest goal as educators should be to introduce students to the works and ideas of the great thinkers and artists, and give them the tools to explore the world of ideas themselves.  This is what it means to be truly literate.

It’s the honor of my life to help cultivate thoughtful, curious, creative, and hardworking young people.  In my experience, here is the surest path toward not only collegiate and career success, but toward a more thoughtful, independent-minded, and compassionate life.