Andrew B.
Private tutor in Windham, CT
Education
Bachelor of Arts degrees in English Literature and Political Science, Magna Cum Laude, Arizona State University, 2013. Master of Arts in Medieval Studies, University of Connecticut, currently in progress, expected May 2019.
Experience
Hello! I moved to Connecticut from the Seattle area last year to pursue a master's in Medieval Studies at UConn in pursuit of an academic career. As a part of that, I teach the First-Year Writing seminar which all UConn students are required to take, but that still leaves me with plenty of time and a flexible schedule, which is why I'm on here! My experience is mostly in tutoring and teaching English reading & writing, conversational ESL, and test prep, but I also have experience tutoring history, and have some expertise in political science and its related fields. 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 moved here and began teaching college students for the first time. The weakness of my tutoring is that there's no one particular curriculum or approach that I use, but this is also my strength: 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 current work at UConn (which involves a great deal of essay grading), and 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. My current field of Medieval Studies combines Literature, Languages, and History into a single field, which is a good fit for my undergraduate background: while at ASU, I earned one degree in English Literature, but I also majored in Political Science, with a focus on International Politics thanks to my interest in geography. 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 generally happy to meet and discuss possible tutoring strategies, and I'm also happy to provide you with my resume and references at your request. Thanks!
Subject Expertise
AP U.S. Government & PoliticsUS HistoryWorld HistoryHistoryAP World HistoryAP European HistoryAP US HistoryAmerican HistoryPolitical ScienceGovernmentAP US GovernmentACT EnglishAP Comparative Government and PoliticsWritingSAT WritingACT WritingSAT Critical ReadingReadingEnglishAP English Literature and CompositionAP English Language and CompositionACT Reading
Availability
Saturday at any time, Weekdays at any time, Sunday after 1PM
Can Meet
Up to 1 hour away for no additional charge
Hobbies
I love reading, though I don't get the time to do as much as I'd like. I'm also an avid hiker and backpacker. In my spare time, I enjoy driving around the back roads of Connecticut and taking pictures of barns.
Show More
Inquire About This Tutor
Thanks!
Most tutors respond within 48 hours.
Feel free to contact other tutors while you wait.