My name is Courtney H., and I have been in education for many years. You might say it’s been a lifelong endeavor for me. My parents were educators. They helped start one school, sat on the board of another, and were founding board members of the North Dakota Home School Association. I started teaching at the age of thirteen, as a volunteer. I have taught professionally, for nearly thirteen years. I have coached soccer. I co-founded a school and taught a wide array of subjects there for three years, including Latin, Rhetoric, General Science, and History. For over ten years, I have also worked as a tutor. I have written and conducted seminars.
Tutoring is the work that I find most rewarding. I am prepared to tutor students in all subjects through high school, and I am well-versed in ACT and SAT preparation. I am more particular about college-level students I tutor, in part because of my own strengths and weaknesses in advanced courses. Feel free to ask for more details. I tutor adult students in a variety of subjects, and I have also had success in the past working with students who have a variety of “learning disabilities,” including ADD/ADHD and dyslexia.
My particular specialties, in addition to ACT and SAT preparation, are in the liberal arts—reading comprehension, writing, logic & reasoning, and language studies, for example. I have had a great deal of experience helping students with their reading skills; I taught writing at the college level for five-and-a-half years; I have taught logic and rhetoric courses; and I have studied eight foreign languages at varying levels, including Latin and four living languages: Spanish, French, German, and Russian. (German is my current focus.) I have done ESL tutoring, though I do not have ESL certification.
I can help students at all levels with their study skills, and analyzing a student’s study skills always plays a role in any tutoring I provide. At a fundamental level, it is the skill—or lack of skill—in studying that determines a student’s success in studying. For the most part, better grades and better learning come with better studying. That doesn’t necessarily mean more time studying; often it simply means smarter studying.
It is important for you to note, especially if you are the parent or guardian, that for most students–and probably for your student—there is no “magic” fix. For most students, it takes several weeks to begin to see significant improvement. I have been working with students at various levels for over twenty years, and I have been studying educational theory and practice as long as I can remember. If you merely want a better test score next week, I can help with that, but I’d rather not, because that’s like taking aspirin to mask the pain when real medical treatment is what you need. If I can see a simple or immediate fix, you may be sure I will tell you. I take what I do very seriously, and I have three very important personal policies related to this: (1) I don’t continue working with students I’m not actually helping; (2) I don’t continue working with students when they reach the point that they can do just as well on their own; and (3) I strive to always analyze, diagnose, and treat “educational maladies” with as much precision as possible, and recommend only “treatments” that I believe will be the most effective in eliminating the root problem as quickly and as completely as possible.
Finally, please keep in mind that I come at education from an “outside-the-box” perspective—and I don’t say that lightly. I believe strongly that our educational system almost across the board—public, private, and parochial—is flawed at its foundation, not just in certain particulars. I have taught within the system in the past, and I have actively chosen to withdraw from the system. I do not even want to teach ACT and SAT preparation—though I am very good at it—because the ACT and SAT exams are inherently flawed. It is, in my opinion, shameful for institutions that claim to support higher learning to demand such flawed exams in order to enroll in those institutions. But, as I said, I am very good at helping students make the most of their abilities and knowledge in taking the ACT and SAT exams, so I continue doing that because it’s not their fault these institutions require the flawed tests. Is it possible that I may once again teach within the system? It is possible but also unlikely. I don’t judge those who choose to remain in the system, whether teachers, students, or parents, so I won’t judge you, either. And just because I have chosen to withdraw from the system doesn’t mean you should, and it doesn’t mean that I can’t help you and your student make the most of your time within the system. In fact, quite the opposite: Because of my position outside the system, I am uniquely positioned to help you and your student maximize your time within the system.
If you’re interested in hearing more, drop me a line. I’ll be happy to speak with you, and you’re always welcome to pick my brain or use me as a sounding board, whether or not you choose to enroll with me. The rates you see listed are for me to meet your student at my location; the rate is higher if you ask me to come to your location. WyzAnt offers package discounts, which can bring the effective rate down even further. I charge what I do because I’m worth it. The tutoring I provide is of a different kind and of a different quality than you may be used to. Feel free to try me out, as it were, and make up your own mind. I won’t mind you disagreeing with me.
Thank you for taking the time to read my profile. Please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Courtney H.
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