I am a passionate and friendly tutor who has been doing this for the past 7 years with tremendous success. I've worked for big test-prep companies, including a stint with Kaplan where I helped design curriculum, train teachers, and was awarded Manhattan's Teacher of the Year award for 2007; I then taught online test prep for two years with a startup called Knewton. In addition, I have tutored students at all levels, from 5th grade through college, all around New York City and, through the internet, the world -- including India and China -- in Math, History, English, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. I have worked at the Harlem Children's Zone helping students with their homework after-school and I have helped students prepare for AP and SAT II exams in math, history, and science, and at the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library as an educator. I have designed and run Regents prep courses in Math and History, so I am very familiar with the NYS standards and what it takes to achieve them. I am, in short, a tutor with vast experience with almost every clientele, situation, and subject matter.
I am now working entirely independently while I finish graduate school. I am pursuing a PhD in the History of Science and also teaching History at Queens College and City College. I have a wife who is a writer and teaches English at City College, and a beautiful 3-year-old son of whom I will definitely show you pictures. I am well-rounded, smart, and a whole lot of fun to hang around with. I believe that learning is only possible when it's fun, so along with my tremendous experience and very serious approach to education, I will bring a levity to our sessions. I promise that this will be more of a fun, educational, and effective experience than any you've had before. You will look forward to our sessions, to the joy of learning, and to the realization that you can, in fact, succeed.
One of the most frustrating things about working for, as a teacher or tutor, or working with, as a student, a large test-prep or tutoring company is that they have a curriculum designed to be taught by any random teacher or tutor whom they plug into their system. I know this because I have helped design, implement, and train teachers for this very curriculum at more than one organization. While this method produces teachers who are sure to give an acceptable lesson, it does not allow the individual teachers or tutors to flourish with their own special gifts. Furthermore, it guarantees the students will not receive any of the wisdom that only comes from years of experience working with actual students and learning their actual weak points. The special techniques that really, really work can only be taught by those of us working in the field for 5 or more years, and so it can't be part of any curriculum designed for first-time teachers -- and EVERY major tutoring company has to have its curriculum and approach designed for first-time teachers, or else they couldn't ever hire new tutors.
If you're working with a test prep or tutoring company now and unhappy with the results so far; if you've tried other prep and still haven't achieved your target score; if you or your child is in school, struggling, and nothing has worked; if you're just starting to seek help and want to start with the best; then I am the one to contact. I've raised my prices recently so that I can select my clientele more carefully and spend my time where it will be most effective, but I promise it's worth it. I look forward to hearing from you.
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