I've been teaching/tutoring math and science since attending Taconic high school in Pittsfield, Massachusetts where I grew up amidst the beautiful Berkshire Mountains. Growing up in western Massachusetts afforded me with many clear, and beautifully dark, skies through which I could gaze upon the heavens and wonder about the complexities of the Universe. Thus, from an early age, I developed a love of Astronomy aided by nights peering through my neighbor's telescope, and, later on, when my father bought me one of my own. As my love for learning grew, I became more inclined to share that knowledge with others. I had a few opportunities in high school that were more based on sharing ideas and knowledge that some of my peers either hadn't thought about or weren't expose to at that time. I think that's when I started to mold my ideas on how to translate knowledge from one entity (book, person, forest survey, etc.) to another.
When I attended college at Williams, I still had only a few opportunities to tutor given my busy schedule of classes and extracurricular activities. However, I learned how hard it could be to understand certain concepts and retain knowledge over a short period of time while further acknowledging how your background and personal circumstances could effect your performance, regardless of your innate intelligence. So, in college, I learned, in my own triumphs and failings, how to be empathetic to an individual's learning curve.
After graduating college and taking time off to tend to family matters, I returned to school for my advance degrees in Astronomy. It was during my Masters program in Astronomy at Wesleyan University that I really started to grow as a teacher and tutor. At Wesleyan, I had mandatory teaching and tutoring responsibilities and a willing, highly engaged, student body. It was a wonderful experience and I totally fell in love with teaching at that point.
Since graduating from Wesleyan, I have continued to pursue both my love of astronomy and sharing knowledge, here, in New York City, as I work towards my Doctoral degree in Astronomy at Columbia University. Since I have completed my TA duties in my PhD program at Columbia University, I wanted to supplement my income by continuing to use my skills in tutoring in the areas of math and science. If you hire me, I will be a valuable asset to you and/or your child in the process of learning and adopting learning skills that will prove invaluable for a lifetime.
In summary, I have more than a decade of experience in tutoring, TA-ing, teaching, and mentoring in both math and science. I prefer the opportunity to work with individuals in focused sessions where I can address specific areas for improvement in comprehension and studying skills but I am open to small group sessions or teaching classes as well. I have developed excellent communication skills via my experiences in teaching, public lecturing, and outreach. Furthermore, I believe, that among other things, my recreational pursuits of singing in various a cappella groups and our personable approach to public outreach at Columbia has afforded me excellent professional social skills. I seek to apply these skills in my day-to-day tutoring and teaching endeavors.
Thanks for your consideration in reviewing my tutoring service. I look forward to scheduling a tutoring session and/or an interview to help set you, a friend or a loved one on the best path forward in their studies.
Respectfully yours,
Duane
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