Here is a little (a lot) about my background - where I came from and how I became interested in tutoring...
FOR TUTORING INFO, PLEASE SEE PARAGRAPH 7.
I grew up in a small town outside of Erie, Pennsylvania by the name of North East. I attended a very small private school until 8th grade.
1. At North East High School, my extracurricular activities mostly involved sports. I played varsity baseball and varsity basketball. With practices and/or games throughout most of the school year, my friends and I decided to start a start a study group so that we could keep up with assignments during the seasons. We called our group "Homework Huddle" and typically held study sessions at a person's house after practice. Not only was this successful academically, but H.H. also allowed for social connections to be made. I actually met my 10th grade date for Homecoming through H.H. I now realize that H.H. was when I first learned about the importance of time management and organization.
2. At Penn State, I started as a Biology Major. After the first year I realized that I was interested in other things.
3. Sophomore year: I was enrolled in an introductory psychology course. I was sold. I loved everything about it and genuinely wanted to learn more. Psychology became my major.
4. Junior year: While fulfilling the required classes for my psychology degree, I took a class called 'Educational Psychology'. It was all about school systems, teaching methods, classroom strategies, current educational issues, etc. Again, I was sold. More specifically, I became concerned for the state of our current educational system with the increasing amount of standardized testing (due to NCLB regulations).
5. Junior year (cont'): This is when I decided to get involved in the educational process. I became an after-school tutor in a local city's public school system.
6. Senior year: I was still tutoring students and loving it. I completed a student designed senior research project called 'Gender Stereotypes in Animated Media' which allowed us to see the effects of the media on stereotypical beliefs. This took up most of my free time throughout the year, yet I still made time for tutoring.
The more I interacted with the students during tutoring sessions, the more I realized that they were not receiving adequate instruction in the classroom.
7. It seemed as though (based on what the students conveyed to me) teachers in the schools were more concerned with students' knowledge of material which would appear on the NCLB mandated standardized tests than the subject matter within the curriculum's textbooks. It was a type of shallow knowledge, comparable to rote memorization, where only the most basic skills were taught without any pervasive, conceptual knowledge being gained by the students.
8. This is the approach I try to instill in the students I tutor: a knowledge of basic concepts, yet useful skills which can be applied to other subject areas as well.
9. My tutoring sessions usually start with a brain-teaser or short warm up exercise. I feel it is necessary to 'stretch out' and 'get the learning juices flowing' before completely engaging in the task at hand.
10. Once the warm up is over I provide an open discussion where questions by the student are not only encouraged, they are welcomed. I also serve as a motivator and supportive coach if the student appears to lack initiative.
11. I provide a new perspective - a new lens, if you will - through which the student can view subject areas in which they are having difficulties. It is much different than the approach used by most teachers in the classroom setting not only because of the one-on-one interaction, but because the student's efficacy and self-confidence will be built up continuously. This tutoring method serves as a refreshing change of pace for the student.
12. It is satisfying for me to see improved performance in areas that were once problematic. There are few things more gratifying than explaining something to a student and see her/his eyes when she/he eventually "gets it".
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Currently, I am attending Tennessee State University pursuing a Masters of Science in School Psychology. I work part-time as a Graduate Assistant in the school psychology department researching the effectiveness of child sexual abuse prevention programs.