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PhD in Japanese literature who has lectured at Yale and UBC
Kurtis H.

4.9 (14 ratings)

94 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $75
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About Kurtis

Bio

There are many teachers out there, but few who understand the art of teaching. Each student needs a personalized and tailored approach in order to help them gain the skills they need to succeed in life. Too many tutors out there treat every student the same, and don't give any thought to student care and mentoring that high school students need to motivate them.

My journey as a teacher has been a long one that is difficult to sum up in a paragraph. It has been a life-long endeavor that...

There are many teachers out there, but few who understand the art of teaching. Each student needs a personalized and tailored approach in order to help them gain the skills they need to succeed in life. Too many tutors out there treat every student the same, and don't give any thought to student care and mentoring that high school students need to motivate them.

My journey as a teacher has been a long one that is difficult to sum up in a paragraph. It has been a life-long endeavor that started when at the age of 17 I went to Japan by myself to teach English to K-12 students during my summer before senior year. From there I have been teaching consistently since: as an English conversation teacher in Japan, a TA while pursuing my graduate degrees from Kyushu University and the University of British Columbia, and as a lecturer at UBC and Yale. Throughout my life, teaching has been the passion that drives me, and so I like to have a small cohort of students that I can mentor and tutor between my research and my professorial teaching.

My method of teaching any subject focuses on techniques and skills to help students become self-sufficient and self-directed learners. I could go on about andragogy vs pedagogy (which I presented on at a conference last summer), but the short of it is that I will not only teach your student knowledge and skills, but also the processes for obtaining knowledge and skills on their own. I will do my best to set up my students for life-long learning, and look forward to working with you and your student.

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Education

UCLA
Japanese
Kyushu University
Masters
University of British Columbia
PhD

Additional Languages

Japanese

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $75
  • Rate details: For group lessons I do increase the rate, but it ends up being cheaper per student in the end. I will work out group rates in correspondence prior to the start of lessons.
  • Lesson cancellation: 24 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 2/22/2013

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

Algebra 1

Algebra 1

The vast majority of my non SAT tutoring has been in mathematics, and my best subject is Algebra. Having completed through Calculus in high school and scoring a perfect 800 on the math section of the SAT, I enjoy math concepts and have many different ways of interpreting those concepts in order to find the one that works for each individual student. I am especially good at approaches to word problems - a subset of problems that most students dislike.
Drums

Drums

I have played percussion for 16 years, starting in elementary school. In high school I was on the drumline with the marching band, playing snare all four years and acting as the Drum Captain during my senior year. I continued playing marching snare during my four years at UCLA and performed in front of thousands, traveling with various sports teams to tournaments like the Final Four. I have been taught by some of the finest percussionists in the country during my time at UCLA. Along with all my study, I have also played many professional percussion gigs - the most recent being lead percussion for Cal State Fullerton's production of Carousel. I am a great teacher for beginner to advanced players - especially with my expertise in marching percussion - and my focus on technique will help students develop good habits for percussion and will re-train them out of bad ones.
English

English

While at UCLA I received a minor in English along with my major in Japanese language and literature. After a year of substitute teaching - which included English classes - I went to Japan and was an English teacher for two years. Because of my background and because of many Japanese speaker's focus on the minutia of grammar, I am now an expert on obscure grammar rules and on how to teach the different idiosyncrasies our language contains. Beyond grammar, I am also well versed in analyzing literature. My major and minor both required deep analytic dissection of novels, poems, essays, short stories, etc. I am attending graduate school in the fall to study classical Japanese literature, where I will delve even further into my true analytic passion: poetry.
Geometry

Geometry

The vast majority of my non SAT tutoring has been in mathematics, especially in Geometry. Having completed through Calculus in high school and scoring a perfect 800 on the math section of the SAT, I enjoy math concepts and have many different ways of interpreting those concepts in order to find the one that works for each individual student.
Japanese

Japanese

After over 12 years of study, I have achieved a level of fluency that few American students achieve. I majored in Japanese at UCLA, studying both the language and the literature of the country in order to understand the culture. I have been to Japan a total of four times, the latest of which was two years of working at one of the largest English teaching schools in the country. I have also studied deeply in classical Japanese - the archaic form of the language in which most of the nation's poetry is written in.
Proofreading

Proofreading

I have over a decade proofreading for various levels of writing, including EFL students' submissions, undergraduate essays or other assignments, and within graduate-student writing groups where we proofread each others' work. My most recent editing position has been as a co-editor for an upcoming book publication from Brill.
SAT Math

SAT Math

When I took the SAT, I got a perfect 800 on the original 1600 point version. After my time tutoring at an SAT prep company, I realized that the math questions are much more reasoning based on the current version of the test. I am well versed in methods and tricks to help maximize students scores on this area - an area that causes panic in many students.
SAT Reading

SAT Reading

Most students panic when faced with the Reading section - mostly because of the vocabulary questions. When I took the SAT I got a 720 on the reading portion of the old 1600 point version, which included questions much harder than the current version. I know all the vocabulary words on the tests - but more importantly I know how to approach the questions when you don't know the definitions of all the words. My time teaching at an SAT prep company solidified into words my own methods for answering these questions, and these methods have helped high school students as well as my English language students in Japan, who took proficiency tests with the same format of question as the SAT. This is my favorite subject to teach about the SAT, and while I can't guarantee a perfect score, I can guarantee that your students score will improve with the methods I have to teach.
Algebra 2
ESL/ESOL
Grammar
Literature
Prealgebra
Reading
SAT Writing
TOEFL
Vocabulary
World History
Writing
Kurtis H.'s Photo

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Ratings and Reviews

Rating

4.9 (14 ratings)
5 star
(12)
4 star
(2)
3 star
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2 star
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1 star
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Reviews

Amazing SAT Prep Tutor

I would like to say, he's an amazing SAT Writing tutor. He explains everything from the beginning and gives unique tricks to assist students and allow them to succeed in the SAT Writing portion. I highly recommend this tutor to anyone that's looking to achieve a higher competitive SAT score.

Thomas, 4 lessons with Kurtis

Serious, professional, flexible, amiable, courteous...

The 'Review Title' doesn't say enough. This gentleman does what he says he does, and goes the extra mile for you. It was a pleasant experience negotiating with him and the tutoring sessions were more than hoped for. Fantastic person, fantastic tutor!!

Maurice, 3 lessons with Kurtis
Hourly Rate: $75
Contact Kurtis