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Reading Specialist with Harvard Degree + 12 US Patents
John A.

5.0 (969 ratings)

8,038 hours tutoring

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Hourly Rate: $75
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Response time: 4 hours

About John

Bio

Mr. A. had dyslexia as a child and received help from Janet Rule, one of the founders of the Orton Gillingham structured phonetics movement. His tutor was actually the wife of the Dean of Students at MIT.

While at Harvard, Mr. A. found that structured phonetics fell far short of providing all the answers for reading well and quickly. He conducted a large number of reading experiments on himself over his college career, not always with ideal results. Nevertheless, he survived. He graduated...

Mr. A. had dyslexia as a child and received help from Janet Rule, one of the founders of the Orton Gillingham structured phonetics movement. His tutor was actually the wife of the Dean of Students at MIT.

While at Harvard, Mr. A. found that structured phonetics fell far short of providing all the answers for reading well and quickly. He conducted a large number of reading experiments on himself over his college career, not always with ideal results. Nevertheless, he survived. He graduated in 1968 with a B.A. in American History and a desire to improve reading.

Mr. A. decided he would become a professional inventor and solve a number of educational related issues, applying his theory of creativity to education. In the mid 80's Mr. A. wrote a structured phonetics course to help his then young daughter and other people learn to read.

By 1990 Mr. A. saw that he could finish his dream of building a tool to process any text in a way that would enable troubled readers to read at grade level, fast and well, and also help average and good readers become excellent readers. For the last twenty-five years he has focused his creative energy on solving reading issues with this new technology. Proportional Reading is the name for this new approach and the software Mr. A. wrote to empower students to do these things.

Mr. A. has spoken nationally and regionally at a number of conferences and has worked with a number of schools in the U.S.A. He was flown to Washington, DC to receive the national award for helping Dyslexics. He has also been invited frequently to other countries as a reading consultant, most notably Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Czechoslovakia.

Mr. A. also worked with The University of Massachusetts (Boston) and a major textbook publisher to improve student reading of nursing textbooks, using his software.

In the spring and summer of 2018 Mr. A. designed a new way to teach reading improvement, using video conferencing, specially designed for 1on1 teaching to both individuals and group clas

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Education

Harvard College
American History

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Approved Subjects

ACT Reading

ACT Reading

I have spent many years tutoring students from other countries to improve their reading comprehension and speaking, including for the ACT. I use a progression of specialized text formats. My approach improves writing as you improve reading. I also focus on building vocabulary and using one's auditory memory to answer questions.
Dyslexia

Dyslexia

I received the National Award for helping people with Dyslexia. Half of these people have ADHD. I am myself a student of Orton Gillingham. I have tutored many hundreds of people with Dyslexia.
Phonics

Phonics

I specialize in teaching with phonic tools I developed. These are very easy to use. Progress is rapid. My Phonics program is fun to practice independently at home, either by yourself or with your parents. The entire structured phonetic program is on two sides of one piece of paper. In addition, there are accompanying files of real human voice.
Reading

Reading

My approach starts with reading great literature a phrase at a time, ahead of hearing the text read out loud, This is ideal for overcoming 8 Bad Reading Habits. Then students read out loud a punctuation interval at a time, again ahead of computer voice; this is ideal for developing fluency and thinking about questions being asked and answered. Then students read a sentence at a time silently as they hear the text read; this is ideal for learning how to read well at grade level. Finally, students start to read silently ahead of spoken voice; this teaches reading at college level speed and comprehension. Each step in this progression is accompanied by appropriate instruction.
SAT Reading

SAT Reading

The State of Massachusetts financed Mr. A as a demonstration site for all the schools in the State. He worked with nine schools on Cape Cod and many thousands of students and over 200 teachers, often working in individual classrooms for six months at a time. Quite frankly, this was an extremely rare opportunity in American Education, if not totally unique. Thousands of these elementary school students helped him debug his software program. Every night he would improve his program and counter any ways the young students had found to disrupt it. After a while it was debugged. His students were in third place as the most improved class in the state on the state MCAS test.
Vocabulary

Vocabulary

My approach to building vocabulary is multidimensional and root based. My students improve their reading ability as they learn the words. The words are taught in groups involving a common root. My approach greatly enhances general knowledge, critical thinking, and test taking skills. My students also learn how to build their own vocabulary file as they read great literature.
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Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (969 ratings)
5 star
(933)
4 star
(32)
3 star
(3)
2 star
(1)
1 star
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Reviews

Great 👍🏻 session!

He immediately figured out some basic issues and put us on the path to fixing them fast. He is clearly very knowledgeable, smart and kind. My son's unique style surprised him but didn’t stump him. He had awesome advice! We HIGHLY recommend John for reading and comprehension!

Karin, 1 lesson with John

Knowledgeable Tutor

John’s technique helped Kara to read more fluently, allowing for better comprehension the first meeting. We are looking forward to her progressing further as she continues to work with John.

Melissa, 22 lessons with John

knowledgeable & patient tutor

Assisted with understanding why Grandson can't read & taught him how to understand reading. Easy to work with. Great communcation. We would use John in the future.

Dana, 27 lessons with John

Effective insite and strategy

John has been working with my 61 yr old husband who has dislexia, mild cognative impairment and verbal processeing issues. My husband really likes working with John and I am always amazed about the things john finds in his reading that need improvement and implementing productive procedures. My husband feels much more confident in reading each lesson and less and less anxiety associated with reading out load. John sets up a great educational environment both with his website and his explanations. We look forward to continuing to make progress with John's guidance.

Robert, 9 lessons with John

Knowledgeable and kind

John is working with our son who was recently diagnosed with dyslexia. From the 1st lesson we could see a difference. He was very encouraging, patient and connected with our kiddo. We are so thankful to have found him.

Erin, 9 lessons with John

Life-changing Support for Dyslexia: A Grateful Review of John's Tutoring

For nearly three years, John has been an invaluable ally in our journey with dyslexia. As a parent navigating the challenges of supporting a child on the severe end of the dyslexia spectrum, finding effective help was no easy feat. John emerged as a beacon of hope amidst a system ill-equipped to address our son's needs. From the outset, John's techniques proved transformative. His tailored approach to teaching, honed through years of experience and deep understanding of dyslexia, has been nothing short of miraculous for our son. While the school system faltered in providing adequate support, John's dedication and expertise filled the void with tangible results. I cannot overstate the impact John has had on our son's journey. Without his intervention, I shudder to think how far behind our son might have fallen. John's methods go beyond mere tutoring; they instill confidence and empower children struggling with dyslexia to navigate the world of reading with newfound assurance. To any parent grappling with the challenges of dyslexia, I wholeheartedly recommend John. His commitment to his students and the life-changing difference he makes are evident in every session. Thank you, John, for not only teaching our son to read but for giving him the gift of belief in himself. You are truly a hero in the world of dyslexia education.

Sarah, 221 lessons with John

Knowledgeable and kind

John is working with our son who was recently diagnosed with dyslexia. From the 1st lesson we could see a difference. He was very encouraging, patient and connected with our kiddo. We are so thankful to have found him.

Erin, 9 lessons with John

Incredible Tutor!

My son has been meeting with Mr. Adams twice a week for the past couple months, and the improvement in his reading is absolutely incredible. I worried that an over the phone lesson may not keep his attention, but that has not been a problem. His test scores at school have improved drastically, and, most importantly, so has his confidence in reading aloud. We are so grateful to Mr. Adams!

Rylee, 29 lessons with John

Knowleagleble and kind

He gave us a lesson so we could teach our 7-year-old. It was excellent!!! John is so knowledgeable and made references to the way that my son would feel if we could teach him differently. I loved that!

DK, 1 lesson with John

Excellent Tutor

John is an extremely dedicated and compassionate tutor. He helped my son studying for his SSAT and school interviews. My sons’s words “Thanks to John I was able to overcome all the stress, he kept me calm and motivated” my son enjoyed every lesson. Definitely recommended.

Paola, 14 lessons with John
Hourly Rate: $75
Response time: 4 hours
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