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Creative-thoughtful tutor with degrees from Stanford and Berkeley
Marko F.

5.0 (153 ratings)

874 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $45
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About Marko

Bio

I have a varied career background that includes 4 years as a public school teacher and 20 years in education related work as an attorney, education reform specialist, and as a researcher. I enjoy working directly with students and tailoring the sessions to the student's individual needs and learning style.

I've also published 30 short stories and am currently working on a book.

I have a varied career background that includes 4 years as a public school teacher and 20 years in education related work as an attorney, education reform specialist, and as a researcher. I enjoy working directly with students and tailoring the sessions to the student's individual needs and learning style.

I've also published 30 short stories and am currently working on a book.

Education

Stanford
history
stanford school of education
Masters
UC Berkeley Law School
J.D.

Policies

  • Tutor’s lessons: In-person
  • Hourly Rate: $45
  • Travel policy: Within 40 miles of Durham, NC 27713
  • Lesson cancellation: 6 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 6/11/2015

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

American History

American History

I taught US History at both the high school and middle school level in public schools and have a bachelor's degree in history and a masters in education from Stanford with a social studies emphasis. In addition, I'm an attorney and have a strong background in constitutional history. I use a variety of resources, visual, musical, and personal to help students understand American history as something that impacts their lives on a daily basis. I also use primary sources from ordinary people like letters, journals, and account books to help convey the impact of events on ordinary people.
Chess

Chess

I played chess competitively in high school at the local and national level. I have a background as school teacher and worked in special education. I've taught chess for a number of years to children and beginners, both as an introduction to critical/strategic thinking and as a bridge to socialization for the disabled. I primarily use Capablanca's principles of the game which he turned into a book in the 1920's which I still consider the best articulated guide for moving from knowing how the pieces moves to thinking about tactics and style.
ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL

I worked as an ESL consultant helping schools assess their limited English speaking students, but more significantly I grew up in California in a community of immigrants from China. Over the years, I noticed that there were a number of members of that community who were very successful despite the fact that that their English skills were still developing. It was my first lesson in the fact that being an effective communicator isn't always about the words or fluency with words. We communicate with more than the words we speak. It's how we say them and when that makes the deeper impression. As an ESL teacher, I emphasize both the rules of English and the rules of communicating well in American culture.
Public Speaking

Public Speaking

I spent several years doing presentation on legal and educational matters for a wide variety of audiences at conferences and other gatherings across the country as well has handling hearings and court appearances for clients. I also spent a year as a member of Toastmasters International. I have a background as both a lawyer and a as a teacher and have experience helping individuals learn to control nerves, to get an audience's attention, to hold it, and to maintain a sense of authority on whatever subject the individuals is addressing both in a business setting and in more recreational modes (wedding toasts, awards ceremonies, etc.)
Social Studies

Social Studies

I have a Masters in Education from the Stanford School of Education's STEP program with a single subject specialty in social studies. I am currently teaching Civics at a small private school in Durham. I have a credential from the state of California to teach social studies at the secondary level and I also am a member of the California Bar. I have a flexible approach to tutoring the subject. Sometimes, the student needs to improve his/her knowledge base about geography, the history of different regions or eras, the Constitution, etc. In that case, we review key facts, make connections/analogies, and develop a narrative about the topic. More frequently, the student needs help with writing essays or papers. In those instances, we work on learning to support conclusions with evidence, writing clearly, and being persuasive.
Writing

Writing

I specialize in helping writing students develop and strengthen their 'voice' as the key to wirting with clarity and precision. I've published dozens of fiction and non-fiction stories over the years and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times. In addition to teaching language arts, I've written and edited for both George Lucas and the U.S. Department of education. I also have a masters in education from Stanford.
ACT English
ACT Math
Algebra 1
Elementary Math
English
European History
GMAT
Government & Politics
GRE
Law
Literature
Microsoft Word
Prealgebra
Proofreading
PSAT
Reading
SAT Math
SAT Reading
SAT Writing
Vocabulary
World History
Marko F.'s Photo

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Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (153 ratings)
5 star
(147)
4 star
(6)
3 star
(0)
2 star
(0)
1 star
(0)

Reviews

Knowledgeable and patient

Marko is a great chess tutor for my 9 and 6 year old kids. He is very friendly and knowledgeable, and is a natural teacher. Highly recommended. Does in-person lessons with us.

Kevin, 3 lessons with Marko

Knowledgeable and Interactive

Mr. Marko helped my son with ELA, essays and reading comprehension. He is extremely polite, interactive, knowledgeable and engaged my son. My son really likes him too. Mr. Marko tries to gauge his student's interest by finding out what they are interested in and then pairing it with reading and ELA. Would strongly recommend him to anyone interested in ELA tutor.

Nadia, 10 lessons with Marko

Knowledgeable and considerate tutor

Marko is patient and takes the time to make sure that I understand each problem before moving on to other areas of study. Though he is primarily helping me with GRE prep, it is clear that his skills as a tutor would translate to other areas of study as well.

Olivia, 5 lessons with Marko

Mr. Marko F. is great!

Mr. Marko F. is great! He engages well with our ten year old son. We are very thankful for that Mr. Marko F. is helping our son improving his writing skills.

Mengnan, 51 lessons with Marko

Wonderful, Patient and Innovative

Marko has been working with my son for several months now. My son is highly distractable and not very excited about language arts. Marko consistently seeks ways to engage my son with assignments and exercises that relate to my son’s interests. On days when my son is not wildly cooperative, Marko sticks with it and patiently redirects him back to the lesson. We really appreciate Marko and the work he is doing.

Kate, 22 lessons with Marko

Marko is a great English teacher

My daughter has been Mr. Marko on reading and writing for several months. He is very friendly and honest. Mr. Marko tried to find out student's interest and get student engaged. He always prepared and sent in the teaching materials in advance, and spent more time with us in the class. Definitely we recommend him to others.

Sean, 15 lessons with Marko

Very Knowledgeable & Patient Tutor

We were looking at improving high school student's ACT reading scores and comfort with test answer strategies. Marko did an excellent job spotting student's weaknesses and targeted those with specific valuable advises. In addition, Marko followed up with an excellent summary of the class describing the interaction, approach and summarized the specific recommendations. We'll definitely ask Marko again for help and I highly recommend him as tutor. Great experience!

Lahoucine , 3 lessons with Marko

Very patient as a tutor. Makes excellent suggestions.

Marko is very patient in exploring what my deficiencies are. He is quick to point out my weaknesses and makes really useful suggestions, He's very friendly and in one session I have learned and improved a lot.

Richard, 6 lessons with Marko

Great teacher

My teenage kids had a lesson with Marko and they want to keep working with him. He is very calm and collected, and we would love to have more lessons together. He is a wonderful teacher!

Hyun, 17 lessons with Marko

Knowledgeable and Patient Tutor

I've only had the chance to meet with Marko once but will keep on meeting with him throughout the year. He read my answer to a past final and was able to tell me what I was doing wrong and what we need to work on this year.

Sunil, 5 lessons with Marko
Hourly Rate: $45
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