Hello! I'm Tristan, and I have a BA in English Literature from San Francisco State University. I was a transfer student after obtaining my AA-T from Ohlone College. Professionally, I am a technical writer, have over two years of experience in journalism, and worked on K-6 education at ReallyGreatReading.
I'm also experienced in education. I've worked as an embedded tutor during my college years in an ESL class, where I essentially was a teaching assistant without having to grade. I helped...
Hello! I'm Tristan, and I have a BA in English Literature from San Francisco State University. I was a transfer student after obtaining my AA-T from Ohlone College. Professionally, I am a technical writer, have over two years of experience in journalism, and worked on K-6 education at ReallyGreatReading.
I'm also experienced in education. I've worked as an embedded tutor during my college years in an ESL class, where I essentially was a teaching assistant without having to grade. I helped college-aged students with their assignments one-on-one and the current lesson during class hours, and would schedule office hours with students who were interested outside of class.
I worked as substitute teacher in the state of Michigan at elementary schools. I did both one-on-one work with children falling behind in their courses and full classroom work. All in all, I've worked about a year and a half in education.
The most important skill you have as a tutor or teacher is respect. The squeaky wheel gets the grease—the students coasting along don't need your help as much as struggling students do. These students get frustrated and might have emotional reactions, which only get worse if the tutor/teacher does the same thing back. In English specifically, simplifying concepts and putting the student in the narrative's shoes is a quick way to help them understand a text. Asking open-ended questions and elaborating on their answer to get to where you need to go is key in helping them understand themes.
