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Master teacher specializing in writing, public speaking, reading
Gerald H.

4.9 (194 ratings)

1,253 hours tutoring

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Hourly Rate: $40
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Response time: 3 hours

About Gerald

Bio

I was an adjunct instructor for Syracuse University for 28 years during which I taught college freshman English and a course on literary theory. The synthesis essay and thesis paper were emphasized in both courses. So, if a guided revision of your essay or an in-depth discussion over a particular reading will benefit you, please contact me. I will teach you analytical strategies to use on future papers.

In addition, I have taught both Public Speaking and Debate. Observing my students grow...

I was an adjunct instructor for Syracuse University for 28 years during which I taught college freshman English and a course on literary theory. The synthesis essay and thesis paper were emphasized in both courses. So, if a guided revision of your essay or an in-depth discussion over a particular reading will benefit you, please contact me. I will teach you analytical strategies to use on future papers.

In addition, I have taught both Public Speaking and Debate. Observing my students grow into confident, articulate speakers has been a significant highlight of my career. My students, when I could convince them, often joined the Debate Team. As coach, this afforded another opportunity for me to further develop their skills in Congressional debate. Their commitment to honing their debating skills resulted in the team's earning the award of Congressional State Champions 8 consecutive times.

My wide experiences, together with my ability to listen and intuit what students need, enable me to create personalized and effective experiences for both high school and college levels.

I look forward to helping you achieve academic success.

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Education

University of Southern Maine
English
University of Southern Maine
MEd
University of Southern Maine
Graduate Coursework
  • Licensed teacher

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $40
  • Rate details: If you need to cancel with less than 24 hours' notice, you can have a free makeup lesson when one can be scheduled.
  • Lesson cancellation: 24 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 10/3/2017

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

ACT English

ACT English

My experiences as a high school English teacher, along with my experience of teaching college freshmen English for Syracuse University, lend themselves well to prepping students for the ACT English Test. These two sections on the ACT English--Usage/Mechanics and Rhetorical Skills-- have always been the focus of my writing instruction.
ACT Reading

ACT Reading

My experiences as a high school English teacher, along with my experience of teaching college freshmen English for Syracuse University, lend themselves well to prepping students for the ACT Reading Test. I have always supplemented my students reading with passages that comprise the four categories of the ACT: Prose fiction, Humanities, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences. Students reading must be varied in order for them not only to improve their reading comprehension using various types of reading but also to develop their thinking skills from a varied knowledge base.
English

English

I have taught English both at the high school level (in college preparatory and honors courses) and college level (as an adjunct instructor for Syracuse University). My focus for all my students was to further develop their reading and writing skills. To that end, we focused on synthesis essays that required understanding a variety of texts in order to create a well-supported thesis paper based on their readings. In addition, I have worked with seniors to write their college application essays and a college-ready research paper.
Grammar

Grammar

In order to communicate effectively, we must have a set of rules to which we all adhere. Of course, there are digressions when we consider the grammar of our songs, poems, texts, and tweets. Interestingly enough, we can understand these digressions thanks to "the rules." As a lifelong student of grammar (so necessary as a proofreader and essay corrector), I have observed that we consistently make the same mistakes. Once a writer knows his or her mistakes, that changes everything. My goal is that my students have an understanding of the rules in order to be proficient communicators.
Literature

Literature

My teaching of literature includes both American, English, and world literature at the high school level, along with literary analysis at the college level. My approach to understanding has been to bring in other texts related to the given one in order to have students consider a variety of possible interpretations. This approach encourages a richer understanding of the text. It is important for students to realize that they are the makers of meaning of the text.
Proofreading

Proofreading

It probably seems counterintuitive that I enjoy correcting (proofreading) student essays and research papers. On the contrary, it is the proofing of papers where I begin to understand students as writers and thinkers. From this place, lessons of writing (grammar, word choice, transition, coherence, documentation, etc.) and thinking (logic, evidence, evolved thesis) begin. My experience proofreading includes my high school and college students, my two sons, and a friend's reports for her consulting business.
PSAT

PSAT

I developed and taught test prep for Reading and Writing at my high school. In addition, I taught these courses at night to students from different high schools. Also, I have taught students how to write analytical essays and editing skills to improve their final essay copies. These skills will prove advantageous for success on the Writing section.
Public Speaking

Public Speaking

I taught the Public Speaking course and the Speech and Debate course at Scarborough High School in Maine for 12 years (2004 - 2015). In addition, I coached the Speech and Debate Team for 11 years during which the team was the Maine State Congressional Champions for 7 consecutive years and Runners-up for two years. I had the pleasure of coaching students who earned nominations to national championships. More importantly, I had the pleasure of watching them hone their skills to become articulate speakers and analytical thinkers.
Reading

Reading

To understand the meaning of a text, the reader must focus on its author's word choice (diction). A close textual reading requires an exploration of words in context. Specific analytical skills applied to the reading of a text enable the reader to make meaning. I have taught students reading techniques to do just that.
SAT Reading

SAT Reading

I developed and taught the SAT Reading and SAT Writing preparation program at my high school. In addition, I taught these SAT preparation courses at night to students from different high schools. I am familiar with the new SAT's analytical approach to reading with understanding.
SAT Writing

SAT Writing

I developed and taught the SAT Reading and SAT Writing preparation program at my high school. In addition, I taught these SAT preparation courses at night to students from different high schools. I addition, I have taught students how to write analytical essays and editing skills to improve their final essay copies. These skills will prove advantageous for success on the SAT Writing section.
Writing

Writing

The writing assignments that I have taught include the following: the persuasive essay, the synthesis essay, the research paper, the college application essay, the SAT Writing essay. All writing is persuasive by nature. Since the purpose of writing is communication, we writers want to ensure our readers understand us. Our task is to ensure that our writing is clear, that it contains effective word choice, that its logic and evidence are compelling. These are the components that I emphasize with writing instruction.
Gerald H.'s Photo

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Ratings and Reviews

Rating

4.9 (194 ratings)
5 star
(181)
4 star
(7)
3 star
(1)
2 star
(2)
1 star
(3)

Reviews

Knowledgeable Tutor

Helped my daughter with her college essay! The lesson started on time and review of essay before the lesson was a great idea! Follow up was good and will definitely go for the follow up lessons if needed. Thank you

Rohail, 2 lessons with Gerald

Very Nice Tutor

Gerald help review my daughter's college essay and she was pleased with the comments. He first reviewed and provided the comments offline and then discussed with my daughter. Thanks Gerald.

Nagappa, 1 lesson with Gerald

Knowledgeable and helpful

Great first session with Gerald, where we spent time brainstorming ideas and helping me feel like I have a direction with my college personal statement essay.

Rebekah, 1 lesson with Gerald

He was very knowledgeable.

Gerald was very helpful. He requested some examples of the writing I am having trouble with ahead of our tutor session. He studied the areas I struggled, with which was expressing myself clearly via email and letters. We reviewed the examples that I provided together during the sit-down we and made corrections. I decided to schedule another session with him.

Hector, 1 lesson with Gerald

Great communicator and knowledgeable

Gerry did a great job helping give notes and feedback with helping my student with a paper on The Odyssey. His expertise was needed in a timely fashion and he was able to provide that. Will use him in the future!

Annie, 1 lesson with Gerald

Awesome tutor. Very knowledgeable and worked well with my son. His suggestions for essays are continually spot on !

Gerald helped my son form better sentences. Worked with him on punctuation and really was able to assist him with descriptive writing and getting to the emotional context of the essay; instead of just putting lists together of events that happened.

Brian, 2 lessons with Gerald

Great tutor

I can’t say that I know the details in what was learned through the lesson because it was for my son but I can tell you this
My son was struggling on his English section of his SAT and now he is very confident in retaking the test. On the practice test he passed with flying colors! Would highly recommend Gerald to anyone needing English tutoring!!

Leah, 3 lessons with Gerald

Great tutor

He taught me how to improve my writing and guided me to think about the way I wrote. We discussed many topics and he assigned prompts for me to write which helped me practice what I learned.

Fiona, 33 lessons with Gerald

Great

Not one bad complaint about him, he was on time for all 4 sessions, emailed me extra lessons, and checked on me a few days later. Easy going and very positive. I was able to pass both college classes with his help.

Joella, 4 lessons with Gerald

Friendly and Helpful

Came on time and very friendly. Helped my child a lot, now he knows what he needs to work on. Will hire again.

An, 1 lesson with Gerald
Hourly Rate: $40
Response time: 3 hours
Contact Gerald