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Scintillating Education: Specializing in English
Mike N.

5.0 (1,668 ratings)

3,349 hours tutoring

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Hourly Rate: $46
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Response time: 56 minutes

About Mike

Bio

During my law enforcement career, I had myriad opportunities to serve. Nonetheless, I wanted to contribute more. After earning my teacher certification in English and degrees in criminal justice, elementary education, liberal arts, and psychology, I remained in the criminal-justice field for some years—serving a total of 15 years—and then I transitioned to education, working with students at all levels: grade school, college, and adults.

Why English? When I was a police officer, an...

During my law enforcement career, I had myriad opportunities to serve. Nonetheless, I wanted to contribute more. After earning my teacher certification in English and degrees in criminal justice, elementary education, liberal arts, and psychology, I remained in the criminal-justice field for some years—serving a total of 15 years—and then I transitioned to education, working with students at all levels: grade school, college, and adults.

Why English? When I was a police officer, an investigator with the local district attorney’s office commended me for my report-writing skills, which resulted in plea bargain in nearly every case—minimizing court costs and use of other resources. Having learned two languages (English and Vietnamese) simultaneously, I have always valued language. This commendation made me reflect on the reasons that I had such a regard for language, and it motivated me to pursue my degrees so that I may not only continue to improve my skills but also inspire others to overcome barriers so that they may reach their goals.

My objective is to motivate people to identify their own strengths and then help them to see how a strength in one area may also apply in other areas. For example, a proficient computer-science student may have an aversion to grammar; however, after realizing the logic that governs English, that student may then apply said strength to understand grammar. The if-then statements and the 1s and 0s apply to both. My priorities are the “why” and the “how” questions. Once people understand the “why,” then they will be able to use that information in other applicable instances. Apply the familiar to the unfamiliar. And because we often encounter unforeseen circumstances, we all need to know the “how”—how to locate and use reliable and valid resources.

No matter how well people do, I try to challenge them to improve—to reach their full potentials. Likewise, I am always seeking ways to improve myself. I don’t just want to help you meet standards; I want to help you exceed them.

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Education

McNeese State University
English, Psychology, Elem Edu, CJ

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $46
  • Rate details: Cancelation Policy is STRICTLY Enforced. Please be PUNCTUAL, or you will incur a cancellation fee for the entirety of the scheduled session.
  • Lesson cancellation: 10 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 12/18/2020

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

Grammar

Grammar

In everyday conversations, we often use colloquialism. The problem is that we then develop habits that make it difficult for us to distinguish between the formal and the informal. I not only explain grammatical rules to my students but I also provide them with memory aids for later recall. For example, it is one thing to inform a student that English has seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Providing a mnemonic aid—such as this acronym, FANBOYS—facilitates recall. I also encourage students to strip away certain parts of sentence structures to test for correctness. Example: That cake is for my wife and I. Separate to test: That cake is for my wife. That cake is for me. Revision: That cake is for my wife and me. Separating complex structures into smaller and more manageable parts aids comprehension and recall because the student may apply the same technique to various situations.
ISEE

ISEE

I have helped several students prepare for and successfully complete the ISEE test. In addition to knowledge and intelligence enhancements, test-taking skills are essential. The process of elimination can often be challenging. For example, test writers will use fact traps in which answer options will contain information that is factually true but do not address the question. Other examples include hedge words, such as “likely”, “often”, and “sometimes”, that make answer options too inclusive and extreme words, such as “always” and “never” that leave no wiggle room. For the verbal reasoning section, students are not expected to know the definitions of ever word. Rather, the questions measure students’ problem-solving skills. The quantitative reasoning section measures not only math skills but also (obviously) reasoning skills. For example, take the following question: Which is the largest fraction? A. 3/7 B. 4/9 C. 5/10 D. 6/13 Finding the lowest common denominator would be very time-consuming. However, we can see that each option is close to 1/2. Therefore: A. 3/7 < 1/2 B. 4/9 < 1/2 C. 5/10 = 1/2 This is the largest. D. 6/13 < 1/2 The reading comprehension is where we apply all the little bits of learned information to draw conclusions. For example, we apply knowledge of prefix “pro” to indicate the positive and “de” as negative. We also use contextual clues to decipher unfamiliar words. For example, consider the word “transient” in the following sentence, which contains a switchback word: “While the popularity of most almanacs from that era was transient, the legacy of Poor Richard’s Almanac is enduring.” Enduring means lasting. The sentence starts with the switchback, or contrast word, “while”, so “transient” must be an antonym of “enduring”, which is short-lived. Finally, time management is crucial.
Writing

Writing

I have been working with secondary, undergraduate, and graduate students to help them improve their writing skills. Of course, I focus on organization, development, and style; but I exhaustively review for grammatical and logical issues. While a paper may contain good information, grammatical errors make it difficult for the reader to follow. Regarding logical issues—such as in argumentative and persuasive essays—faulty logic can weaken an author’s position. Furthermore, I encourage students to consider additional factors, components, and perspectives. For example, if a student were to write about the relationship between culture and communication but focuses only on the responsibility of the listener to interpret the information, I would encourage that student to consider the speaker’s role as well. What terms are the speaker using within a certain cultural context? What about nonverbal cues?
American History
Elementary Science
English
ESL/ESOL
GED
Literature
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Philosophy
Phonics
Proofreading
Psychology
Reading
Spelling
TOEFL
Vocabulary
World History

Examples of Expertise

Mike has provided examples of their subject expertise by answering 9 questions submitted by students on Wyzant’s Ask an Expert.

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Response time: 56 minutes

Ratings and Reviews

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5.0 (1,668 ratings)
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Reviews

Amazing tutor!!!

My son has been tutoring with Mike since may of 2021 and the improvement that my son has done is amazing. My son couldnt nearly even read. Now he is reading and spelling words. His confidence has gone up as well. He has been trying to read almost everything he comes across especially in roblox. It's no longer "mommy can you read this" he reads it on his own. Only asks for help when he isnt sure. I am very very please with MIKE!!!

LEIDY, 536 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you, Leidy. It’s a privilege to work with your son. He’s a very hard worker, and he has such a positive attitude!

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

We’ve had an amazing experience with Mike the tutor! During his first evaluation, he quickly identified my daughter’s weaknesses in writing and spelling and developed a targeted plan to address them. His consistent communication has been outstanding—he keeps us updated and even sends helpful resources to support her learning. Our first few sessions have been fantastic, and we’re already seeing improvement. With his expertise and dedication, we’re excited about the progress she’ll continue to make in future sessions. Highly recommend Mike to anyone looking for a skilled and thoughtful tutor!

Judelkiss, 15 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you, Judelkiss! It’s certainly a pleasure to work with your daughter. Her attentiveness and eagerness are bonuses. We’re just helping her unlock her tremendous potential. We are all equipped in specific ways to build each other up, and I feel blessed to have been privileged to do my part. I get much delight in seeing others succeed, so thank you for having given me the opportunity to have another such experience!

Well prepared, interesting lessons!

My daughter always comes out of her sessions with Mike saying, “you know what I learned today….” She finds the lessons interesting and useful. Mike truly loves what he does…and that always shows through in the work of a teacher/tutor. Highly recommend Mike.

Michelle, 23 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you, Michelle! It’s always a pleasure to work with your daughter. She puts her heart into her education, and I’m extremely proud of her! When I explain something to her, I can see her connecting the dots, and then she applies it. It’s truly a pleasure to work with such an ardent child!

He is in the world but not of it

Simply one of the best tutors. Experience it for yourself. His presence makes a difference. He is in the world but not of it. The tutor who can unlock your creativity

SUNG, 31 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you, Sung! Each day, I strive to fulfill my purpose, which is to serve others, and I am blessed to be able to do so.

ISEE test preparation

Mike is doing a great job helping my son with his ISEE practices, he is organize and knows what he’s doing. It’s been very helpful. He explain everything in a easy way and answers right promptly my emails.

Henry , 6 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you very much, Christine! Your son is sharp and dedicated, and it’s a pleasure working with him!

Knowledge, very kind and a patient tutor.

Mike is beyond Amazing! I’m simple words -He is THE TUTOR for your child. My child clicked with him so well. I am looking forward for more sessions with Mike. Thank you MIKE

Azra , 41 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you very much, Azra! I appreciate you for having given me the opportunity to work with your son. He’s a very hard worker, so I am confident that he will continue to do well!

A very patient teacher

The teacher taught me to read articles and correct my pronunciation.He is very patient! Although I only had two classes, I have become accustomed to working together with the teacher.

Tim, 10 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you, Tim! It’s a pleasure to work with you. I appreciate your dedication.

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

Mike is very well prepared and planned a lot for our first lesson. He is very kind and patient, he went through my daughter's previous school essay and gave her many excellent recommendations on how to revise her essay. She has learned a lot in just one lesson. We are looking forward to continue working with Mike.

Erin, 191 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you, Erin. It’s my passion to help people connect the dots and get to the next step. I could tell just from reading your daughter’s essay that she is very studious and motivated. She already has the keys to unlock the doors of success. She just needs a little help to figure out which keys belong to which locks. It’s my pleasure and honor to work with such an ambitious child!

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

Mike is a knowledgeable and patient tutor. He works with each of kid’s level and get them to read interesting article and evoke their thinking into it. I can see my kids improve in their reading and reflected in their advanced reading level in state test.

Victoria, 138 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you very much, Victoria, for having taken time out of your day to write such an encouraging review. I absolutely enjoy working with your children! They are dedicated, and they challenge themselves to be their best. I am deeply honored to work with them!

Professional, considerate and patient tutor

Mike tutors reading comprehension and writing weekly for 2 of my children. He makes sure the content that is taught peaks their interest and that it fills in any learning gaps missed in school. Mike is very professional and always takes the children’s best interest at hand. We highly recommended him as a tutor.

Penni, 141 lessons with Mike
Tutor responded:

Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Penni. I hope that you will forgive me for my delayed response. I believe in serving others, and when I can help someone find that inner strength to achieve more than that which is required, then it warms my heart! Thank you!

Hourly Rate: $46
Response time: 56 minutes
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