James

About Me

I am a California credentialed science teacher with over two decades of experience in classrooms teaching chemistry, physics, biology, and middle school sciences to students from grades 5-8. I have also tutored several middle and high school math subjects and recently taught Algebra 1. I have a bachelor's degree in chemistry from UC Berkeley and a Master's in secondary education from the California State University at Northridge.

Tutoring Style

I generally see myself supporting students in their journey to grasp the content and skills they need to succeed in a given course. I bring my own passion for the subject to the table while making sure to tailor my approach to fit the needs I see. To me, the end goal is for students to demonstrate their mastery at the highest level possible and to have some fun while they get there.

Success Story

One of my favorite success stories comes from a time I taught physics. While I am passionate about science, my professional focus is firstly on the success of my students. One year, I began to teach a technique to my students for organizing the complex information they had to process in physics word problems, but it is a technique that can be used in many contexts. One of the students from that class, who had gotten a full scholarship to Pepperdine University came back several years later to thank me for teaching her that technique because, when she had started to despair of succeeding in her freshman chemistry class, which would have jeopardized her scholarship, she remembered this technique and put it to good use. She told me that it had saved not just her grade in that class, but had given her the confidence to push on with her college career at a moment when she had been tempted to give up.

Hobbies & Interests

I have played the guitar since I was a teenager and still regularly learn new songs - from classic rock, blues, folk, bluegrass, and even a few pieces of musica mexicana. I also avidly follow some Dungeons & Dragons actual-play content creators and play occasionally with friends. Additionally, I spent most of a decade making myself into a runner (after a very UN-athletic adolescence), participating in multiple 5K, 10K, and half-marathon events. I'm not fast, but I'm fairly consistent :-)

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