James

About Me

I am a life-long learner and have made a career in education. For the past ten or more years I have been a college instructor in rhetoric, Latin, speech, and English, but I have primarily focused on administrative and design roles in higher education. Previous to obtaining my graduate degree, I was certified to teach 6-12th grades in social studies, sciences, and ELA, and worked as a tutor for many years at centers and privately. In addition to teaching these subjects, I have also taught Latin, chess, and mathematics through Algebra.

Tutoring Style

I am an unabashed learner - always curious and my thirst for knowledge is never quenched. I believe in scaffolded learning - that is iteratively building as we go but circling back to reinforce previous concepts. In the classroom, I believed in multi-modal teaching, that is presenting learning experiences in a variety of mediums to reach all learners (words alone don't cut it!) In the tutoring setting, I strive to personalize teaching to meet the needs of the learner; this requires a strong rapport to both build trust and discover how the student most effectively learns.

Success Story

A family engaged me to work with their adolescent son, age 14 at the time, to design an alternative "home school" curriculum and to guide the student through it. This young man was a talented violinist, and his playing often conflicted with traditional schooling (in which he was not interested). We worked together to create a classical liberal arts program that encompassed the conventional subject areas, but also included Latin, Rhetoric, and Philosophy. Over two years we worked together bi-weekly, and he quickly advanced, surpassing his public-school peers. Eliot was able to attend Bard College two years early, graduating in three. By the time Eliot was nineteen he had his bachelor's degree in philosophy and has been traveling with a renowned orchestra ever since.

Hobbies & Interests

I am a life-long practitioner of martial arts and have taught both children and adults for over twenty years. I enjoy a spirited game of chess, cultivating trees, and playing with my two young children. I am an avid reader and writer, love to travel abroad, and appreciate learning new cultures.

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