John
Certified Tutor
I have earned a BS from the Naval Academy in literature (with French and German), an MA in Political Science from the US Naval Postgraduate School (with Russian), and an MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (with Biblical Greek and Hebrew).
I am an avid learner and a world traveler who has lived in Italy, Japan, and Romania.
Passing on a love of learning, and way of streamlining the learning process is a pure joy to me. My teaching portfolio includes the university level, elementary through high school (substitute teaching), and safety and industrial training and testing.
My personal interests/hobbies are: Helping people reach their life goals, Bible, Ancient History and Languages, Modern Languages, Classical Music, Modern History and Politics, Reading, Walking, Woodworking, Travel.
My tutoring philosophy is simple. Listen to the student and discover what help they need, and then craft an individualized approach that will equip and encourage the learner to excel.
An example would be a technical writing student who learned to organize his term paper in the form of an essay and to include only information that supported his thesis. It was very gratifying to give this bright student a tool to use his whole life long.
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Undergraduate Degree: US Naval Academy - Bachelors, Literature with European Languages
Graduate Degree: US Naval Postgraduate School - Masters, Religious Studies
Helping people reach their life goals, Bible, Ancient History and Languages, Modern Languages, Classical Music, Modern History and Politics, Reading, Walking, Woodworking, Travel.
- 10th Grade
- 10th Grade Reading
- 10th Grade Writing
- 11th Grade Reading
- 11th Grade Writing
- 12th Grade Reading
- 12th Grade Writing
- 1st Grade
- 1st Grade Math
- 1st Grade Reading
- 1st Grade Writing
- 2nd Grade
- 2nd Grade Math
- 2nd Grade Reading
- 2nd Grade Writing
- 3rd Grade
- 3rd Grade Math
- 三年级阅读
- 3rd Grade Science
- 3rd Grade Writing
- 4th Grade
- 4th Grade Math
- 4th Grade Reading
- 4th Grade Science
- 4th Grade Writing
- 5th Grade
- 5th Grade Math
- 5th Grade Reading
- 5th Grade Science
- 5th Grade Writing
- 6th Grade
- 6th Grade Math
- 6th Grade Reading
- 6th Grade Science
- 6th Grade Writing
- 7th Grade
- 7th Grade Reading
- 7th Grade Science
- 7th Grade Writing
- 8th Grade
- 8th Grade Reading
- 8th Grade Science
- 8th Grade Writing
- 9th Grade Reading
- 9th Grade Writing
- ACCUPLACER Arithmetic
- ACCUPLACER Reading Comprehension
- ACCUPLACER Sentence Skills
- ACCUPLACER WritePlacer
- ACT English
- ACT Writing
- Adult Literacy
- African-American History
- American Literature
- Ancient and Medieval Heritage
- AP Art History
- AP Comparative Government and Politics
- AP English Language and Composition
- AP French
- AP U.S. Government & Politics
- AP United States History
- AP US Government
- AP US History
- AP World History
- Arithmetic
- Art History
- ASVAB Prep
- British Literature
- Civics
- Classics
- CLEP American Government
- CLEP Humanities
- CLEP Natural Sciences
- CLEP Principles of Management
- CLEP Social Sciences and History
- CLEP Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East to 1648
- CLEP Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present
- College Essays
- College Geography
- College Level American History
- College Level American Literature
- College World History
- Comparative Literature
- Conversational French
- Conversational German
- Creative Writing
- Drawing
- Elementary School
- Elementary School Math
- Elementary School Reading
- Elementary School Science
- Elementary School Writing
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Ethics
- European History
- Expository Writing
- French
- French 1
- French 2
- French 3
- French 4
- Geography
- German
- German 1
- German 2
- German 3
- Gifted
- Government
- Graduate Test Prep
- GRE Verbal
- Greek
- Guitar
- Handwriting
- High School Chemistry
- High School English
- High School Geography
- High School Level American History
- High School Level American Literature
- High School World History
- High School Writing
- History
- History of Science
- Homeschool
- Homework Support
- IB World Religions
- IB World Religions SL
- Introduction to Fiction
- Introduction to Poetry
- Languages
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Middle School
- Middle School Math
- Middle School Reading
- Middle School Science
- Middle School Writing
- Painting
- Persuasive Writing
- Philosophy
- Phonics
- Photography
- Piano
- Poetry Writing
- Political Science
- PSATCritical Reading
- PSATWriting Skills
- Public Speaking
- Reading
- Romanian
- Russian
- SAT Subject Test in German
- SAT Subject Test in German with Listening
- SAT Subject Test in Literature
- SAT Subject Test in United States History
- SAT Subject Test in World History
- SAT Subject Tests Prep
- Science
- Shakespeare
- Singing
- Social Studies
- Study Skills and Organization
- Summer
- Technical Writing
- The Modern World
- US Constitutional History
- US History
- Vocabulary
- Voice
- World Civilization
- World History
- 世界文学
- World Religions
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
To coach the student through success and encouragement to become skilled in pursuing knowledge on their own.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
After greeting and introducing ourselves, I ask basic questions about interests, hobbies, and what they read. Then, I ask what they hope to gain by studying with a tutor. My goal is to discern their learning style and how to begin with the known (their background) and move to the unknown (the subject at hand).
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
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Help them grasp their own learning style, 2. Present a multiple learning gate approach (reading out loud, tracing diagram with a finger, mimicry, and humor -- all to make a deeper impression on the mind's "learning center."
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Successes every session. Praise. For them to see real progress and confidence. Promote learning as the gateway to achievement and reward.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Try another learning approach. Have them tell me what they do know by asking discerning questions.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Coach them to use a pacer, to scan, to gist, to read the topic sentence and the concluding sentence first, to teach them to trust their mind to process the page, to address, and to overcome the difficulties of the past.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
To respect them. To begin small. To take something they like and are motivated to do, and show how our subject can help them and be fun in that very area.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Success and praise. See the large vista of learning and its joys of pursuit. Enlarge the view beyond the current difficulty.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Constant feedback. Active listening. Ask leading questions. Study the student. Listen to what they say. Give them my undivided attention.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Begin small and praise their successes. Never scold. Never pull out the tapestry of learning just woven.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
When we begin, sound them out in a way that is subtle. Ask "diagnostic" questions about learning techniques like "how do you review?"
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
The experience is about THEM and not ME. I adapt to what they need and give them what they do not have. I am in a continuous feedback loop based on their responses/performance.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
应用程序(例子),本质上是视觉and evoke memory ("There was Caesar, stabbed through twenty times by his friends, and bleeding bright red onto the white marble floor . . ."), diagrams, sketches. I am a "blackboard" man. Songs. Ditties. Mnemonic devices. Whatever it takes. Whatever is fun and leaves a positive impression/reinforcement with the student.