Tanya
Certified Tutor
I graduated from Brown University in May 2014 with a BA in Archaeology & the Ancient World. I love ancient history, particularly ancient Egypt. I could go on forever about ancient Egypt! Before I decided to major in archaeology, however, I was most interested in majoring in English. I took 2 years of AP English in high school and I took a number of of English Literature and Creative Writing courses during my time in college. Some of my favorite courses in college were "Literature and the Fantastic," which discussed fantastic literature such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Dracula, and "Fantasies of Milton," which discussed John Milton's epic poem, "Paradise Lost," and its legacy in Western literature.
I have worked one on one with students before, mostly going over essays and research papers, looking for possible edits and revisions in order to improve upon the student's work. I have a great passion for writing and grammar and love discussing it with students.
I love talking with people and having stimulating discussions. I believe that the best way to learn is to find one's own learning style and to make the most of it. But diligence and enthusiasm don't hurt either! I also believe that learning should be about passion and a love of learning, not just rote memorization. We just need to find that interest.
In my free time, I love playing tennis or going bowling and I love watching movies, reading fantasy, and writing. I will also talk about ancient history, or history in general, for hours on end.
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Undergraduate Degree: Brown University - Bachelors, Archaeology & the Ancient World
- SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1410
- SAT Verbal: 700
- GRE Verbal: 161
Reading, writing, analyzing movies, tennis, bowling, singing
- College English
- College Essays
- Comparative Literature
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- Graduate Test Prep
- GRE Verbal
- High School English
- Literature
- SAT Reading
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
My teaching philosophy is to be open and adaptable. I believe everyone should acknowledge that there is no one teaching style, or learning style, that works for everybody, and a good teacher should be able to adapt and work with her student(s) in a way that makes the student(s) comfortable and willing to learn.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I believe the most important thing to do in a first session is to establish the student's strengths and weaknesses. Playing to one's strengths while also improving upon weaknesses can be very important. To me, working with the student to establish a "game plan" is vital. I would want to establish a schedule that is both timely and efficient but also comfortable for the student and not too overwhelming. I would want to work with the student so that we can establish a plan that helps the student while, hopefully, also awakening an interest in the subject at hand.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I think that oftentimes a student has a hard time studying because he or she has not yet found the learning style that works best for him or her. Finding the right study strategies for an individual can make or break a student. I believe that finding that learning style and developing strategies that work best for the student can help the student become an independent learner.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I think motivation comes directly from interest and passion and, hopefully, a desire to succeed. I believe that finding an angle to discuss the topic or subject at hand that directly speaks to the student's interests can really help get a student interested and, thus, motivated. While no one is perfect and no subject is interesting to every student, I believe that applying a student's interests to the subject can help keep a student motivated.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I think that often the reason a student is having difficulty with a skill or concept is because the foundations that the concept was built on can be faulty. Learning should be like building a house: if the foundation is faulty or shaky, the walls will eventually crumble and the roof cannot be built. So, I believe that having a solid foundation makes all the difference in the world. Thus, if a student is having trouble with a skill or concept, I would work backwards and figure out what exactly is causing the difficulty for the student. Identifying the direct cause of the difficulty or confusion will help us stabilize the foundation and eventually move forward.