Experience Summary
In 1996, fearing that public schools were interfering with my daughters' education, I began to home school them. The experience of bringing them from sixth grade to high school completion was so rewarding for me, that I continued to work as a volunteer tutor after they went off to college. From 1999 to present, my experience has been as a volunteer, tutoring children who were having difficulty with reading and mathematics.
Teaching Style
My style as a tutor is businesslike and crisp. The primary technique that I use involves using communication and testing to locate the point where the student failed to understand something. Then I will work on supplying what was missed by clearing up definitions, getting the child to think of examples, drilling and practice. I believe in using a lot of validation when a new concept is mastered.
In tutoring reading, I use the phonics method and getting the children to explain what they read to ensure that they understand it. Sometimes I have them demonstrate it. Many children with difficulties reading seem to have inadequate vocabularies. I give them definitions of words as well as ensuring that they know how to use a dictionary. I talk to them about what they read and ask what they think about it.
If a student cannot answer a question that I ask or solve a problem that I put before him, I consider that it is solely my responsibility to find the right entry to the child's mind. I will not allow a student to have a loss, but will find the right gradient that will get him winning.