Andy

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English
Creative writing
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English Literature
Spelling

Experienced tutor in English in Holyoke, Andy offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

English
Creative writing
Redaction
English Literature
Spelling

Lesson location

- online

About Andy

I am an experienced poet, editor and educator currently living in Holyoke, MA, with an undergraduate degree from UMass Amherst and a graduate degree in creative writing from UC Davis. I can help you to polish existing writing, teach you how to draft new creative or academic work efficiently and easily, and coach you through common writing impasses, errors and pitfalls. If publication is your goal, I can also guide you through the submission process.

I was a disaffected and underachieving student in high school and am intimately familiar with the pain and frustration that can accompany mismatches between learners and a cookie-cutter education. I am a flexible pedagogue who uses a variety of different styles and approaches to help students develop the strengths unique to them. Even if you never grow to like writing (that's okay!), your education should always feel relevant and responsive to YOU. I do not believe that beating your head against a brick wall has any instructive value. If old writing strategies and habits haven't been working for you, we'll devise new ones together.

I give preferential rates to small groups, as I believe that in most cases people learn much more effectively in a group of 3-5 than they do one-on-one. This group size allows you or your child to get all of the individual attention you need, while also drawing on the positive and cooperative energy of the classroom setting at its best. I've also taught individuals and workshops as large as twenty people. Tell me about your needs and we can talk more about whether I'd be a good fit for you.

I taught my first creative workshop at the age of seventeen, as part of the community service work that our school mandated as a graduation requirement for all seniors. It was certainly a crash course in classroom management and the ins and outs of pedagogy. Even before that, I found that I was often the student classmates came to for help during study periods or before school. I was good at seeing where a classmate was getting stuck and helping them to move past whatever approach wasn't working for them. I found my classmates' pride when they finally "got" a challenging lesson incredibly rewarding--and I still do!

I have been a "working poet" for the last decade, which really means that I've done whatever it takes to keep the lights on while I read and write with whatever spare time I have. I have published short poetry collections and individual poems, and my first full-length collection is forthcoming later this year. I earned a master's degree in creative writing from the University of California in Davis, and both led sections of large lectures and designed and taught my own workshops for the two years I was there. I also tutored on the side to make ends meet.

About the lesson

Our first session will typically be a consultation. I'll ask questions about your short, medium and long-term goals and define the parameters of the work we'll be doing together. I'll ask about what you've tried already and what has and hasn't worked for you. I'll make suggestions about how often and how long to meet and lay out some of the initial strategies we might adopt to go about our work. If applicable, I may ask you to do a short exercise to gauge your strengths and the areas that need improvement. If I feel that you require help that falls outside the purview of my expertise, I'll say so at this point. My goal in the first session is to make sure that I'm the right tutor for you and to tailor our lessons to your needs and preferences.

I've worked with students as young as twelve and as old as sixty, and would be excited to expand that range in the future. I've taught courses on English literature and creative writing workshops at the college level. I struggled with boredom & frustration as a younger student, and find that as a teacher I am especially good at engaging and motivating bright but checked-out or even challenging students who need more stimulation to excel. I am also practiced in helping students who struggle with school-related anxiety or low confidence to cope with negative feelings and to take more risks (the good kind that help you learn!)

Compatability is every bit as important as expertise when you're hiring a tutor, especially in a one-on-one setting. Not even a great teacher is right for every student. When interviewing, ask about the tutor's teaching philosophy--do their principles, values and preferences line up with your needs? Do you feel comfortable asking them questions and advocating for yourself? Do they make you feel optimistic about the prospect of working together?

I had a challenging student who I think would have benefitted from a smaller group setting. Like a lot of square peg students forced through the round holes of public education, he was prone to acting out because he needed more engagement than I could give him in a classroom of fifteen students. He siphoned a lot of his extra energy into trying to push my buttons, so after meeting with him, I gave him a very difficult reading assignment that I thought was up his alley. He could go back to annoying me, we agreed, when the assignment was done and he was ready to talk about it with me. His behavior improved--probably because he had something interesting to do! and when the term ended I didn't give it much thought. Months later, I got an email from that student. He had finished his homework. Would I have lunch with him and talk about it? I did meet him for lunch, and we did talk about it. He had chipped away very diligently at that reading assignment, it turned out, and I found him an insightful, funny, insatiably curious interlocutor. We also talked about his current schoolwork. He had gravitated towards classes that would reward his learning style, and was doing well. I was so thrilled to see him thriving!

A few things worth thinking about before reaching out
What is the thing you're struggling with the most right now?

What, if anything, do you find easy and enjoyable about this subject?

What would you like to have accomplished a month from now? How about six months from now?

What kinds of assignments and projects have you done well at in the past? (These don't necessarily have to be in the same discipline!)

Do you want enrichment/supplementary learning or do you want to troubleshoot work you're already doing?

Do you want guidance through a particular challenge (e.g. writing a big paper, editing a manuscript) or ongoing support?

Rates

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R803

Package rates

5h: R4015
10h: R8030

online

R803/h

Details

I will negotiate a price with you before our first meeting, reflecting group size, how far I have to travel to meet with you, and on how much outside preparation our sessions require. Base rate is $70 /hr. for individual lessons.

Experienced tutor in English in Holyoke, Andy offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Lesson location

About Andy

About the lesson

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online

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Experienced tutor in English in Holyoke, Andy offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Lesson location

About Andy

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Package rates

online

Details

Similar English tutor profiles

Marjolein

Mammuso

Marié

Tapiwa

Davina

Kashifa

Maduo

Nomfundo

Ezinne Candy

Leseli

Wilson

Tina

Rainer

Faheema

Mafusi

Mamontseng

Shantelle

Bandile

Lauren

Chuchekani Nirvana

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