Professor offers English tutoring for inquiring minds at the high school and college level

- Sedona
- webcam

About the lesson

I have taught numerous subjects over the years (the courses are listed on my CV that's attached), and each class requires a different methodology. I have found that students need material that excites or, at the least, interests them plus a teacher who loves the material and finds ways to instruct and enliven the students. Sometimes that's with humor, but often it's about showing them how and why the text unveils something extremely eye-opening about the human condition and that something is revealed in an amazing or significant way: we have to stop and take note. In other words, I want to show students or let them experience how the work at hand accomplishes that and why we should care.
Now, that's for literature. To teach them essay writing, or even writing a sentence, for example, after we've gone over the basic set-up of a five-paragraph essay, I find that the best way to learn about writing an essay or even writing a sentence requires requires some compare and contrast in the classroom. We will therefore learn by comparing something well written with something that misses the mark, something that loses the reader. So we spend time reading and evaluating good samples and problematic samples. We spend time writing parts of an essay (the introduction or conclusion, for example) and evaluating them--in the group. By trial and error we learn the best way to show off what we want to say. We learn why it's important to have such things as a thesis sentence or a topic sentence or a transitional sentence or transitional words. We learn about the various glues that hold essays together, and we learn how to make them stand out and shine! And, we even can learn how to evaluate other writers' or speakers' statements or speeches, noting to ourselves which ones shine and which ones are made up of cliches, generalizations, or merely feel-good statements without any substance behind them.
First and last, I really enjoy getting to know students and where they're coming from in their educational pursuits. I always try to approach each one with openness, understanding, and respect. And, I want them to feel absolutely free to ask questions, even if they might feel that the question might be a "dumb" question (we're all allowed to ask a dumb question or two!). I also encourage them to bring incidents or observations from their everyday lives, when helpful, into the discussion at hand so as to see the connections from everyday life and the classical works.

subjects

Academic English

languages

English

levels

Elementary School
Middle School
Sophomore
+6

Junior

Senior

Advanced Technical Certificate

College / University

Adult Education

MBA

About Lydia

I have always had an inquisitive mind, wanting to know secrets of the universe, such as "why are we here," "what is this cosmos about," and "what is it we're here to do." I was drawn to literature since high school as I found that poetry and fiction seemed to probe questions like that in a beautiful and inspirational way. I came to understand and experienc--for example-- Keats' lines "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" (from "Ode on a Grecian Urn"), and wanted to delve more deeply into literature. Along with that subjective experiencing, I learned early on how to present my thoughts or arguments in a well organized an well argued essay. Finally, I wanted to ignite in others those pleasurable experiences, while learning from them as well. Over time I finished my doctorate in English and went on to teach at the college level for over 25 years. Those were extremely satisfying years in my life.

Rates

packages

5h: $105
10h: $210

webcam

$20/h

Details

In general I would like a 24-hour notice for any cancellation of tutoring appointments.