Smith

Certified Tutor

I am a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University with a BA in Theatre Arts, specializing in Performance and Playwriting. I have a long history of both professional and informal tutoring, including a year working as an ACT classroom instructor with Kaplan Test Prep, six months tutoring both the ACT and academic subjects with StudyPoint, and three years tutoring college-level writing. As my major suggests, I am enthusiastic about all the performing arts, including both on- and offstage areas. I also have extensive experience teaching (and practicing!) creative endeavors from poetry and fiction writing to music composition and performance. Just don't ask me to draw any hands! Despite my professional focus on liberal arts, I also have a keen amateur interest in science, primarily in physics (A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking was my introduction) but also in chemistry, biology, psychology, and sociology.

My teaching style is based upon the premise that knowing how to think is much more useful than knowing what to think. My sessions are characterized by frequent questions and discussion of basic concepts, making sure that each student understands not just the "what" but the "why" of each topic so that each new concept builds on the last. I strives to foster independence and a love of learning in all of my students, beginning with myself; it's always easier to remember concepts that were fun to learn!