One of my favorite quotes, which is often misattributed to Einstein, goes like this: "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

In a typical first session with a student, I may ask about the student's interests, such as about hobbies and sports. By collecting such information, I can tailor the tutoring to make the content more relevant to their lives.

I believe that empowering students by helping them figure out their learning style is the best course of action. Once they figure out the method in which they learn, they can tailor their own independent study time in a way such that they effectively learn the material.

There are numerous reasons why students get dissuaded from continuing their studies. For example, a common theme that repeatedly surfaces with my students is that the coursework will not be relevant in their everyday lives. By learning about the student's interests, I can tailor my tutoring style to explain that everything that they learn in school can be applied in the real world. Students may also be going through struggles that are outside of the scope of school. For such cases, I can provide emotional support.

I would try to reframe the skill or concept. There are many ways to learn, and I believe that any sort of knowledge can be learned in multiple ways.

I believe in assessing each student for the "root" of their struggle with reading. For example, the "root" could be lack of exposure to new vocabulary, a lack of understanding how words are pronounced, poor vision, or dyslexia. By assessing where the root of the problem lies, I can take action in order to improve each student's weakness or to notify their parents about an undiagnosed condition.

It helps me to know the student's background. When I meet a student for the first time, I ask them about where they grew up, what sports they like to play, and what hobbies they have. This helps me to establish camaraderie with the students as well as allows me to connect concepts in their class to their everyday lives.

Like I mentioned before, if a student is struggling to find a subject interesting, I can reframe the subject to help explain how knowledge of the subject can make a difference in his/her life.

I ask questions after a few minutes of relaying new information.

I congratulate students in a genuine manner when they solve a difficult problem. I also give them ideas to play around with in order to build their critical-thinking abilities about the subject.

First, I establish camaraderie with the student. Next, I tutor the student using a learning style that I believe is the best match for the student. If the student struggles to learn the material, I modify my teaching style to match their learning style.

I always bring paper and a writing instrument. If the students are visual and/or kinesthetic learners, I usually have a bag of props that I can use with the students.