Zach

Certified Tutor

My mission is not to teach my students WHAT to think, but rather to strengthen their SELF-TRUST and to help them discover the countless paths they may travel when learning HOW to think. Every story they read will involve a main character and a conflict; every essay they write will require a thesis and a conclusion. But how can reading and writing be treated like a mirror? What does a 400 year-old play about a crazy guy from Denmark have to do with a teenager today? How will arguing about the cause of World War I teach anybody how to balance a checkbook? No, I am not a self-help guru from San Francisco. But I do believe everything has to do with everything. And if my students can find a personal stake in the subject matter at hand, then they are a thousand times more likely to put forth the effort and perseverance needed to achieve their goals.

I hold an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, as well as a BA in English - Creative Writing from Lycoming College. Most recently, I finished a stint teaching Korean ESL students for a private company, but I have also taught Creative Writing units at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, NC, tutored as an independent contractor in Williamsport, PA, and co-founded the first Odyssey of the Mind chapter (as a supervisor) at Central Elementary in South Williamsport, PA. I am currently working on two book-length manuscripts, one, a collection of poems, the other, of creative nonfiction essays.

I have never taught the same lesson twice. Even if previously-taught reading material or writing tasks are at hand, every lesson is tailored toward a student's unique and evolving needs.