John M.
Private tutor in Los Angeles, CA
Education
Princeton University Ph.D., English Literature, 2007 M.A., English Literature, 2006 University of California, Los Angeles B.A., American Literature and Culture (summa cum laude, Highest Departmental Honors, Phi Beta Kappa), 1999
Experience
COURSES TAUGHT AND POSITIONS HELD 2014 – 2015: English Faculty, Yeshiva University of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA • Designed and taught courses for English 10, English 11, English 12, and AP English 12 2008 – 2014: English Faculty, Chadwick School, Palos Verdes, CA • 2010-2014: Collaborated with History Faculty to develop an American Studies projects for the 11th grade. (Junior-level English course focusing on American Literature and Culture) • Developed curriculum and history of philosophy text for 12th grade course, Sources of the Modern Self (Senior English course focusing on personal narrative and identity, culminating in a memoir project.) • 3 years as advisor for 11th and 12th grade students. 2008 - 2012 • 4 years collaboratively developing and teaching global studies curriculum for 10th grade English. 2008 - 2010 • 2 years teaching 7th grade English. • 2 years as an advisor for 7th grade students. 2008 - 2014 • 5 years as advisor to campus literary journal, Soundings. 2007 – 2008: Department Chair of English, The Adelson Educational Campus, Las Vegas, NV. 2006 – 2007: Adjunct English Instructor • Eng. 28: Introduction to College Composition, Los Angeles Harbor Community College • Eng. 28: Introduction to College Composition, Los Angeles Harbor Community College • Eng. 103: Critical Analysis and Argument, Cerritos Community College • Writing Center Instructor. Cerritos Community College • Eng. 52: Introduction to College Composition, Cerritos Community College • Eng. 103: Critical Analysis and Argument Cerritos Community College 2005-2006: Instructor, Brittain Post-doctoral Fellow, Georgia Institute of Technology • Eng. 1102: “Writing Machines: Technology in 19th-Century American Literature.” Spring 2006, Georgia Institute of Technology, • Eng. 1101: Introduction to Cultural Studies. Fall, 2005, Georgia Institute of Technology 2002-2005 Lecturer, Princeton University • Eng. 311: Shakespeare II, Spring 2005, Princeton University • Eng. 362 American Literature: 1865-1930. Spring 2005, Princeton University 2004: Whiting Dissertation Fellow, Princeton University 2002-2003: Lecturer, Princeton University • Freshmen Scholars Institute (FSI) Summer Seminar in Modern Literature. Summer 2003, Princeton University • Eng. 362 American Literature: 1865-1930. Spring 2002, Princeton University
Subject Expertise
ACT Writing9th Grade Writing8th Grade Writing7th Grade WritingPoetry WritingGRE Analytical WritingSAT WritingFiction WritingPersuasive WritingWritingExpository WritingCreative WritingACT EnglishACT with Writing12th Grade Writing11th Grade Writing10th Grade WritingGRE Subject Test in Literature in EnglishEnglishCLEP English LiteratureCAHSEE EnglishASPIRE EnglishAP English Literature and CompositionAP English Language and Composition
Availability
Any day after 9PM
Can Meet
Up to 1 hour away for a flat fee
Hobbies
Although my background and training lies in academic research, I've chosen a career in teaching simply because I love working with people; I love the give-and-take of class discussions, and the culture of friendship that I develop working with students. I am much happier and much more comfortable in an environment where I can work with students and help them realize their potential. From personal experience, I understand that students develop according to their own personal velocity. And, as an instructor, I hope to pass on the benefit of my experiences to students in the classroom. Teaching pulls us out of ourselves to a place in which our own success emerges through our capacity to promote the success of others. For me, these moments when we exit ourselves comprise the true ethics and joy of teaching. As an English instructor, my primary goals are to define for my students the elements of successful critical thinking, reading, and writing, then help them use those elements to develop analytical skills, raise questions, and explore ideas. I impress on students the idea that quality writing and quality thinking are fundamentally intertwined, encouraging them to view writing as a method for developing and presenting their thoughts. In practice, critical thinking and writing involves first helping students become more sensitive, more analytical “close” readers of texts—whether a piece of writing, a film, an image, or any other mode of representation. I believe in hands-on, inquiry-based instruction—that the job of teaching involves cultivating the participation of students as active, confident agents in a learning process, not merely passive recipients of knowledge. Accordingly, I find that close reading is a skill best learned by doing: By initially observing an instructor model a close reading of a text in front of class, then joining in to collectively read a passage in groups and, finally, by initiating the self-directed, independent analysis required to compose an original critical essay. Whether in class, in paper comments, or (often, most critically) in office hours, I repeatedly reinforce the protocols of close reading throughout the course. Each time, I emphasize that close reading is a process of interrogation, of asking questions that draw attention to how a text produces meaning: What features stand out most? Are there recurrent images, figures of speech, or other rhetorical features at play? What is strange or estranging about the text? And, ultimately, how are these details significant? Questions like these (I also encourage students to formulate questions of their own) initiate the kind of critical thinking that serves as the foundation of academic writing. The overall process—reading, thinking, and writing—never unfolds in strictly a linear order. However, I generally guide students in a sequential manner: From reading and interrogation to the initial organization of ideas in written form. Valuable here is the ability to annotate texts, to brainstorm ideas, to outline, and ultimately develop thoughts into a tentative thesis and essay draft. I emphasize “tentative,” reminding students that the process of thinking through and writing an essay is always an organic one: A process of discovery in which the most creative and insightful ideas develop over time, often through trial and error. Accordingly, I make a priority of trying to eliminate the tendency for last minute “cramming,” mandating office meetings and designing assignments that require students to participate in every step of the writing process. From the initial analysis of a text, to brainstorm, to rough, and final draft, I find it critical that students have the opportunity to experience the increasing complexity and sophistication of their ideas as they develop their writing through progressive revisions. In my experience, draft revision plays a key role in enhancing writing proficiency, allowing students to discern then remedy some of the common “traps” that attend academic writing. Principal among these traps is the ability to grasp thesis and motive. In my years teaching college and high school, I have found that students at all levels often mistake topics for arguments. Drafts composed without a clearly defined argument tend to merely describe an issue rather than analyze it, or erratically jump from idea to idea. For many students, these problems are often compounded by less tangible psychological and emotional concerns: Anxieties over confidence, over having something original to say, over believing that one’s ideas are in fact insightful and relevant, and often simply over “getting it wrong.” Not always the most successful student in high school, I often share the experiences and challenges I also encountered as I developed confidence and ability as a writer. I aspire to help students understand how developing faith in the authority of their own intellectual voice remains critical, not only to further academic and professional success but to the capacity to live fully, both personally and as a socially –engaged citizen in the world. Developing intellectual confidence and independence is not only often a “new” experience for students; it is also counter-intuitive. Students often achieve academic success precisely through their ability to comprehend, memorize, summarize, and re-deliver concepts, not develop new ideas. I have found the primary challenge lies not merely in the work of conveying the characteristics of an effective thesis, but more often to help students develop confidence in their ability, as creative independent thinkers, to generate an original and relevant argument. In class, in office hours, and in paper comments, I consistently reinforce for students the notion that a compelling thesis must be proven, and that the success of an essay depends on how powerfully the essay persuades its reader of a particular argument. I also, however, invite students to respectfully challenge ideas in class—both my own and those of classmates—and to begin to see themselves as competent, authoritative voices capable of contributing meaningfully to a discussion. Similarly, I encourage students to see their arguments as part of an ongoing conversation over a particular subject or issue, in which the goal is not to finally resolve a set of questions, but to contribute a persuasive point of view that helps broaden discussion. I reinforce this understanding in class by modeling competing interpretations of texts, allowing students to decide for themselves on the strengths an weaknesses of differing arguments. Does, for instance, a psychoanalytical reading of The Great Gatsby tend to isolate and de-contextualize a text from its broader social, political, and historical relevance? Conversely, what might be missing in either a Marxist or New Historical reading? And what is at stake in the differences that distinguish all of these perspectives? Such questions provide students with critical experience in identifying arguments, formulating counterarguments from textual evidence and accessing outside sources without overwhelming their own ideas. These activities also inspire lively debate, as students grow attuned to the broader implications of a discussion, sharing the ways in which their own personal narratives and views play a relevant role in the conversation. Dialogue of this kind often continues during office hours, when I have the opportunity to provide students with more extensive feedback on drafts, track progress, as well as respond more directly to their personal concerns, anxieties, and successes. Students learn best when they feel supported, comfortable, fully understood, and respected—when they trust that I am on their side, there to help them learn and not merely judge their performance. Office meetings often serve as the most exciting site of my day, where the best moments take place, the kind that enhance a culture of trust and friendship, which I see as vital to meaningful learning and the meaningful exchange of ideas.
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