Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is that all of my students are capable of learning the material that’s set before them, and the key is the way in which I present it to them. I strongly believe in challenging students. It is my role, however, to give them the support they need to meet that challenge. Teaching information is one of the great hallmarks of our species and, while we have this behavior embedded in our DNA, some teaching strategies are better than others. A dry recounting of facts (the “tape recorder”) is anathema to actual learning; to really get his point across a teacher must be constantly shaping his lesson to the needs of his students. This requires not only a priori knowledge of a student’s needs and learning style, which in turn shapes any lesson plan, but also a sharp sense of a student’s mood during the lesson itself. If at any time a student is bored or doesn’t find the material relevant to them, the teacher must tinker with his lesson plan on the fly to recapture the student’s interest. Above all, a teacher must have a good gauge of his students’ understanding and not move faster than the students can follow.  Ultimately, I believe that the joy of learning is the single greatest tool a teacher has.  It is important to me to bring zeal into my tutoring sessions in order to capture student attention.

Bio

Clay joins us fresh off a two-year stint teaching English in Japan, where he honed his tutoring skills in English and his language skills in Japanese.  A world traveler, Clay has also lived in Indonesia, Ethiopia, and four different U.S. cities, and has traveled to every continent except South America and Antarctica.  Clay is a firm believer that a good teacher adapts his teaching style to his students’ needs, rather than adapting the material he is teaching.  Since this is easier on a one-to-one basis, he finds his style a natural fit for University Tutoring.  His tutoring experience ranges from all ages in Japan to students at Lewis and Clark College.  As an undergraduate at Lewis and Clark, Clay majored in International Affairs, with minors in history and Japanese.  A self-described “plodding” reader as a child, Clay now is an inveterate reader of both fiction and non-fiction, and has a special interest in reading maps.  Of the future, Clay says, “I dream of speaking seven languages, reading the world’s great literature, and talking philosophy with people around the world.  And I dream of finishing Gravity’s Rainbow.”

Subjects:  Math, Japanese, History, English, Study Skills, Test Prep (PSAT/PLAN/SAT/ACT/ACT Explore/MAT/ISEE) (K-Adult)

Resumé

Coming soon!