James B.
Private tutor in Newark, NJ
Education
-Associate in Liberal Arts (18 credits in Literature and Writing, 3.7 GPA) -BA in History -Finishing masters in Human Resources Management (3 credits remaining)
Experience
Working in schools, the thing I’m probably proudest of is having had parents write me to thank me for having inspired their children and invigorating their knowledge. My habit of seeking to inspire young people is something colleagues and superior have noted in my references as well. Overall education has been a great learning and growth experience for me as well, and it’s exciting be embarking on a tutoring career. I have extensive one to one instructional experience as an instructional aide 2013-2014 (Somerset Hills School District in Bernardsville), and 2015 at Dover Public Schools. I have exceptional references from the teachers I served under. I became fascinated by history, geography and literature as a boy. For history, it all began with the history-oriented movies my dad liked to watch, where he would call me down to the tv room when the battle was about start (why trudge through all the dialogue?). As I sat down, the question was always, "who are the good-guys—which side?" That question eventually led to discovering vistas of knowledge and awareness of humanity’s incredible interactions—from the present to the distant past. I started to love history! And I started to enjoy the dialogue, not just the battles. Eventually I majored in History. The corporate world is where I began my work life, and when the economy crashed in 2008, I pursued history teaching certification, got a nearly perfect score on my content knowledge test—which was very encouraging—and caught the teaching bug from day one as a sub. At the end of class after the first time I subbed for social studies, a student said, “I don’t know if you plan to teach, but if you do, you ought to be a social studies teacher.” As they say, “the rest is…social studies”. I’ve taught American History to all levels in Middle school, but I’ve always been as passionate and knowledgeable about European History and World History as American. For English and Literature, I began reading harder material around fourth grade when an older neighbor-friend introduced me to the seven books of The Chronicles of Narnia series. Soon it was on to The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. In sixth grade our fantastic teacher—who literally forced us to become good readers and writers—introduced us to the play All My Sons by the legendary playwright Arthur Miller. I was absolutely enthralled! The world of adult thinking and emotions and relationships seemed to open before my eyes. I had a tremendous essay-writing teacher in the 11th grade, and nearly went with English as my major. As a History major, one instructor thanked me for my clear, lucid writing style which I had learned in 11th grade, and actually said he hoped the other professors appreciated it as well! Over the years I’ve taken to studying and reading poetry, as well as writing it. I can help a student improve their writing—which improves thinking— and stimulate students’ appreciation of literature, something that develops personality and deepens character. I would have loved to continue teaching, but the noise of schools was causing me painful hearing sensitivity, a rare condition called hyperacusis. I love tutoring for all the same reasons I was drawn to teaching: it’s a chance to make a positive impact on young lives—to inspire students to embrace a life of achievement—and to share my passion for the material, hopefully at least igniting a small spark of that passion in the student. Yet tutoring has little or none of the drawbacks of school teaching. And it’s quiet.
Availability
Any day at any time
Can Meet
Up to 30 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
-Former rugby player; I love several sports and play basketball regularly. -I'm a regularly contributing volunteer writer for a teen education magazine (inspirational stories from history and cultural pieces) and write for an organizational news organization. -I used to write poetry across several styles and lately I've been listening to my "Cowboy Poetry Classics" cd (cowboys indeed wrote poetry - pretty good poetry too!). -Love chess and history-oriented board games (I started a club for the latter at a library) -Jazz and classical music aficionado
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