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A premium, English language-arts tutoring program

English education can provide essential skills that are useful inside and outside the classroom. Comprehension and communication — the cornerstones of our English tutoring program — facilitate success in everyday social relationships, in a business or career environment, and in a student's present and future classes. Too often, however, students struggle to remain focused on reading or writing assignments that seem abstract and irrelevant to their lives and futures.

Literacy is at the core of language arts, and our tutors will work hard to ensure that their students have a thorough understanding of the grammatical, stylistic and logical conventions, providing a solid foundation for students' ideas to flourish. Frequently, these important principles are not taught as rules but through exception, and students only come to a partial understanding of the underlying mechanisms of language by being told that they have made a mistake. It is only natural that a student who has learned this way may have a hard time getting excited about the possibility of developing and expressing their ideas.

In addition to core competency, there is another important and unique aspect of our tutoring program. The English teacher who makes his subject "come alive" for students is a cliché in popular culture and for good reason — perhaps more so than for any other subject, the level of an English teacher's excitement and commitment to teaching can make a class either wonderfully inspiring or terribly boring. Large class sizes, individual learning styles and curriculum designed for standardized testing are just a few of the obstacles which discourage students from truly engaging in the material and prevent teachers from creating a classroom in which critical thinking, original ideas and holistic understanding flourish.

Our tutors understand that fostering such an environment is crucial. In a large group of students, it is difficult for a teacher to guarantee that each student is completing his or her work without using constant quizzes of the kind that often focus on details, not the big picture, and can be discouraging to students. By having a one-on-one relationship, the tutor can ensure that the student is keeping up with his work - and, more importantly, by holding rewarding discussions, the tutor can bring the student to an appreciation of language arts that lasts for a lifetime. An engaged student will feel uplifted, not burdened, by his or her English classwork.

We have several methods and principles for achieving this goal. First of all, we encourage personal interpretations and original thinking. Being able to recite the accepted interpretation of the watchful eyes in The Great Gatsby, for example, does not require a student to have a fundamental understanding of the book or how to interpret literary symbolism. A thorough discussion of a text's techniques, symbols, themes, and broader meaning encourages both critical analysis and expression. In order to have such a discussion, the student will need to be prepared; the tutor, in turn, must make the material interesting in order to encourage maximum engagement. When students develop and discuss their own ideas, they strengthen cognitive "muscles" which are beneficial in countless ways. Personal dialog allows students to have their ideas taken seriously and considered in comparison to the other perspectives that the tutor will collect and provide.

Writing assignments present yet another challenge in engaging the student. Holding discussions with the student enhances their ability to verbally express ideas; this is a vital first step. Moreover, we believe in finding a method of expression that works for the individual student. Knowing and experiencing a number of forms will enable a student to adapt to a challenge and perform in a wide range of circumstances, including those assignments and standardized tests which confine them to specific styles of writing. There is no superior form of writing or interpretation which is superior. Instead, we emphasize that students should be able to analyze and sort their own ideas in order that they may be fit into a number of forms. Our strategy to achieve this involves pre-planning writing assignments, separating sub-arguments, understanding counterarguments, and effectively using evidence.

Comprehension and communication are vital skills in all arenas of life. Students who are engaged and excited about their English or language arts work will be able to develop these skills while achieving good grades in school. Our sophisticated, personal approach to English tutoring will create students who are equipped to understand, analyze, and communicate about their world, bringing academic success and a future of bright possibility.