Jason R.

I’ve worked in education for over 25 years. In addition to tutoring, I work as a behavioral technician for pre-verbal children with autism. Yet, from my first day of Kindergarten, I disliked school. How does that work? Simple: I prefer kids over systems. The power of knowledge to change circumstance has been a guiding light since I started reading, prior to the age of 2. I grew up in impoverished agricultural towns marked by high crime, low literacy, and few prospects. And primarily through reading and writing, I got out and did what I wanted.

I’ve tutored over 1000 high school students one-on-one, in ordinary academic subjects and on standardized test sections (APs, SAT, ACT) requiring mastery of English. My focus is narrow and deep, so you won’t get a lot of help from me in math. But I genuinely love tutoring the mechanics of reading and writing for academics and beyond: college application essays are a special passion. Prospects rise in direct ratio to skills in comprehension and composition, and not only when words like “English” and “literature” are in the course title. History, social studies, even science and math texts, demand English competence. The more you practice reading and writing, the more critical thinking will inform your future. Intelligence is a habit.

Honesty and empathy are my tools, as the student’s ally against forces that limit opportunity. Most underperformance is based on fear. Turning panic into motivation is my work. If you loathe reading, I agree that a play written 400 years ago is not the place to start. We’ll go outside the syllabus to find something you want to read. Suddenly, boring texts (even Romeo & Juliet) will start to make sense. Structure and analysis will help you explain in writing what’s good or bad in what you read. And if you can’t type a coherent sentence, bespoke lessons in vocabulary, usage and grammar will give you the confidence to advance. You’re not alone.