Dan S.
Private tutor in Somerville, MA
Education
I have a degree in English and Communications from Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania and studied Photography and Anthropology at Northern Arizona University.
Experience
I have many years of experiencing leading crews of young people ages 15-25 in Natural Resource Conservation work in National Parks across the United States. I worked in these settings for 30+ days at a time in backcountry and wilderness environments. I have developed a keen sense of how to motivate young people in a way that is both positive and effective. I have an infectious positive attitude and am empathetic and cognisant of young people's needs. I have completed and subsequently led many trainings for colleagues on the subject of working with young people. I have worked as a freelance photographer, a wildlands firefighter, as I mentioned as a trail crew supervisor, as well as a wilderness ranger. I have also taught skateboarding and BMXing to young people through a town run skateboarding park in North Carolina, where I am from.
Availability
Any day at any time
Can Meet
Up to 1 hour away at my regular hourly rate
Hobbies
I was diagnosed at a very young age with ADHD and several other learning "disabilities". I was prescribed with Ritalin starting in the second grade and was on Ritalin from 2nd to 8th grade, and then Adderall throughout High School. In middle school and in high school I struggled terribly with certain subjects, particularly math and science (I will not be tutoring those subjects!) while I excelled in the humanities and arts. In my personal life experience I found that prescription medication NEVER solved the issues I experienced in school. It never challenged me to do things I was capable of doing better, It never supported me in areas that I struggled with. In my personal life experience I found that consuming standard doses of prescription medication usually just made me depressed and dis-empowered me. Because of this experience, one of my personal missions in life is to advocate for and support young people who are branded as being "learning disabled" in our society and help in fostering the development of self-worth in these young people who have too often been told, either in direct terms or not, that they are disabled and incapable of doing certain things. I know from absolute personal experience that it is incredibly frustrating to be unable to understand academic concepts (for me it was math) that seem simple to others around them. Too often and too young, folks that have difficulty understanding subjects in school develop a learned helplessness, a self-defeating attitude that can persist into adulthood if not recognized early. THIS I believe is much more likely to be detrimental to a young person's development as an adult than a simple difficulty understanding an academic subject. If your child is struggling in school, if they seem to be feeling helpless about their capacity to understand certain subjects, frustrated about school, and about life Please Contact me because I will be able to help. I believe in challenging students in areas they are fully capable of excelling in and supporting them in areas they have difficulty with. By meeting challenges that are set before them, students quickly gain self worth, and BELIEF in themselves, that they ARE capable, that they CAN do things that they set their mind to, regardless of the fact that they struggle in certain areas.
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