Perceval I.
Private tutor in Somerville, MA
Education
History and German Studies Joint Major at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, including one year at Humboldt Universität in Berlin, Germany.
Experience
Writing Fellow Bard College Learning Commons October 2011 – May 2014 A writing fellow is the embodiment of the external voice that writers work to develop. Through conversation, I help students develop their writing skills through speaking about individual essays. - Assigned to one Writing Intensive class at Bard per semester as a writing tutor. Spent time each week meeting with individual students to help them develop or edit their papers. - Met with professors to discuss expectations for each essay. - Organized meetings and helped students manage their working time. Student Teacher Abigail Lundquist Botstein Nursery School September 2014 – December 2014 - Cared for groups of three and four-year-old children. - Worked one-on-one with the students, helping them with their reading, writing, and art activities. - Assisted head teachers with classroom preparation and organization of materials. Camp Counselor Triskeles June 2012 – July 2012 Food for Thought is a program inspired by The Food Project; it “actively engages teenagers ages 13-19 in hands-on experiences involving sustainable farming, cooking and nutritional activities and entrepreneurship for youth.” - Led 10-15 underserved teenagers on farm and in camp - Co-taught farm skills and job readiness Letter of Recommendation from Writing Fellow Employer: It gives me great pleasure as Perceval’s former teacher and employer to recommend him enthusiastically because I am certain that his informed originality, the winning quality of Perceval’s energy, his alacrity with research, his creativity, and the strength of his commitments will distinguish Perceval. Perceval came to me as a highly-recommended candidate for one of our tutoring positions in the Learning Commons – the academic resources and support center that I direct at Bard College – and we worked together successfully for almost four years before he graduated. Perceval consistently brought a personally-invested, genuinely-social component to talking and thinking about writing – and to generously sharing ways of making academic writing both more clear and inspired – to all of his tutoring sessions. As a writing tutor, Perceval was necessarily a student in my practicum and content-based tutor training class, “Composition Theory and Pedagogy” (BLC 235), held during the fall of 2011. This course proves rather unusual, as it plays two distinct roles in the education of the Bard student, combining elements of both curricular and co-curricular work. First, in its co-curricular capacity, the class serves as a training and trouble-shooting workshop in peer tutoring, and it is required of all tutors who work for the Bard Learning Commons. Second, as a full (4-credit) academic course, BLC 235 engages a curriculum centered on advanced pedagogical theory. So while student-tutors spend a good amount of time discussing and refining their tutoring practice in class, they also study and respond to texts in contemporary educational politics, literary fiction, pedagogical journals, cognitive psychology, and educational philosophy – all while sharing accounts of successes and challenges they face as teachers and learners. This course rewards the ability to respond in novel ways to often-unfamiliar texts and unexpected interpersonal situations, accommodating a diverse range of cultural and academic backgrounds. And I would like to emphasize especially Perceval’s unique and formidable talents in both of these academic and supportive roles. Throughout my class, Perceval showed the imagination, motivation, and diligence required to excel, early on and consistently remaining an active participant in all dimensions of classroom activity: making generous contributions to discussion; listening carefully to others; and presenting his own considered ideas and nuanced insights eloquently and effectively. Perceval obviously took true joy in his studies and communicated that joy to others. And in work groups, Perceval gregariously and responsibly assumed the lead in organizing and directing the efforts of his classmates. In addition to assuming an instrumental role in group-centered learning, Perceval proved admirably self-motivated in the course, speaking and writing with unique clarity and rhetorical power. He also proved himself more than adequately motivated, self-disciplined, and eager to share his thoughts with me and with his fellow students. Perceval also did an exemplary job as one of our select group of writing fellows in the tutoring program. To qualify for this position, the student must come well recommended by at least three members of the Bard faculty and be uncommonly generous and patient, as well as show remarkably strong talent as a writer. During his or her fellowship, the writing fellow reads drafts of student essays, meets individually with each student – as well as with the course instructor – and facilitates writing conferences to improve the quality of student work. This process offers students the opportunity to experience the revision-based writing process as an essential step in their development as college-level writers. And in this co-curricular capacity, Perceval excelled and distinguished himself as one of our finest tutors. Always probing and quick to draw connections, Perceval showed a unique gift for offering the kind of student feedback that proves so vital to teachers yet so rare. He was able to address the immediate intellectual concerns of the student, even while appreciating their broader-gauged concerns – to wit, appreciating “the bigger picture” (as one student said of him). And in remaining open to new ideas and adaptable to new challenges, Perceval encouraged his classmates and those whom he tutors to ever-higher standards. His self-confidence marks Perceval as quite mature, and his enthusiasm and sociability allow him to relate extremely well to others. As a tutor, Perceval repeatedly received the most supportive evaluations possible from both students and faculty, he was often requested to tutor specific courses (not common practice), and he maintained his superlative academic standard throughout. I have kept in close touch with Perceval, and all indicators validate my assessment of his ability and remarkable promise. I recommend Perceval strongly and without reservation. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss Perceval’s application. Sincerely, Dr. Jim Keller Director, Bard College Learning Commons Bard College
Availability
Weekdays at any time, Weekends in the afternoon
Can Meet
Up to 20 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
I want to start an urban farm in Boston/Cambridge where I can teach people how to grow food and how to cook it. I very much like learning about new music. I like Garner's English Usage, and the Elements of Style by White and Strunk.
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