About Me

I studied at Dexter high school, and I have completed two semesters of college at UMass Boston. I am currently working towards a certificate to teach English abroad (TEFL) so I can teach English in foreign countries. I have been interested in teaching all of my life. I helped out peers of mine throughout grade school, and when I reached ninth grade I tutored a sophomore in Latin II. During the summers of these years, I taught music at a children's day camp at the same place I went to high school, Dexter. I tutor a variety of subjects. As for languages, I tutor Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Mandarin, and Latin, all at different levels. When it comes to music, I tutor guitar, piano, and music theory. My favorite language-based subject to tutor is Brazilian Portuguese for many reasons. One is that its sounds are interestingly foreign, so both student and tutor can enjoy exploring beyond our comfort zones regarding phonetics. With music, I absolutely love tutoring guitar. I have spent countless hours practicing guitar and have achieved a considerably advanced level at playing. My teaching philosophy is that learning should be fun. With the proper motivation, anything can be fun. I try to take the "real-world" approach to motivating students, assuring them that these skills learned during the tutoring session will be truly fulfilling and add a whole new dynamic to life. My primary motivational tool is to say: "Students, do you want more opportunities to connect to people and more media in which to do so? If yes, learn languages and music, two of the most effective ways to communicate with others and develop new friendships."Studying languages and playing music are definitely my primary activities, but I am also interested in art, specifically with the media of the pencil and colored pencil. I believe that there is a level of detail and precision that can only be achieved by a pencil, an instrument with a sharp, definitive point, but still one that doesn't dominate the picture like a pen, which for me has always ended up making my picture looking like a cartoon when I sought to make my picture more realistic. I also love to write. I wrote a romance novel two years ago and I asked my family to read through it. Hearing feedback from people who know me was a great bonding experience for me, because I showed and told my family how I was feeling about the topic of potential love between two people, and they were pleased to see that side of me finally come out as I grew older. Overall, I consider myself a character with a witty personality. I try to take everything at least somewhat lightly, because humor always lightens the mood, as long as it is called for and appropriate. I want my students to learn, of course, but I want most of all for them to have fun. I believe that enjoyment and productivity can be one in the same.

Education & Certifications

Q&A with Lee

Tutoring Subjects