John B.
Private tutor in St. Louis, MO
Education
I received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Central Methodist College (now University) with a double major in English and German. There I also completed the requirements for K-12 teaching certification. After finishing this undergraduate degree, I moved to Germany where I taught English as a second language for nearly 3 years and attended lectures at Heinrich Heine Universität in Düsseldorf. Later I received a Masters Degree in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Upon completion of the Masters Degree, I moved to New Orleans, Louisiana where I received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in English Literature. My dissertation was on the novels of Charles Dickens.
Experience
Although I have retired from the classroom, I can never give up teaching. I find nothing more rewarding than the look of comprehension on a student’s face after a struggle with a difficult concept. The sense of accomplishment is immense for both the student and the teacher. I love learning myself and have spent my life pursuing what one of my professors once called, "the sheer joy of knowing." Along the way I have read extensively in any number of disciplines, lived in Europe and become fluent in German, and earned three university degrees. For 25 years, I taught courses in English at the college level. For 18 of those years I taught courses in German as well. I retired in 2012 and have been tutoring either in person or online for the past two years. As a generalist at the university, I taught writing, world and British literature, and German language and literature. I am experienced in teaching composition, argument, business and technical writing, world literature from the classics to the twentieth century, British literature from Beowulf to the twentieth century, and German language and literature. As a tutor I have taught students from elementary school through college, with an approach that takes the material seriously, but focuses upon the student’s accomplishments at each stage of the learning process. I am a parent myself and know well that the way a student and teacher interact can be the difference between success and failure. My goal for the student is always success.
Availability
Weekdays in the evening
Can Meet
Up to 20 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
I have a wide variety of interests. In fact, I am interested in just about everything, I think. I read extensively, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. A few areas that particularly interest me are European history and politics, the cold war and the breakup of the Soviet Union, the former German Democratic Republic and the fall of the Berlin Wall, American politics and current affairs, commercial aviation, carpentry and home improvement. I also have a keen interest in the structure and grammar of language and the ways various languages work. I also like to write and keep several journals as well.
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