Customized and Flexible Support

• Brief intensive work or mentoring over long periods
• Sessions held at school site, Socratics office near Dolores Park, or your home
• Work with students at independent and public schools throughout San Francisco
• Individual or group meetings
• Availability during vacation periods

Close work with Parents

• Establish learning goals together
• Work in tandem with teachers and administrators
• Review session progress reports and formal learning evaluations
• Maintain telephone and e-mail correspondence

Academic and Personal Writing

Instruction in all phases of the multi-step writing process for every type of writing students encounter, including analytical essays, research papers, personal essays, memoir and fiction. I often model the writing process using examples of my own published materials.

Study and/or Organizational Skills

Guidance in developing the core foundation skills and techniques that underlie all academic work, but that schools may not teach directly. These include:

• Mapping out and prioritizing the steps of a large project
• Systematizing materials and information
• Managing time
• Reading strategically for a specified purpose
• Notetaking and researching processes
• Preparing for exams and memorizing
• Participating effectively in class discussion
• Managing stress and anxiety

Addressing Learning Disabilities

For students with identified learning difficulties mentoring aligned to address specific cognitive processes often in consultation with a professional learning evaluator. Issues include dyslexia, auditory and visual processing, executive functioning, ADD and ADHD.

Entrance Exam Test Prep

Customized score-boosting assistance individually or in a group during school year or summer for SAT Critical Reading, Writing, and Math, SAT Subject tests, ACT and SSAT.

Critical Reading

Assistance in comprehending all ranges of text, fiction and non-fiction, that allows the student to discover the unconscious mental strategies of the reading process. This work goes beyond discussion of the content of readings to the inner processes that allow a reader to find meaningful patterns in written material.

Math

Guidance by mentors who work in mathematics-related fields for students at all levels from pre-algebra through calculus. Mentors move students beyond mechanical approaches into flexible problem solving strategies that can be applied to unfamiliar material.

College Applications

I guide students through all phases of the application process including school research and selection, essay writing, application preparation, and interviewing. Socratics students have attended prestigious colleges and universities nationwide.

History

Support in all areas of history, including U.S., European, world history, and art history. Help in preparation for AP tests and the historical research process.

Spanish

Help by native speakers at all levels of Spanish competency covering both written and oral expression and comprehension.

Science

Assistance by mentors who are specialized science teachers or work in science-related fields for students taking physics, chemistry, and biology. Mentors lead students past linear memorization into deeper understandings that also translate into higher performance. Help with AP Bio, Chem and Physics curriculum.