PrepNow Tutor - Amanda B.
A certified English teacher who loves math, Amanda’s passion is helping students not only learn but also show off what they know. She holds a BA in English with a minor in psychology from George Washington University, an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College, and an MS in teaching English to speakers of other languages from City College of New York. After earning her MFA, Amanda taught freshman college writing classes while tutoring SAT/ACT prep. After two years of this, she expanded her teaching skills by entering the New York City Teaching Fellows program, which allowed her to become an ESL/ENL teacher at a New York City public high school. After completing her second master’s degree, she taught sixth-grade humanities while continuing to tutor test prep. She is currently tutoring full-time and preparing her debut novel for publication.
Amanda started teaching and tutoring as a way to support her writing. “What I found was that I absolutely loved it,” she says. “My favorite part is connecting with students and finding ways to help them understand the material. As someone who was a ‘good test taker’ in school, I love helping students figure out how to use the knowledge and skills they already have to set them up for further success!” In addition to tutoring the general SAT/ACT, Amanda has also mentored students for SAT subject tests, the SSAT, the PSAT, the SHSAT, and New York State exams. As a teacher, she has taught college-level writing for two years, high school ENL and ESL for two years, and sixth-grade humanities for four years.
“My teaching/tutoring style is very tailored to the individual student,” Amanda shares. “I prefer to get to know the particular student's strengths, challenge areas, and interests and build on that to help them succeed.” Amanda prioritizes forming strong relationships with her students as she believes it’s crucial that students feel safe and understood to learn their best. She follows the category of "culturally responsive pedagogy" but goes beyond only responding to the cultural context, also responding to each student's interests and needs. She adds, “I like to be honest and straightforward with students when it comes to testing strategies and to be straightforward about the place of standardized testing in helping them secure their educational future.”
In high school, Amanda participated in the book club, creative writing club, band, and two different school choirs. She loves to read all genres for pleasure, write, spend time with her family, and knit and crochet. “I recently learned to crochet amigurumi stuffed animals,” she says. Amanda is an adoptive mom to one small human and two cats.
