Tutoring

 

I offer tutoring for students of all ages in most subjects (please see FAQ for details). Most students come once per week for one hour, and meet with me at the Westmount Library. My style of working relies on getting to know a student's abilities and needs on a deeper level than what a report card can show, and finding the most effective leverage point to build skills and confidence. Parents are often surprised to find that their children enjoy coming to see me. The reason is that my students can see themselves improving, and success feels good! I generally work with students on longer-term goals like being able to extract important ideas from a text, answer questions thoroughly, or figure out why they don't do as well on math tests as on homework. For this reason, I typically ask that families commit to tutoring for at least one full school term.If you'd like more information, please don't hesitate to contact me.Professional:I am a tutor and teacher working privately in Montreal. My approach is highly individualized and goal-oriented. I meet each student where they are in terms of skills and background knowledge, find out where they want to go, then create and follow a plan to get them there.Personal:I grew up near the beach in Vancouver and now live near the canal in Montreal. I'm a good writer, a bad drawer, and a very safe cyclist. My secret talent is test-taking: I scored in the 99th percentile on my SATs. Don't make me tell a joke though; I always mess them up CV Highlights: Certification​ MELS Quebec: Teaching Diploma, 2013. BC Ministry of Education: Teaching Certificate, 2012.​ Education  University of British Columbia, Vancouver Bachelor of Education, Secondary English Language Arts, 2012 Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, 2006.​ Learning Associates of Montreal Foundational Literacy and Phonics (levels 1-2) with Dr. Brenda Linn, 2014-2015.​ Experience Head Tutor, Study Zone, Trevor Williams Kids Foundation, Montreal, 2011-present. ESL Teacher, Execuform Lanugage School, Montreal, 2013-present. Exam Reader, Miss Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s School, 2015-present. Tutor and Reading Camp Coordinator, Learning Associates of Montreal, 2013-2015. Teacher, Explorations Summer Camp, English Montreal School Board, 2013-2014. Student Teacher, English Language Arts, Kitsilano Secondary, Vancouver, 2012. Bilingual Monitor, Explore Program, UBC Continuing Studies, Vancouver, 2012. Circus Instructor, Various Organizations in BC, Quebec, and Vermont, 1999-2011 What do you tutor? The short answer: I generally tutor students in English, History, and study skills at all levels, and math through elementary school. The longer answer: I tutor learning skills. I mostly work with students with learning disabilities, and/or those whose effort or ability doesn't seem to match the grades they receive. Much of the tutoring I do is not subject-specific. Instead, it focuses on skills like identifying key information, effectively applying (or augmenting) background knowledge, organizing time and materials, or breaking down problems into manageable parts. What's the difference between that and "normal" tutoring? Most tutors focus on re-teaching course content. For example, a History tutor might go over the material with you, then quiz you to see if you have memorized it. A math teacher might give you practice problems similar to the ones on your test and show you how to work through them. In both cases, the goal is relatively short-term: ace the test. The first thing I do with a new student is figure out which skills or knowledge they already have and which they are missing. For example, many students do not really know what it means to "respond to a text", or why we memorize multiplication tables. In those cases, I use real-life examples, charts and graphs, conversation and modeling to help the student formulate a concept that makes sense to them, and which they can build upon going forward. Will my child's grades improve?  I don't make promises I might not be able to keep, but so far I've had good success in this area. Can you help my child pass their test next week? Maybe, but probably not. What I can do is build their skills over time, gradually moving them towards confidence and independence for future tests. My child has just been diagnosed with dyslexia. Can you help? Yes, definitely. Can you refer me to a French Tutor/Physics Tutor/Educational Psychologist? It's always worth asking. Send me an email and I'll see what I can do. Communication: All session dates and times, as well as any changes to these fees or policies, will be confirmed by email. My email address is amanda.light.dunbar@gmail.com.

I can be reached at home at 514-667-4231, between the hours of 8:00am and 10:00pm. For last-minute changes or to reach a student who is with me, please call or text me at 438-870-6587. Fees: The standard tutoring rate is $60 per hour.Payment by cash, cheque or credit card must be made at each session. Lateness: Please let me know with as much warning as possible if you will be late for a session. Tutoring time missed due to lateness cannot be made up, and the full session fee will be charged. If a student is more than 20 minutes late, the tutor may cancel the session with the full fee being charged. If a parent is more than 10 minutes late picking up a student, the time will be billed at the regular tutoring rate.​ Cancellation of a session:​ Please let me know with as much warning as possible if you will miss a session. For any session cancelled more than one day in advance, there is no charge (for example, if you call on Tuesday to cancel a session for Thursday). For any session cancelled one day in advance, there is a charge of 50% of the regular tutoring rate (for example, if you call on Wednesday to cancel a session for Thursday). For any session cancelled on the same day, the full fee will be charged (for example, if you call on Thursday morning to cancel a session for Thursday afternoon). Payment for cancelled sessions must be made before the next session begins. Following three cancellations in a single term, a student may lose their regular time slot.​ Cancellation of Services:​ Before ending services, it is important to give the student and tutor an opportunity to reflect together on the work that has been done and progress that has been made, as well as to review skills and strategies that the student may rely on for the future. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that a minimum of two weeks’ notice be given for complete cancellation of services