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It Is Not Too Late to Sign Up for Distance Learning pods or Individual Tutoring

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Although we are halfway through the school year, it does not look like distance learning is going anywhere soon and many students are struggling  academically and socially in the virtual class setting. Beach Cities Tutoring provides families with pod tutors as well as individual tutors who can help support your child or pod during zoom learning as well as after school. Tutors will not only help with the content, they will work on building student confidence, motivation and study skills. In addition to helping reduce student isolation, tutoring and pod tutoring can also help provide schedule, structure and consistency that students were used to in the school environment. In a pod setting, tutors will facilitate discussion among peers as well as collaboration on group projects. Many of our tutors are credentialed teachers, but we offer different options to support all students. We offer pods and individual tutoring for students of all ages.

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It is not too late to sign up for distance learning support and pods

Janell

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Janell is excited to be part of the Beach Cities Tutoring team! She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Social Behavior with a minor in Education from UC, Irvine. After receiving her BA, she earned  her Combined Masters and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential Program from Cal State, Fullerton. Janell has 9 years of prior experience working with diverse groups of children as a recreational leader, tutor, instructional aide for special need students, preschool teacher, and elementary school teacher. She feels very blessed to have the opportunity to tutor students again. Janell was curriculum chair of the English Language Arts Department and has taught junior high (6th-8th grade) and fourth grade. She received training in Eureka Math, Collaborative Literacy, Onward Readers, Restorative Justice practices, and Tribes. She wants use her unique skill set to challenge students’ critical thinking process as well as their academic skills. It is important to Janell to provide her students with the encouragement and support they need not only to succeed in school, but in their life as well.

Stephen

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Stephen has a Bachelor’s Degree from UC Santa Cruz and is a credentialed math teacher. He is currently available for online tutoring and has experience tutoring 8th grade Math, Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry, and Calculus, as well as prepping students for the SAT in Math and Reading. With 10 years of experience writing and editing test prep books for educational publishers, he can assist in standardized test prep as well as everyday homework and tests.Stephen enjoys helping students to develop confidence through patience, diligence and encouragement. This involves understanding what is holding the student back, and developing a game plan to improve skills. Stephen takes an individual approach that could include creating flashcards, drilling concepts with test questions, helping students apply their knowledge to solve word problems and going over concepts step-by-step.

How can digital literacy improve your child’s Zoom School experience?

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I know you are wondering what exactly is digital literacy? Is it just what the term sounds like?  “Digital literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.” Digital literacy has three main components: 

1) Finding and consuming digital content

2) Creating digital content

3) Communicating or sharing it. 

The first component is pretty much the same as reading a print book. Besides the difference in turning a page on an e-reader, reading digital content is not much different than reading print. However, this type of reading is not interactive unless students are taught additional skills on how to annotate. Highlighting, taking notes, sharing content with added comments all are part of annotating which allow the student to be more engaged in reading. This is not only helpful for comprehension, but it is necessary to become an active learner who retains information and can apply it for later use. Another important aspect of digital literacy is learning to search for content in an online space. Students have to determine the most effective keywords to yield the best results as well as assess the reliability of content and websites.

The second component of digital literacy involves content creation.This includes writing in digital formats such as email, blogs, and Tweets, as well as creating other forms of media, such as videos and podcasts. Creating digital content requires creativity, collaboration and risk taking. Because the purpose of digital writing is to communicate with others, it is more often shared than printer writing. This enables  students to actively share their views and participate in civil discourse. 

Sharing content is the third component of digital literacy and related to creating content. Although It is amazing that children/teens can contribute to society more easily than in the past,  with that privilege also comes an added responsibility. Sharing content can have consequences such as risks to students’ safety, privacy and reputation. Students need to be taught appropriate internet behavior. We, as teachers and parents, cannot assume they know these rules. 

Whether we like digital literacy or not, it is here to stay and more likely possibly replace literacy of the past. With this realization, digital design, coding, and problem solving will be important skills for students to learn in the future if they will succeed in the future, global society and job market. 

Private Tutoring: An Investment for the Future

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Recently, we have received a ton of tutoring calls and the first question many people ask is the cost or rates of tutoring, but really this should not be so important. In the long run the less expensive option is often more costly. Think about it,  if you go with a tutor or tutoring company in which the teachers are not highly qualified, do not have the proper curriculum materials, do not challenge and motivate the students, then they will not succeed to their highest potential and you will end up having to pay for tutoring longer or more often to catch up with the time you lost from the poor quality tutoring. 

Additionally, investing in a child’s education at a very early age will give them a leg up that can help establish good study habits, provide a strong foundation of academic skills in math/reading, and build a work ethnic that might be harder to develop later in their middle or high school years. Students who push themselves and earn the best grades will more likely earn scholarships that will save parents lots of money in the future. 

I know this is a touchy subject, but it is an important one to address as some of my credentialed teachers have complained to me, “We are not valued. Education is not valued.” We will pay $100/hr for a personal training session and $80/hr for a plumber, but then we want to pay teachers $25/hr-$50. These are professionals that not only greatly impact our children’s lives and futures, but also typically have years of schooling and degrees. Does this make sense to you??? Just something to think about when you are considering the cost of tutoring. The cheapest or even cheaper options are often far from the best and in the long run will cost parents more money.

How Can Private Tutoring Help During Covid-19?

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Private tutors not only help students academically, they also serve as a consistent mentor who can support students to stay focused and on task. Does your child have trouble sitting down, being attentive, and getting work done? There is only so much zoom a child/teen can handle. It is not a replacement for human interaction. Tutoring can also help provide some structure to a student’s school day. Private tutors can teach important study skills such as keeping a homework planner or online calendar. They can help with binder or google drive organization and turning in assignments. They can also help with goal setting and time management. These are important skills not only for school but for life.  

Additionally, tutors can also help to motivate and energize students. If they build the right connection they can make learning fun and even make the child look forward to their tutoring sessions. Finally, tutors can reach out to children’s teachers and work as a team. Many parents are trying to work full time jobs while also being the homeschool teacher, nurse, and counselor. Private tutoring can ease the burden and allow for the family to have more fun learning time together that can include taking virtual field trips, reading, or going on a nature walk.

Many parents often think of tutoring only for students who are struggling. Private tutoring can help students who need extra support in remediation and academic core content, but it can also help students who need more challenging work. Do you find your child is done with all their homework by 1pm and playing video games the rest of the day? Depending on the school and your child’s pace of learning, many students can benefit from supplemental instruction that goes beyond the grade level curriculum. This enrichment could be in the form of creative passion projects, science labs, computer science coding classes, higher level math problem solving, essay or screenwriting classes, or even financial literacy content. For students who are struggling, tutors can revisit and reteach content, provide additional practice review problems, help students study for tests, and guide them through school packets. 

For parents that do have reservations about in person tutoring, online tutoring through zoom offers a great alternative where the student and tutor can see each other through a screen while simultaneously using screen sharing and annotating tools to make the sessions very interactive. Some students even enjoy this more and it is definitely the safest method for now.

For more info please visit our tutor bios under “About Us” tab and feel free to call or email us through our contact form.

How to Create An Engaging and Productive Learning Environment During COVID-19

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While focusing at home can be challenging, there are many things that parents can do to create a positive learning environment even with the Corona Virus. First, it is important to create a quiet, dedicated workplace away from distractions. The workspace should have materials such as textbooks, notebooks, pens, pencils, highlighters, worksheets, and laptop/ipad that students can access for online learning. It is important to consider the lighting as well as making sure the area is clean and neat so students can focus. Creating a structured time schedule and checklist can help students stay on track and feel productive. The schedule should include structured breaks to recharge and include movement. Some students may benefit from having classical music or other soft instrumental music.

Especially for younger students, the learning space should not contain toys, games and other items that could distract students.. Providing a comfortable area for students for students to read should also be created as reading will improve students writing and spelling as well as strengthen their imagination. Having plenty of books in addition to online resources is important. 

It is important to maintain a regular schedule during even temporary homeschooling so that students can be most productive and get back into the regular routine of school once the virus settles down. Holding students accountable may be challenging but it will be important so that they will be prepared for the next grade.

What to Look for in a Chemistry Tutor?

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Just knowing the subject of chemistry does not guarantee a tutor will be able to effectively teach or tutor Chemistry. At Beach Cities Tutoring, chemistry tutors assess the student?s needs before targeting their weaknesses. The needs assessment consists of assessing the student?s learning style, content knowledge, and personal interests/goals. Since Chemistry requires a lot of memorization, tutors will help also teach students mnemonics to help more easily remember terms, names, symbols and equations. 

Another important part of being an effective chemistry tutor is being enthusiastic about the subject. Beach Cities Tutors try to make chemistry fun and are passionate about the benefits of Chemistry in everyday life. Our tutors encourage students to ask questions about topics that they don?t understand or want to gain a more in depth knowledge about. 

Since Chemistry can be a stressful class for some, tutors teach specific test taking strategies to reduce test taking anxiety as well as teach specific study skills strategies to help lessen student stress. Most importantly, your Chemistry tutor can not only help with homework but he/she can  create extra practice questions so that students can gain confidence and a strong foundation. Chemistry tutors are well organized to make the most effective use of the tutoring session, but allow flexibility if certain topics require more time and attention.

Don?t wait until your child is struggling, please contact us for Chemistry, Honors Chemistry or AP Chemistry tutoring.