From a Parent re: Tutoring

Erin carries a deep passion for writing and seeking hidden themes beneath words on a page. She exudes very positive energy and enthusiasm when working with our son. In one of their initial sessions, she proposed journaling together for just 5 minutes, a ‘hook’ that drew our son into writing freely with no judgments. During each session, Erin takes time to help him connect personally to literature or his writing, leading to greater investment in the actual work that is done.

Erin believes deeply in the connection between reading and writing, and how regular practice with each one can raise your competence with the other. She engages our son in extensive, purposeful conversation to flush out understandings and opinions around topics. Erin takes time to assist him in looking at storylines from the perspective of each character, leading to deeper insights and overall comprehension of the text.

Erin is very skilled and intentional with scaffolding the writing process with our son. Ideas are brainstormed orally before any thoughts are recorded. Outlines for essays are worked through together, followed by initial drafts. Erin challenges him to think deeper about the positions he takes in his writing, providing the evidence necessary to convince his audience of his viewpoint. He highly benefits from the instruction Erin provides around enhancing both his word choice and sentence structures in written work.