Ross Shulman

Introduction: Italian: I am fluent in Italian after having studied it for 9 years through various mediums: public school classes, private lessons, self-studying, and, most recently, moving to Rome for 6 months in 2015, where I completed a true immersion experience by living with an Italian host family and taking political science courses taught in Italian at the Università di Roma 3. I try to read Italian books and the Italian newspapers as much as possible. As an American who speaks fluent Italian, I believe that I can help you no matter what your level is. I understand where English-speakers get confused about Italian grammar and vocabulary (ie. false friends), and know exactly how to explain these things to clear up the confusion. In addition, having lived in Rome and seen 12 of the 20 Italian regions, I believe that I can share my cultural knowledge and weave it into language lessons, making them more interesting. I also speak some French and a little Spanish and I can help you relate your Italian studies to these languages if you speak them. Math/Science: I have been tutoring middle and high school students for the past 6 years and enjoying working one-on-one with students to help them succeed. My approach is a combination of content and problem-solving with a focus on critical thinking. I explain everything in a way that allows the student to understand both the solution to a problem and the theory that the problem is based on. In other words, I avoid "tricks" which do not work 100% of the time and often create mental blocks when the student is faced with a problem that is slightly different from the one for which they were taught the "trick". By avoiding tricks, the student learns to really understand the concept, allowing them to apply it to problems they are not familiar with and to higher-level courses courses, all while building their critical thinking skills.