PrepNow Tutor - Jonathon B.
A tutor who doesn’t ever settle, Jonathon graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a BS in physics. He started teaching and tutoring professionally in the summer of 2016 as a Spanish teacher in Upward Bound, where he also led SAT prep workshops. Later, in 2019, Jonathon taught AP physics at the Boston STEM Scholars Academy over a six-week period. In the more traditional tutoring capacity, Jonathan has tutored test prep, physics, math, and reading.
Jonathon first started tutoring in high school after realizing that he picked concepts up quicker than other students in his classes. When asked what he loves about teaching, Jonathon says, “I love the relationship I get to build with my students. I work to get to know them how they think, how they learn, and how they succeed. Everyone has a unique view of how they see the world.” He understands that every student has their own learning goals and pace, and it is his job to take the puzzle pieces of what he knows about a subject and make them fit his students' needs. “I have learned over time to challenge students through escalating problems of difficulty, rather than giving the most thorough explanation,” he says. This approach has come from his own experiences as a learner but also from seeing how his students work to apply their knowledge. He also challenges students to be able to explain every answer, even if it’s wrong.
“When I think about how I would describe my teaching style, two things come to mind,” Jonathon shares. “The first is the quote by Albert Einstein: ‘Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’ This reminds me that there must be flexibility in teaching material, as there are many roads to take to get to the same destination. The second thing I think about is assembling a puzzle. What starts as a scattered board of a dizzying amount of pieces first needs to be approached with patience. There is no race to complete the puzzle; all that matters is that the puzzle is finished. And approaching the board with patience allows us to slowly group the corner pieces or make piles out of the same colors, working to put missing pieces in their place until the final image is set.”
Jonathon participated in wrestling in both high school and college. In college, he was part of a student group called MedLinks, which aimed to support and promote the health of the MIT community. Outside of work, he likes to watch TV and Youtube. He is currently on the hunt for some good books to help him get back into reading and also wants to learn and explore the data science field in greater depth. Though he is not very artistically inclined, he would prefer writing a poem or short story over making sketches and doodles. “Whenever my cat climbs onto my shoulder, I like to call it my 'shoulder parrot' as though I am a pirate,” Jonathon says.
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