Matthew R.

Meet Matthew R.

After attaining his teaching credential in 2018, Matthew taught Creative Writing, Drama/Film Production, Cinema History, Public Speaking, and Advisory courses at The Preuss School, UC San Diego. Preuss is a college-preparatory charter day school on the UC San Diego campus, with a population of first-generation students, many of whom are second language learners. It was a truly rewarding, enriching experience for him, and he learned a great deal about what it means to be an educator.

Originally, Matthew was responsible for stepping in when the previous Drama teacher left, but since then he reshaped the entire curriculum into a film-based program. He also placed an emphasis on cross-disciplinary pedagogy, utilizing the California ELA Common Core Standards through units on narrative studies, creative writing, dialog, Shakespeare, poetry, and script analysis, as well as incorporating multiple history lessons into his Cinema History courses. Infusing his VAPA courses with ELA standards and Social Studies was done with intentionality to improve writing and reading comprehension on campus.

Through working with such a diverse population, Matthew learned a great deal about differentiated learning and scaffolding. His strategy has always been to connect with each student individually, through finding common ground with their particular interests. It is through this genuine, empathetic approach that he has built lasting rapport with students who had previously struggled in classes. His student-centered pedagogy is about empowering each student to take ownership of their education through a combination of projects, multimedia integration, individualized instruction, and critical thinking. He prioritizes creating an inclusive space where socio-emotional learning is infused into the curriculum, allowing students to develop strong interpersonal and professional life skills alongside academic growth.

In addition to his classroom experience, Matthew has also been tutoring students on and off for years. He has worked with a gifted student on the spectrum who wishes to pursue a career in writing, meeting with him twice a week to help hone his craft, taking his multitude of complex ideas and shaping them into a cohesive narrative structure, with the goal of completing the first few chapters of his novel. Every Elite tutor is personally interviewed, reference-checked, and background-checked before working with a student.

Matthew brings 13+ years of tutoring experience, 12+ years of classroom teaching, and a focus on Drama, Performing Arts, Video to every session.

Matthew's experience at a glance

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