Laine
WHAT MAKES THEM AN AWESOME TUTOR
I approach tutoring with an empathetic and gentle framework. Throughout my tutoring sessions, I aim to encourage my students to be comfortable with making mistakes and learning from those mistakes as a way to navigate and map their own personal learning styles. Although they are often advertised as such, math and science are not exclusively for academically gifted students. They are pursuits of knowledge and challenge, which everyone is capable of learning -and thriving in!
While tutoring, I employ a growth mindset methodology: where we examine subject matter and learning as a process rather than a destination. One poor grade does not define a class and one difficult subject does not define a person. I strive to personalize lessons to my students' needs and learning styles. Encouraging a reflective style of learning where understanding the subject matter is just as important as understanding the way we learn.
Math and science are often charged subjects and can leave you feeling upset and hurt when they don't make sense or "click" - and that's okay. The bravest thing a student can do is show up week after week and keep trying. My goal as a tutor is to provide a space for my students where that is not only possible, but a positive thing!
FUN FACTS
Life goal: My life goals are to publish a graphic novel, become a professor of microbiology and/or immunology, and live a joyous life filled with art, microbes, and friends.
Words to Live By:
"True humility is the only antidote to shame" - Uncle Iroh, from Avatar the last airbender
Humility is the most important part of any learning process. The true and deep understanding that you are capable of mistakes allows you to realize that you are also capable of growing - not despite, but - because of those mistakes.
Favorite Mathematical Weapon: Wolfram alpha (and beta if your integrals are a little too funky for alpha)
GET TO KNOW LAINE
Education: Bsc with Honours in Microbiology and Immunology, from McGill University
Fave Tech device: Bluetooth headphones are a gift for distracted movers (I no longer get caught on door frames!)
Fave Book: The Great Mortality: an intimate history of the black death, the most devastating plague of all time
Fave Song: Well Dressed by Hop Along
Fave Outfit: 70s androgynous fashion (every 50 or so years women's and men's fashion mirror each other -- if not become each other -- and those are my favourite eras)
Fave TV Show: Scott Pilgrim takes off, WKRP Cincinnati, and M.A.S.H.
Fave Movie: Tangled, The Princess Bride, The Favourite
When you're not crunching numbers: I am playing music at Toronto's many open mics or negotiating with my suspiciously smart cat, Coop Train!
What’s the best thing about you? I am goofy and accepting. I think that helps other people open up and become more comfortable because the hardest part of breaking the ice has already been done - by me falling through it!
NERD ALERT!
I have been described as someone who loves stories and will consume media at a frightening pace in order to dissect and analyze story elements and writing. In a similar vein, I love listening to info-dumps because the most compelling part of any story or interest is the person behind it.