HOLISTIC Adolescent MENTORING
One of my greatest passion in life is to guide young people to discover and grow their strengths and gifts, optimize their approach to learning, develop strategies for stress management and emotional regulation, and take steps to become the person they want to be. In my mentoring sessions, I strive to understand the unique temperament, challenges, and goals of each adolescent and work holistically to support them not only to build skills, cultivate mindsets, and build systems that help them to move toward their goals but also to thrive in their life now, to find fulfillment, joy, and connection.
Although I have a substantial academic background in the humanities both through my teaching and graduate work and can provide targeted support in writing and coursework as needed, my mentoring is distinct from tutoring because it is explicitly holistic and grounded in a broader definition of success and fulfillment, which includes feeling grounded and connected to oneself, deeply connected to others, and in touch with a sense of aliveness, joy, and passion that goes beyond any concrete educational or vocational outcomes. Of course, my work as an academic coach is also focused on these important outcomes. Succeeding with college admissions and building concrete, marketable skills is essential for expressing one’s fullest potential. My work is simply connected to a larger context and rooted in discovering and cultivating a life that is rich with deeper meaning and purpose.
My coaching approach
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Academic coaching
Develop the core humanities skills, including critical thinking, textual comprehension and analysis, research, media literacy, and various forms of writing, including argumentative essays, creative writing, etc. Build on your core strengths and develop strategies and tools to optimize your academic performance. Improve your organization and learn to prioritize and find balance. Get support with choosing and applying to college and grad school.
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Cultivate Your Passions and Gifts
Discover and grow your passions, in and outside of school. Find and pursue avenues for your creative expression. Discover and build upon your strengths and unique gifts, turning them into pathways for success and fulfillment. Get support for vocational exploration and skill-building. Vision for your future and chart a course toward the life you most want to live. Get support in clarifying, tracking, and achieving your goals. Overcome obstacles that get in the way of achieving your goals.
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Mindfulness and Stress-Reduction
Develop and practice tools for self-regulation, stress reduction, groundedness, presence, focus, and energy. Shift limiting beliefs and mindsets. Learn nature connection practices that reduce stress, strengthen your awareness and focus, and enrich your life.
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Social and Emotional Literacy
Learn to understand, process, and regulate your emotions, as well as communicate your feelings and needs clearly and powerfully. Get support with developing and cultivating deep connections, relationships, and community.
Testimonials
“Alex is fantastic. I could not ask for a better all-around teacher for my son. He is an educator steeped in passion and compassion. He creates targeted lessons that recognize what a student needs. And gets them to think and discover. Alex taught my son for over 3 years at a local high school and brought him an incredibly rich, diverse, well-informed, and intellectually stimulating curriculum. My son loved learning from him. I highly recommend Alex for any kind of academic tutoring or other programs.”
— Jo K.
“Over the three years we’ve worked together, Alex has helped me come to a greater understanding of myself. Through dialogues, meditations, and exercises, he has helped me create space to understand what I truly want out of life. He has constantly encouraged my personal and spiritual development, warmly and lovingly challenging me to grow. Alex's unwavering faith in my self-direction and ability to realize my goals has helped me develop stronger self-efficacy, self-confidence, and self-esteem. He has supported me to rise above social pressures and deconstruct ingrained preconceptions to make decisions that I know are right for me.
Alex’s guidance has helped me better the relationships in my life. He has encouraged me to embrace the vulnerability of empathy and more proudly and openly express myself to the world. He has encouraged me to put myself first: to listen to what I need, to help others only when it’s healthy for me to do so, and to take the time to consider what I actually want. Alex has also been a friend. His enthusiasm for life and excitement to see me develop my passions has made me more excited about the things I love. We’ve had hour-long conversations about philosophical texts and Dostoyevsky novels; we’ve met up for jam sessions and shared music.
Most of all, Alex has helped me be more kind to myself. I’ve learned to take care of myself, to face struggles with humility, and to not compare myself with others. I’ve learned to take the time to let myself grow rather than beat myself up over any small perceived failure. I’ve learned to let myself relax when I need to. Over the three years I’ve known Alex, I’ve changed an immense amount. Alex has helped me make sure that as I change, I’m becoming who I want to be.”
— Joniah H.
Socratic Seminar
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What is Socratic Seminar?
Socratic Seminar has a variety of meanings in different contexts, but for me, the essence of this offering is an exploration of life’s deepest questions through philosophical inquiry, dialogue, and personal reflection. Sessions are grounded in a text or piece of media, but the real content is your own authentic engagement with questions, topics, and issues that matter, that enable you to discover your own answers. Intellectually rigorous yet deeply personal, Socratic Seminar is all about honing your ability to think for yourself.
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Co-Create a Custom Course
Have you ever wanted to learn about a new topic or explore a philosophical issue? Based on your learning goals and needs, we will co-create a custom humanities course for one-on-one or small group sessions. We develop clear learning objectives, compelling essential questions, and a rigorous and engaging reading list. Then, we dive in together, striving to understand the texts, analyze the key ideas, explore deep questions, and apply the themes to our lives and the world at large. Perfect for homeschoolers, autodidacts, and life-long passionate learners.