Tarryn H - Tutor in Johannesburg
Hi there! My name is Tarryn Harding, and I am currently working as a part-time English teacher at a private school in Linden, Johannesburg. In addition to this, I am studying towards my PGCE at Wits; prior to this, I completed my Masters in Philosophy (Canada) and my BSocSci (Hons) at UCT. I have experience tutoring grades 7 - 12, in English, AP English, maths, AP maths French, history, Afrikaans, and biology. I have also tutored psychology and philosophy at a university level (both abroad and in South Africa). I have extensive experience with the online learning platform Zoom, as well as Google classroom.
Tutor basics
Teaching places
My Home, Students Home, Public Place, and Online
Travelling distance
Tarryn will travel 10km within Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Languages spoken
Tarryn speaks French and English
Experience
Part-Time Senior Phase English teacher
My day-to-day work as an English teacher often begins with lesson prep (unless I am teaching first thing!): during this time, I will break down the topic to be explored in class (whether it be a text or a grammatical concept), and try to find engaging and contextually-relevant ways to make it accessible for my learners (Grades 7 - 9). This often involves detailed pre-reading and analysis of texts (set-works, poems etc.), as well as research into pedagogical best practice. In addition to my teaching load, I will also often have weekly marking to complete (of cycle tests, formative assessments etc.); additionally, from the second term onwards, I will be tasked with setting exams (both language and literature).
Critical Thinking Tutor, Wits
As a critical thinking tutor, my main function was to carry out pre-planned lessons as stipulated by the Department of Engineering's Academic Development Unit; however, I was also free to adjust these, and I duly did so, in order to try and make the content we covered in class more relevant to my learners. In addition to my teaching time, I was also expected to mark weekly assignments, as well as larger semester pieces such as essays. Finally, I also made sure that I was available to help struggling students, often in the form of marking drafts and providing extensive feedback on these, or by running various workshops on upcoming tasks or exams.
Teaching Assistant, Brock University
As a teaching assistant for a first year philosophy class, I would be expected to attend the relevant lectures for my students, and to engage with the texts/philosophical topics they were dealing with. This, in turn, would form the foundation of my own classes, which served mainly to flesh out and further elaborate on the concepts covered in lectures. In addition to this classroom time, I would also be expected to mark assignments; I would also often take several additional hours a week to help struggling students.
Private Tutor
As a private tutor, my work usually begins prior to the actual lesson taking place, in the form of lesson prep. This can involve drafting worksheets, marking homework, and even drawing up study timetables for my students. Other out-of-lesson duties I sometimes have include contacting teachers of struggling students, and sometimes working collaboratively with the school. During the lesson itself (about 1 to 2 hours), the student and I will often move between working on their assigned work (from school or university) and completing additional activities that I myself have planned, in order to address any conceptual gaps we have identified in the students' understanding.
Education
Master of Arts (Philosophy) - Brock University, Canada
A Master of Arts, specialising in Comparative Philosophy (my final thesis engaged with the topic of nihilism, and juxtaposed how this has been encountered by key thinkers in the West in contrast with seminal thinkers in Zen Buddhism)
Hons (Psychology) - UCT
An Honours degree in Psychology, with electives in Statistics, Research, Neuroscience, Counselling Psychology, Critical Psychology and the Psychology of Gender.
BSocSci - UCT
A Bachelors in Social Science degree, triple-majoring in English, Psychology and Philosophy (graduated with distinction).
Subjects taught
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Pure Maths
Even though I achieved an average of 90% in Matric, Mathematics is one of those subjects I personally found hard to understand myself; however, through applying myself rigorously to the conceptual foundations of the content I was being taught in class, I was able to excel. I am now even teaching myself mathematical logic, as part of my preparation for a PhD! Overall, I believe that these experiences position me very well as an educator, as I approach the subject from a foundational level, rather than assuming that the student has already acquired the concepts, or that they are somehow 'natural' and 'easy.' This means that I am often able to break down the concepts required into bite-sized, easily-manageable chunks - and this proves invaluable not only in acquiring the necessary content knowledge, but also in identifying and working through any gaps the learner might have.
Tarryn teaches Pure Maths at High School, Primary School, and Adult level(s)
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Philosophy
Philosophy is one of the enduring passions of my life. After completing my Master's degree in comparative philosophy, I decided to take a break from academia and move into high school teaching. However, I am hoping to enrol for my PhD in the next three years. My current interests lie in the philosophy of logic, but I have expertise in Continental philosophy, and Asian philosophy (specifically Buddhist philosophy), and am familiar with most of the major trends in contemporary Analytic philosophy.
Tarryn teaches Philosophy at High School, University/College, and Adult level(s)
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English Language and Literature
English is my passion: it was one of the majors of my first degree at UCT, and is currently the subject I teach at the private high school where I am employed. I have extensive knowledge of the CAPS and IEB curricula, as well as experience in the Cambridge curriculum; finally, I have experience teaching English in a wide range of modalities, from in-person, to the context of a classroom, to online.
Tarryn teaches English Language and Literature at High School, Primary School, University/College, and Adult level(s)