I specialize in one-to-one learning to help students improve their intellectual abilities, self confidence, and individual creativity and style.

I also specialize in writing, mainly non-fiction, and all aspects of the English language: comprehension, style, English as a second language, and the many peculiarities of English grammar. English is my lifelong passion; teaching it perfectly complements my other day job as a writer.

My students come from many different backgrounds, including high school and college students working to boost their test scores and ace their term papers, business professionals sharpening their writing and presentation skills, foreign diplomats polishing their English, and writers looking to expand their range and hone their craft. (One of my favorite recent clients is the author of two prize-winning novels!) After careful review of their abilities, I track my clients’ progress closely, regularly assign homework, and expect my students to work hard. I fully commit to each of my students and spend considerable time preparing sessions that target each student’s specific needs.

My teaching method is five-fold:

• Know the subject matter cold, along with the many tactics and techniques for teaching it
• Listen closely to my clients to determine their strengths, weaknesses, needs, and concerns, and create a completely personalized plan to help them
• Work as much as possible with students’ own materials and passions – from their coursework, workplace, or outside the classroom – to increase relevance, motivation, and real-world payoff
• Use a Socratic-inspired teaching style, focused on asking and encouraging questions, promoting critical thinking, and instilling close, active listening and reading habits
• Above all, foster independence and self confidence so that my students take what they learn and apply it broadly after our sessions end

I am a life-long teacher who is passionate about one-on-one learning and the transformative power of education. I have devoted my entire career to education—as an Ivy League professor, executive at an international educational non-profit, consultant, and tutor.

As a tutor, I specialize in all aspects of the English language, particularly writing, standardized test preparation, grammar, and comprehension. I have worked as a teacher and tutor for over 20 years. I am also a professional writer and editor, and am currently writing a book on the housing crisis in global cities including New York, San Francisco, London, and Hong Kong.

Today, I share a 19th-century brownstone in Brooklyn with my wife Natalie Bookchin, an artist and professor at Rutgers University, and our cat, Tee Tee. Outside the classroom, some of my favorite pastimes include cooking, especially East and Southeast Asian cuisines, long-distance cycling, reading of all sorts, and soaking up the cultural life of New York City.

I hold an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where I studied political economy, political theory, and East Asia. I received my B.A., summa cum laude, from Colby College in Maine. I was a professor of Government at Cornell University (where I also spent three years on the admissions committee) and the University of California, also serving as a visiting professor at Tokyo University in Japan and Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.

I have received many awards and fellowships over my career, from the Fulbright Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Harvard University, the Japan Foundation, the Korea Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and other sources. As an undergraduate, I was a Harry S Truman Scholar and also won a Thomas J. Watson Travelling Fellowship.