WELCOME TO
VILLAGE TUTORING

Academic Counseling and Private Tutoring Service in Boulder, CO

My name is Dan, and I am an academic tutor and former high school teacher located in Boulder, Colorado. I earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Stanford University, and I am currently engaged in academic work in the Photonics and Quantum Engineering Research Area at CU Boulder.

I provide private lessons primarily for high school and college students. My tutoring services include academic skills coaching, standardized test (SAT and ACT) preparation, college application assistance, regular homework help, and curricular companions for advanced students.

To learn more about my background and credentials, please read my 'About' page.

About Me

Mission

My goal at Village Tutoring is to create optimal conditions for your child’s academic success and personal well-being. I do so by providing instruction that aligns with my students’ individual needs and interests, sharpens their skills in quantitative analysis and critical thinking, and helps them generate the confidence and intrinsic motivation they need to thrive in and outside of academia.

My Educational Influences

Below are a few quotes from people whose writings have influenced my views on education. Although scholars from the Enlightenment and antiquity generally had the greatest impact on my understanding of the value and purpose of education, I am not a luddite when it comes to my educational practices—I use plenty of modern technology in my own scholarly endeavors, and I place great emphasis on teaching students how to employ modern technology without letting it become a distraction.

Our tutors never stop bawling into our ears, as though they were pouring water into a funnel; and our task is only to repeat what has been told us. I should like the tutor to correct this practice, and right from the start, according to the capacity of the mind he has in hand, to begin putting it through its paces... sometimes clearing the way for him, sometimes letting him clear his own way.

Michel de Montaigne

French philosopher, popularizer of the essay

Educational Philosophy

My teaching practices revolve largely around the following principles.

  1. Instruction is not a “one-size-fits-all” phenomenon; we can only achieve the best results by engaging your child’s unique set of skills and interests.
  2. Students reach their highest potential in conditions that help them generate intrinsic motivation and emotional stability.
  3. Understanding broadly applicable principles beats memorizing and reciting particular algorithms and facts.
  4. Effective learning depends not only on quality content, but also on the development of cognitive skills such as planning, paying attention, and reasoning.

To read more of my thoughts on teaching and get a better sense of how I work with students, please take a look at my About page.