It's funny how things work out.
Several years ago, after wrapping up a difficult legal case, I was taking a bit of a breather from twenty-plus years of practicing law to pursue other endeavors: painting the walls of my new home, planning and installing new back and front gardens, writing fiction, and spending even more time than ever doing the best job I could of raising my kids and lending my wife a hand as she raised hers. Then, one day, I noticed that cars occasionally stopped in front of a neighbor's house to discharge kids and returned to scoop them up an hour later. I inquired of my neighbor, a friendly chap, and learned that he was a part-time math tutor.
A tutor? This was my "Eureka!" moment. Could I do the same? Would I? Should I? It certainly would beat the stress and strain of law, and would allow me to make a new and profound kind of contribution to society—for I have long believed that education in its highest sense is profoundly important to individual fulfillment and social progress. So, I took a little personal inventory in order to answer those potentially life-changing questions. And here's the stock that I found sitting on the shelf of my life:
* Love of learning? Very much so.
* A large body of substantive knowledge to share? With a history degree from UCLA, a law degree from UC Hastings, and, more important than these, the accumulated learning of decades of study outside of school, the answer was definitely yes.
* Advanced writing ability? Well, as a lawyer, a former editor for a major internet magazine, and a fiction writer whose work has been published in dozens of magazines, I quietly answered yes.
* Affection for youth? As the father/stepfather of five, I should be fond of youth. And I am, very much so. A definite yes.
* The ability to teach? I was pretty sure that I had this gift. I answered yes, and many kind parents have backed that view with letters of reference.
* A home that could serve as an outstanding setting for learning? Absolutely.
With all those boxes checked, I decided to give it a shot.
That was eleven years ago, and I have never looked back. Private tutoring is my primary profession now—I also edit on a freelance basis, I conduct business–writing workshops for companies, and I’m always working on my fiction career—and I constantly marvel at how satisfying my work is. I tutor students from fifth grade through college, and every day I have the pleasure of immersing myself in literature, history, science, and many more topics while enjoying the thrill of helping students learn.
To round out the picture a bit, I’m an avid gardener (I often take students to the garden when relevant topics such as botany or organic farming arise), a home cook who loves using fresh greens from our garden, a lifelong baseball fan and former amateur ballplayer, a tree–hugging hiker, and a fiction writer.
Thank you for letting me introduce myself! I am at your service.
Jon Sindell
B.A., J.D.
jsind@sbcglobal.net
415.407.3201
Jon Sindell
B.A., J.D.
jsind@sbcglobal.net
415.407.3201
