Advanced Personalized Learning
Guiding Students to Become Self-Educators
My Philosophy
In my experience teaching at a university, high school, and grade school both professionally and as a tutor, the most important characteristic I have discovered for education is simply this: you have to be 100% invested in your students. When the teacher demonstrates that they will do whatever it takes to help the students, they gain the students’ respect. When you gain the students’ respect the students become more willing to push themselves. This sincerity also develops better communication. The students become more comfortable asking questions and giving feedback and the teacher can better identify miscommunication. This transforms the classroom into an educational community where the student and teacher grow together.
Lauren DeBiasio
Graduated SSU 2017
Graduated SRJC Dental 2019
Instructed for 6 years
My experience working with Will was very positive. He provided me with tools and strategies to help me manage my class material, and created outside objectives and lesson plans for us to work on during our sessions. Will is not only articulate, and thorough, but also very creative and has a broad understanding of the sciences and what good study skills look like. While working with Will one thing that stuck out to me is a comment he made about learning and studying science: ‘The uncomfortableness you are experiencing is natural. We all go through it and the more comfortable you get with feeling this way, the better you will be at managing yourself throughout the rest of your studies. Remain positive and just keep going.’ I found that comforting and continued to remind myself of this along the way. I feel confident in Will’s ability to be a teacher and mentor to students who are pursuing higher education. He is pragmatic in his approach to learning and understands that we only excel through hard work and perseverance
Paige Amormino
Valedictorian at Newman 2015
Graduated Princeton 2019
Instructed for 2 years
Will's teaching style is best described as an two-way empathic process – first, getting into the minds of the test-makers so that he can best understand what they're asking for; and second, getting into the minds of the students, so that he can best understand what can make these tests so hard, for even the brightest of students. Before Will's help, I could stare at a problem for hours (literally, hours!) without even knowing where to start. Will knows that the first step in every problem is understanding what the problem is asking you to do. Will's teaching style ensures that you know not only how to approach the one specific problem you're currently working on, but also how to approach any question the test might throw at you. Always encouraging, but never overly optimistic, Will can help you gain the confidence and test-taking strategies necessary to get the score you want.
Michael McDermott
Valedictorian at Newman 2018
Matriculated Stanford 2018
Instructed for 2 years
I am a former pupil of Will Billich, and I can attest to his methods of teaching. In high school, I took an AP Physics course, one that I had much excitement for and was willing to engage in. Due to a poor teacher, the material was difficult to fully comprehend, even though I put in the effort to understand it. We were taught one thing and one thing only, to take the test. High school physics was a drudge until I met up with Will. He taught me different ways of approaching the problem. He showed me that there was not just one way to view a problem, but in fact, there were many. The underlying mechanics that I did not understand were revealed and new facets of physics came into view. Finally, the broad concepts and ideas were visualized. By Will teaching me how to do multiple problems in different ways, and truly understanding the depth of the concepts through repeated examples, the AP test became a breeze. Partly in thanks to Will, I am now more confident in my physics background, and am currently studying Engineering at Stanford University, where my solid background is helping greatly.
Relevant Work
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Jennifer Ko
Current Teacher
Helped through various schools
Instructed for 3 years
William is an exceptionally hard working and honest teacher. I was very lucky to work with him these past three months for my chemistry course to not only address the learning gaps I had (as it’s been more than 10 years since my last science class!) in a relatable way, but he also taught me new processes and tools for approaching my future science classes. He did a most exceptional job at creating material for my study group that not only expanded on the curriculum being covered in the class, but also was tailored to our individual areas for improvement. As someone who did her undergrad in the liberal arts, getting over my hang-up as not being a “math/science person” has been a source for anxiety as I started this new education path. William made the information less intimidating by using lots of real-world examples in his material, and having us work out problems together in our sessions. He also taught us how to break down information with manageable and generally-applicable strategies. William’s enthusiasm for teaching and passion for science and learning is clearly evident in his positive presence and encouraging, empathetic manner with his students. As a former teacher, I know that William’s willingness to work as hard as he expects his students to work, is a huge asset that will be appreciated by any class.