Amanda Claire Buckley

Amanda is a personable and upbeat tutor who goes out of her way to create a relaxed and welcoming space for her students. You might assume that since she holds an MFA in Non-Fiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and teaches English at the college level, she is exclusively a grammar nerd–not that she isn’t! She’ll help you craft the perfect personal statement for a college app, of course, but she also secretly adores teaching math, especially geometry, and algebra, and has made a hobby of cracking the code to standardized tests, including the ISEE, SSAT, ACT, and SAT.

During her sessions, Amanda makes space for curiosity and laughter, aiming to disarm students who might be easily distracted during or dismissive of one-on-one lessons. While she demands excellence from her students, she believes learning is only truly successful if it is enjoyable. And if the word “precocious” applies to your child, Amanda is not only the perfect tutor for you, but wants to work with you. She loves engaging in dialogue and working creatively alongside advanced learners as they reason through questions big and small.

Although specializing in several subjects, Amanda is first and foremost an advocate of the Socratic Method. She opens most sessions by reminding her students that I don’t know is not just a permissible answer but an encouraged one. From there, she teaches them how to solve more than one question on one test; instead, they learn what to do when faced with any question that might be overwhelming, unfamiliar, or paralyzing. She teaches them how to ask, “Given the facts that I have, what’s the next thing I can know?” Amanda wants her students to have the confidence to trust their critical thinking skills. Her teaching style has earned praise from supervisors, parents, and, most importantly, students themselves.

Amanda has been teaching in one capacity or another for the majority of her professional life. She started by leading performing arts workshops for teenagers while studying music, theatre, and literature at Bennington College—aka majoring in Stephen Sondheim. After graduating undergrad, she studied Philosophy at Harvard Extension School before being hired as a music director and writer for a traveling sketch comedy troupe. Although enamored with academia, she couldn’t pass up the chance to study commedia dell’arte in Italy and sketch comedy at Second City. Around the same time, the Chicago Writers Conference hired her to assist with craft talks, readings, and classes on editing and publication.

Amanda transitioned from arts education to academic tutoring while working on her MFA in Non-Fiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She started by helping students with essay writing and college applications, finding that her knack for jokes made tutoring bearable for even the most reticent students. Soon, she realized her love of games and logic could help her unlock the secrets of standardized testing, secrets she was more than eager to share with anyone who asked.

Amanda has worked with students from a variety of backgrounds and capabilities, priding herself in making a genuine connection with every one of them. She knows nothing more rewarding than watching her students become more confident from week to week.
When not tutoring, Amanda works as the Prose Editor for the literary magazine Pigeon Pages. She also continues to celebrate and explore her love of musical theatre, literature, psychology, philosophy, and travel. However, as a self-described Jane of All Trades, she is most proud of her recent improvement in figure drawing and expects to learn how to properly make kimchi any day now.