When your General Academic tutor is Danny Gibboney, expect your sessions to be as engaging as they are personalized—to your learning style, to your academic goals, and to your daily needs as a student. Since he started tutoring with us, students have found success in school work and test scores as a result of Danny’s empathetic and personalized approach to teaching.
An Expert in Childhood Education
An Expert in Childhood EducationDr. Danny made his way down to Houston after years spent further north. He earned his MA in Religion from the University of Chicago in 2009, and later pursued a PHD in Cultural Studies and Literacies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Education.
Dr. Danny earned his doctorate in 2022, following years of study focused on philosophy of education and the history of American childhood, uniquely positioning him as a specialist in childhood learning. In his words, “Along the way, I learned a dash of history, picked up an affinity for writing, and cultivated a passion for reading. I’d be more than privileged to share these skills with Houston-area students.”
Dr. Danny the Tutor
Since he started tutoring with General Academic in August 2025, Danny has been helping students with the ISEE, other standardized tests, or school subjects like social studies, ELA, and grade school mathematics. In his tutoring, he creatively designs sessions to reach students where they are and help them feel empowered to attain their goals.
Danny says that his favorite aspect of tutoring is the treat of spending an hour with kids as they struggle and succeed at doing hard stuff. He empathizes with and validates their perspectives of English, reading, and math being difficult subjects. “Mathematics often feels like magic,” he says.
Still, there’s a joy in undergoing something difficult and coming out improved on the other side. He’s inspired by students’ bright, beaming expressions when they achieve what they’ve been working hard for, like when something finally clicks in a math problem, or when they receive a great ISEE score, or even when they’re impressed by their own turn of written phrase on a page. “That’s just—*chef’s kiss*.”
Subject in Focus: ELA & Writing
Outside of tutoring and golfing for fun, Danny spends his time working on different writing projects. The authors he mentions when discussing his favorite works include Carol Motsinger, George Orwell and his essays, and Mohsin Hamid, a writer of realistic and speculative fiction whose works include How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia and Exit West. Danny says Hamid has “…delightfully trained my imagination more than anyone else.”
Given his penchant for the literary, there’s no surprise that ELA is Dr. Danny’s favorite subject to tutor, especially writing. Getting students motivated to read and write is difficult, largely because these skills themselves are hard to grasp and grow. Part of why Danny is so successful with students is that he truly empathizes with their struggles. “Putting words on a page can frequently feel more than Sisyphean.”
Tutoring Sessions with Dr. Danny
Students find Dr. Danny’s tutoring sessions productive, confidence-boosting, and personalized to them. “I think each hour together should be catered to the individual student,” he says. “A student’s personality should reign supreme in determining a session’s specific tone and style.”
Let’s walk through a general 60-minute tutoring session with Dr. Danny Gibbon to see what approaches he takes to connect with students and help them make strides towards their learning goals.
1. Touching Base
The first stop for Dr. Danny and his student is the kitchen in General Academic’s study lounge, featuring snacks and drinks—brain fuel for the hour ahead. In the walk to the kitchen and to their study station for the day, he connects with the student to see what’s going on in their life, in and out of school. “Kids are kids, being a student is just one hat they wear,” he says.
2. Check-In: Assignment Overview
Once they’ve secured enough rations for the hour (in his words), the first order of business is to check in on pertinent assignments. Danny will check in on homework for the week to make sure the student understands it and it’s on-track to be completed, and time is set aside to review any assignments that he has given the student.
If the student doesn’t need help on assignments or once the two of them finish reviewing everything, it’s time to start working on growth opportunities.
3. Growth Opportunities
Time for the “meat” of the tutoring session—whether it’s studying specific concepts or working through practice questions, Danny and the student dive into whatever the next growth opportunity is on their plate.
For example, if they’re doing ISEE test prep, this could look like working through a few practice questions or diving into one specific idea so that the student fully understands it. If the focus is improving ELA skills, they may dive into a sample passage and practice active reading together, or work through the steps of writing an essay.
Danny nimbly adapts the session’s content, format, and style to the student’s needs, so it’s hard to deliver a detailed account of a typical session. Regardless, Danny always focuses on helping the student leave the session more confident about their abilities than when they arrived. “Perhaps more important than correcting errors or staving off hiccups,” he reflects, “I believe academic achievement is fostered by confidence and letting folks know they’re doing something well.”
4. Wrap-Up
The session ends with Danny reviewing what they achieved and giving the student a plan until the next session. Whether it’s a writing prompt, reading goal, or problem set completed, any assignments are created to serve as a bridge between one session and the next, helping students come to the next session more prepared!
Finding a Tutor at General Academic
General Academic’s subject and test prep tutors provide the structured support to accommodate your student wherever they’re at. We help our students with a wide range of materials, ranging from 1st through 12th grade subject prep, ISEE, and SAT. To get the ball rolling, give us a call at (713) 838-7774 or fill out our tutoring request form.
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