Experience Summary
I began teaching when I was homeschooling my own children. They joined a weekly co-op and I was asked to teach high school level writing, public speaking and music appreciation for co-op students(not all at the same time). I discovered that students who took my classes were later commended by professors in college for their writing and speaking skills. I began substitute teaching in 2001, and eventually obtained my master's degree in secondary education. I have continued to work in the public schools as a substitute teacher. Because I am a writer, myself, I have spent a great deal of time learning how to communicate principles of grammar, organization of materials and writing style.
Teaching Style
I believe that all learning builds upon a foundation of previous learning. The key to helping a student to retain information is to make certain that student possesses all the prior knowledge needed to support the new information. For example, it is very difficult to teach a student the concept of the passive verb voice if that student does not understand the difference between a verb and other parts of speech.
I am a knowledge junkie and really enjoy discovering new things. As a teacher I often lead students down proverbial side roads that will introduce them to subjects they might not have otherwise studied.