Experience Summary
I have over 18 years experience as a teacher and a tutor, working with ages 5 through adult, both in the U.S. and in Central America. My areas of expertise are Spanish and reading, especially remedial reading. My most significant experience includes the following positions: 1) 2 years as a teacher in Costa Rica, teaching language arts, ESL, math, and social studies at the 7th - 9th grade level, and adult basic literacy; 2) 4 years with Oakland, CA public schools as a dual-immersion bilingual classroom teacher, grades K-3, usually teaching 2 - 3 grades at the same time; 3) 2 years as a community college developmental reading teacher; and 4) 6 years as a Spanish teacher, ages 5 - adult, for homeschool groups in MD and KY.
Teaching Style
I begin by establishing rapport with the student, and usually I prefer a lighthearted, encouraging style of interaction. I believe every student is capable of learning, but may not have been shown the strategies and skills that will best suit them. I like to help the student identify their learning style, and then teach using strategies that will coincide with that learning style. Often when the student has been taught some different strategies for learning, s/he is more capable of tackling new lessons without additional help. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica, I learned that our goal was to "work ourselves out of a job." That is always my goal as a teacher and tutor: to do my job so well that my services become unnecessary!