Experience Summary
I was an Instructional Assistant/SH for the Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE). I'm now an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, when needed. I worked for TCOE for over 17 years. I tutor people of all ages in math, English, music, ASL, and more! I am now a Direct Support Professional (DSP) for the developmentally disabled adults. I help with them in their homes and out locally. You can pretty much call me one of their careproviders. I do ASL interpreting every Sunday at my church, so I can't say I don't ever use my ASL. I first started learning ASL back in the 3rd grade, taking a class after school each day for the GATE (Gifted And Talented Education) students. I then took classes in college at College of the Sequoias to do the requirements to receive a RID certificate for interpreting.
Teaching Style
I'll be honest. My "students" from the past have told me that during the time when I was actually sitting down and tutoring/working with them, they didn't even notice that they were actually doing the work. What I do when I try to make the "students" learn is to make them see what the books are trying to say to them through what we see through our eyes, in our world, every day. For example, if the book says: 7 - x = 4, I would be telling the child/adult, "Imagine if you had 7 dollars in your hand." I would then ask them, "How many do I need to take away (subtract) for you to have 4 dollars?" When working with the lower kids, I even use the actual objects and lay them on tables in front of me and show to them so they don't have to use their imagination to figure it out. Or if the page has picture on it, just cross them out if subtracting, or draw more if adding.
Other Comments
I am currently enrolled in college seeking to reach toward my teaching credential(s).