Experience Summary
I hold BAs in History and Modern Languages (German/French), and have done graduate work in Theology and French Translation. This background has given me a broad understanding across the humanities and an ever-deepening knowledge of the world's languages, literatures, cultures, and religious traditions. I am fluent in German, literate in French, and able to provide basic assistance with Russian, Japanese, and Afrikaans. I have been a substitute teacher (all subjects, K-12), a university tutor, an ESL instructor in Montreal, and a guest editor at an academic journal. My writing, both creative and academic, has been published in a variety of journals, and I have presented papers at two university conferences.
Teaching Style
I am a strong believer in interrelating knowledge in diverse areas and illuminating its applications to real life in the belief that students are more motivated to learn when the relevance of that learning is clear to them. Students must not simply believe that they have acquired knowledge, but that they have gained understanding if the knowledge is to make any real difference in their lives. I believe it is important, especially with children, to respect the intelligence of the student, and to that end I employ a great deal of Socratic method. I seek to broaden the horizons of all my students, and impart a deeper appreciation for the world and the cosmos that we inhabit through every subject.