Experience Summary
As a lifelong lover of literature and writing, I have taught students from fifth grade through junior level college literature and writing courses. My MA and PhD degrees have only further accelerated my desire to continue publishing academically in peer reviewed journals. These writing skills have led to my tutoring and editing the work of high school students and adults pursuing publications in other fields, such as business and the medical professions. Additionally, my certification in Alternative Education has enabled me to participate in the pursuit of achieving excellence in writing among urban youth, regardless of age or prior experience.
Teaching Style
Free and unconstrained autobiographical writing is one of the best ways to coax a student insecure about his or her writing skills into putting into words intense experiences from their own life. I tell my students to just tell me in their own words what they are trying to say. When they speak aloud, the words flow, and then I say, "There is your opening sentence right there. Quick! Write it down." At other times, I ask them to pretend that they are really someone else, an actor in a television show, for example, and I have them imagine that the character, not they themselves, are speaking. This releases the student to let go of inhibitions and let the film roll "for the character" and then they stop focusing on themselves.