John C.

Experience Summary

My name is John Calleri and I have been a teacher for more than 30 years. During that time, I have taught in two languages, English and Spanish, and in three countries: the United States, Germany, and Spain. I have taught Social Studies to grades 7 to 12, Spanish to grades 9 to 11, and GED (high school equivalency) to students aged 17 to 40. My students have been stateside Americans, newly arrived immigrants to the U.S., the children of our military in Germany, and native Spaniards in the Canary Islands, Spain. My wife and I lived in Europe for more than four years, I lived in Mexico for a half year, and I have traveled extensively in Costa Rica and throughout South America. Since childhood I have been fascinated with the past – with how early peoples lived and thought - transporting myself in time and space as I fought the Battle of Quebec, watched the tumbrels roll in Paris, saw Jefferson struggle over slavery, and homesteaded on the prairies. I have always loved the English language, and I filled my college days with English literature and poetry, philosophy, art, and my beloved history. When I was 39, I fell in love with the warm Hispanic people and embarked upon the adventure of learning their language. I studied Spanish with diligence, reverence, and love, and I came to speak it and to understand their culture. I took courses in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Spain, and I traveled in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. In 1988, I met a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Paraguay. She had lived in the Paraguayan countryside for almost three years, had made a thatched roof hut her home, had read by candlelight, drawn water from a well, and had walked 10 miles to the nearest telephone. She shared my dreams about living in Europe, we married in 1990, and we lived and worked in Europe for more than four years. We visit the Canary Islands every other summer, and we plan to live there during the winter months. For the present, however, I look forward to tutoring the things I love: Social Studies and Spanish. If I can impart my love for these subjects to my students, then learning will follow. I have had learning success in the classroom, and so expect the same as a tutor. If I am asked to tutor English I am confident of success in this area as well. English was my minor at SUNY at Buffalo, and I was a feature writer and copy editor at the Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y., for three years. I have taught writing, grammar, and comprehension of literature as part of the GED curriculum for 12 years. Finally, I am competent in grade 9 and 10 math as well. Though I have always loved the social sciences and have excelled in them, I am very strong in math. I earned an A in Differential Calculus in college. My 12 years of GED involves the teaching of geometry and algebra, the use of the calculator, and number operations. This then is my teaching life in brief. I am fluent in two languages (and became quite adept in German when I lived in Germany), am an experienced teacher, and have an overseas background that has greatly expanded my abilities as a teacher. I introduce myself as an educator who loves teaching, learning, and working with young people. I hope that I may work for you. In this hope, I present my varied experiences, my reverence for learning, my customary enthusiasm and hard work, and my respect for those I am entrusted to teach.

Teaching Style

I try to engage my student, to tease the learning out of him or her. I have learned to explain, to give the information then to step back, allowing my student to think through to the conclusion. This involves silence sometimes, and the student talking more while I talk less, something not so easy for a teacher of Italian descent. Experiences has shown, however, that it often works.

My Hobbies

Tennis- [ I have taught/coached tennis too!] Traveling & living overseas, especially to Spain and France. Reading history and reading in Spanish. Read and write poetry.

Other Comments

Love animals- I am a dog lover that lives with 4 cats! Sabres and Bills as well as a Barcelona soccer fan!

All Subjects I Tutor

• American History
• Continuing Education
• English
• GED

• Geography
• Government
• Grammar
• Homework Help

• Journalism
• Math
• Political Science
• Social Studies

• Spanish
• Study Skills
• World History