"I am a recent graduate with more than 10 years experience working with upper elementary, middle and high school students. I was a paraeducator for eleven years in a middle school students-at-risk classroom where I worked in small groups and individually with students. It was this position that convinced me to return to college to earn my teaching degree. I developed crossword puzzle study guides, bulletin boards, quizzes and corrected student work every day. I supervised 120+ students at lunch and developed a great relationship with many of those students, as well as the students in our classroom.

Many of the students in our classroom had little to no contact with their parents, lived with grandparents. I became a mom to them in many ways. These students asked me advice about many topics. One student I remember specifically wanted to know about having surgery and what to expect in the hospital. She had no one to answer her questions. I was happy to help her. Another student I recall came into class on Monday morning, telling us she was dizzy and didn't feel very good. When I asked her when she ate last, she said on Friday at lunch. I immediately went to the principal and got permission to purchase breakfast for this very hungry student. Often after that I supplied snacks to our students to be sure they had eaten.

I am often approached by former students and learn about how they are doing in school or college. It warms my heart every time to know these students remember me.

As a tutor, I will use many of the methods I used with the students I worked with. I will show students how to research within the text for their answers, how to take notes, talk about how each of them learns best-visually, discussing, reading and writing a summary of what they have read or other. I find it is key to learning for students to be well-organized, methods of note-taking and determining their best method of learning. I have no picture to upload at this time." less...