"I have ten years experience as a substitute teacher and Foster Grandparent in the Tennessee Elementary Public School System. I have worked the new standards for TCAP testing, Special Ed and regular curricula grades 1-8. As a substitute I am responsible for teaching an entire classroom or a select group. As a Foster Grandparent I tutored slow learners one on one in all academic areas for five years. I am still active as a substitute teacher.

I also was an adult educator in GED and English Second Language for two and a half years while holding a primary job as a residential manager for a school for the mentally and physically challenged for seven and a half years prior to my elementary school work. I love tutoring all ages and abilities. Although reading and language arts are my favorite subjects, I take pride in helping students achieve their best in all classes pertinent to their educational requirements. I have worked with children all my life and never tire of teaching them knowledge and skills that benefit them in school and in life.

Science is a difficult subject for most. I have the ability to take the important ideas and present them in creative ways that students can grasp and retain. Recently I took a fifth grade class through the teacher's directive to search for answers to a pretest. When they finished the assignment, I had them play "Jeopardy" and ask questions that fit the correct answers. Only one student out of 66 did not pass the test.

English has always been my strong suit. I know grammar rules and slogans that are fun. Even adults can benefit from such sayings as "when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking"! Phonics have taken a new turn back into a priority and it's working even with special ed students. I am so impressed how most can sound out each letter in a word, then bring them altogether for the final sound. Reading with expression also has its charm for making good readers better. It gives a child permission to exercise his or her imagination--a r" less...