"I began working in the office of a Montessori school in Akron Ohio, and decided to pursue a career in teaching. I finished my bachelor's degree in Mathematics at University of Akron in order to begin Montessori training. At MIRTC in Girona, I completed my training in 6-12 Montessori teaching in 2018. During my continued education, I was working in the classroom with ages 6-9 and then 3-6. My goal was to work abroad in a bilingual school. Due to the pandemic, our school shut down in the spring of 2020 and then reopened with safety protocols in the fall. I agreed to work one more year while preparing for moving abroad.

My experience abroad took place in Morocco, where I was the lead teacher in a 6-9 classroom for two years. Our students were almost all learning English as a second language. This challenged me to use techniques for beginning language skills (which we cover at 3-6 years in Montessori) but altered for 6-9 year olds. Luckily I had a lot of support and a fantastic assistant.

My general philosophy of education is that the public school curriculum is something that ANY child can learn, given time, patience, and respect. To me it is important to observe and to let someone make mistakes.. The lessons I give are based on what I see the child understands and what he or she has yet to learn. It's important to factor in the mental state as well -- sometimes we just need distance from a particular topic, to move on to something else, and return later with a clear mind. I understand the pressure to perform well on tests, but I think achieving confidence and understanding is always more important, and will in the long run lead to those improved test scores.

In this type of tutoring environment, my strategy is to catch areas that need review or improvement (with the student's input), and also to spend time on topic currently covered in class (even if it's a bit hard). I look forward to working with you!" less...