"Smile while you learn!

______________________________

Decades of success with children and adults:

I have taught more than 5,000 students a variety of academic, computer, business and soft skills as a teacher, tutor, trainer, coach, curriculum developer and project manager, during a 30+ year career. A New York state certified teacher and internationally certified Life Coach, my students are both adults and children. The adults are individuals or come from corporations and non-profits. My academic clients include elementary, middle, high school and college students, their parents, and education professionals.

______________________________

A wide range of subjects, experience and expertise:

My academic tutoring background includes all subjects through 8th grade; plus NYS Regents History and English, the college application process and extensive support with university writing assignments. I work with both adults and children from a variety of international backgrounds, and also offer U.S. cultural education and information services to immigrants from South America, South & East Asia, Europe, and Africa.

______________________________

Successful college and graduate school applications and writing coaching:

For students from both the affluent suburbs and inner city schools, I have managed the college testing, search, and application process. College acceptances for my students range from community colleges to Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, SUNY Binghamton and University College London graduate school.

______________________________

It requires more than academics to create successful life-long learners.

My tutoring philosophy is about balance.

My obligation to my students - which may include roles as teacher, counselor, coach, mentor, and/or role model - is to foster various traits which increase my students' likelihood of success - in school, professionally, and as human beings.

______________________________

According to the Johnson O'Connor Foundation, and various other longitudinal studies, the single best predictor of success, in both school and occupation, is A LARGE vocabulary.

A large vocabulary has been shown to enhance reading comprehension and fluency, improve critical thinking, and make communication in all fields more effective. But, it is also crucial to understand that, as absolutely critical as text based literacy skills are, even students with a large vocabulary may still struggle with reading. I know this well from my own daughter's experience and many of the students I have worked with.

______________________________

So, back to balance - I show balance in my application and understanding of various learning modalities - auditory, visual and kinesthetic - in addition to taking my students' individual personalities and preferences into account. I understand that some students have lots of content knowledge (with accompanying vocabulary), even with poor reading skills. Therefore I balance how content is taught - reading, lecture, multi-media sources, "hands on" experiential learning, and discussion.

______________________________

Allow me to expand your education horizons! :-)

Beyond my education credentials, I have been the producer for a youth summer theater program, including development of original theater pieces. I am a costume designer (specializing in historic and inexpensive costumes), a teacher and designer of beaded jewelry, an international traveler, skilled improvisational and therapeutic story teller, and have developed various film and museum based curricula.

I am always looking to add more students to my roster of success stories.

Location - I moved from New York City to San Diego." less...