Sheila: Westmont tutor

Certified Tutor

I am a graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Go, Tarheels! I was a student there during the Michael Jordan era and the good old days of Dean Smith. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and stepped into teaching high school English immediately after graduating. I have always been an avid reader and writer, so my passion is teaching students to love books, reading, and writing. During my career I have taught grades 7 through 12 and a few community college university transfer courses. After receiving my Master's Degree in English from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, I was afforded an opportunity to study abroad at the University of the West Indies. Basically, a few other teachers and I were able to study the culture and literature of Jamaica for an entire summer. I believe that all students can learn, however, students do not all learn at the same pace. I am passionate about helping struggling learners to see their potential. My former students and I always kept "hands-on" activities going with each unit that I taught. I often offered them "choice" in assignments because I do not believe in "one size fits all" educational practices. For example, my 8th graders began to really love poetry each year because I often had a resident poet to do an internship with them during this unit. Since he was a published author of poetry, he was able to do a poetry seminar with my students, and I even became a student under his tutelage. The end result was a spectacular Poetry Cafe at the end of his seminar. And, my students and I regularly published a poetry anthology at the end of the school year. Each student was asked to contribute their best rendering and I was able to get a sponsor who graciously printed bound copies for each of my students. I believe I can successfully tutor students who have difficulties in reading comprehension, English grammar, and writing. At times, since I have retired, I frequently tutor students who are below grade level in reading. My teaching style is pretty much one of "I do", "we do", and "you do". This allows me to model a particular lesson and then gradually release the pupils to complete tasks on their own. I love to see students master new material and become confident in themselves. Tutoring will give me an outlet to continue to stay in tune with our future leaders of America. During the course of my career I have taught several students who have played in the NBA, competed in the Olympics, a famous folk singer, and many published writers, and speakers. Most of them are my Facebook friends. I, too, am in the process of publishing a second book. In addition to reading, writing and singing, I love to garden, travel, exercise, and cook. And yes, I believe that learning is a life-long process for us all. It is my desire to create a community of learners who will continue to pass this joy of learning on to future generations.