Renee
Certified Tutor
I have been a high school English teacher for 2 1/2 years. Education was always a passion of mine and I became a teacher because I believe that the quality of a young person's education is the strongest tool they have to build success and happiness later in life. I love introducing students to a novel and showing them how much they can learn from it.
I have also spent my last three summers tutoring for a company that specializes in building decoding and comprehension skills for struggling students. Working with this company allowed me to teach kids from kindergarten through high school.
Before teaching I worked in advertising sales. I enjoyed the social aspect of this job; basically my success was rooted in how well I was able to communicate my position to my clients and together we put together advertising campaigns that communicated a certain message to their buyers. All my life I have been interested in how we as human beings communicate with each other and understand each other. How we do this has become increasingly complex and I find it rewarding and fun to teach this to young people.
I love all manner of creative pursuits. I began designing jewelry about 4 years ago and I do this as a hobby for myself and friends. Anytime I can find something in my house to sand down and repaint or refinish I take on the project as well. I love learning and expressing myself creatively because it forces me to look at things in a new way and create something that simply wasn't there before.
I also like to build creativity in the classroom (or tutoring session) since creative thinking is the root of good problem solving skills.
I love teaching, I love creating new lessons and the experience of being able to show someone something new about the world is about the most fun and rewarding thing I've ever done with my life.
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Undergraduate Degree: University of California-Santa Barbara - Bachelors, Art History
Graduate Degree: Roosevelt University - Current Grad Student, Secondary Education, English
Painting, Ceramics, Sewing, Kickboxing.
- American Literature
- AP English Language and Composition
- AP English Literature and Composition
- Art History
- College Level American Literature
- Elementary School Math
- Elementary School Reading
- Elementary School Writing
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- High School English
- High School Level American Literature
- High School Writing
- Math
- Middle School Reading
- Middle School Reading Comprehension
- Middle School Writing
- Phonics
- Public Speaking
- Social Studies
- Spelling Bee
- Writing
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would spen
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe that education is about preparing students for the world they are about to enter into through the teaching of skills and knowledge, but more importantly, by helping students to see how they fit and what they want from the world. Education is a process of self-discovery that is achieved through exploration of all different forms of knowledge and skills. When preparing lessons or teaching students, I seek to help students connect the knowledge to themselves and their personal interests and experiences. Everything we teach students is only useful if they can find a way in which that teaching matters to them and can affect their lives for the better. As it applies to English, specifically, I see literature as the greatest tool we have to put students into complex real world situations that require them to problem solve, connect, and analyze the situation. Literature allows self-discovery and socio-political literacy to be fast tracked so young people can go out into the world with a better understanding of the world around them.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Independence comes from modeling your own thinking and providing structures for the problem-solving process. The most common, in English, is guiding a student toward an answer or understanding by guiding their thinking rather than offering answers, thereby requiring them to figure it out on their own. When a student struggles with an analysis, for example, and cannot find the meaning behind a text, it is helpful to point them to important details in the text and allow them to make sense of it independently. Sometimes pointing out connections the student has made previously can jog their memory or activate their thinking, but the goal is to always ensure that the student reaches the intended conclusion on their own so that they experience the success on their own and never get into a habit of relying on others for the answers.