I am a dedicated educator with experience teaching in the classroom and tutoring a range of students one-on-one in math, science, social science, art and language arts. I establish trust through patient listening and by recognizing each success that is achieved. My experience has shown me how to provide additional levels of increasingly difficult challenges so the student acquires confidence in themselves and their abilities. A well-designed course of study sets the learner up for "wins" that keep them coming back for more.

I vary my teaching methods according to the individual student, the nature of the material and the individual ways the student best acquires knowledge. I may achieve the objectives of the lesson by delivering the same content in several ways so that the information is learned on various cognitive levels (hearing, seeing, touching, memory, reasoning) and to keep the lesson interesting.

During the tutoring process, I acquire an understanding of how I may structure a tutoring session by learning the individual student's best way of acquiring knowledge and by making lessons relevant by involving the student's personal interests (i.e., video games, sports, family activities, music).

More recent work experience as a substitute teacher has brought me into classrooms in several school districts in central New Jersey with students of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and varying levels of cognitive and social development. I have had success in engaging students with individual educational programs and with classifications that require special accommodations in their classroom environment including: ADHD, cognitive LD, autism spectrum, and emotional and social challenges. I have also worked with precocious children, gifted & talented and advanced placement students who require more challenging work and creative ways to engage in the material.
After a twenty-year career in the graphic arts with several companies in New York City, I returned to school and acquired a teaching certificate. I teach with the awareness of the competitive nature of the workplace and the necessity of being organized, focused and on task to achieve and succeed. I am a working artist, art tutor and art teacher with an NJ standard license in Art Education, K-12. I also have standard licenses in Elementary Education, K-5 and Teacher of Graphic Design.

The art education program I completed focused on writing and reflection on art, art making and teaching. This emphasis on reflection is a useful tool that I employ to gauge the effectiveness of my instruction and how I may revise my lesson plan to achieve the lesson objectives. Analytical thinking and writing also supports me in tutoring language arts.

I enjoy cooking meals for my family, running and biking, and playing blues, jazz and classical music on the piano. I grew up in a bilingual Italian family and have visited the major museums of Paris, New York City and Italy. I enjoy reading science fiction, art, history and how-to books.

If my friends were to describe me they would say I was patient, kind and curious about Life in all its forms and behaviors.