My passion for teaching started when I was very young and I was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability that causes letters and words to be transposed in my mind. I had to work very hard--my mother used flashcards over a long period--to develop my reading, and eventually I got up to speed enough to be a grade level. I knew then that teaching was a determining factor in what my mother had done for me, and moreover, what my life would eventually be about. I was very young then, and while dyslexia does not go away, I have achieved quite a bit despite it, attaining degrees in English, of all things, and composing lots of music and poetry over the years. My teaching philosophy--pedagogy, the pros call it--is student centered, where I try to engage the student where he/she is at, and then increase the rigor from there, utilizing a conversational and laid back and friendly style. Outside interests include playing jazz/rock fusion guitar and performing music at local open mics, listening to such artists as Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman, even taking the occasional gig or poetry reading, and reading, from fiction to poetry, and from philosophy to biographies.