I knew from an early age I wanted to help students learn. I have always believed that all students can learn, some just need information given to them differently. Growing up, my family did not get to travel much, so for me, books were my vacations. The cool thing about that was there was no limit to where, or when, I could go! I could travel to places all over the world, back and forth in time, and even other worlds! This has much to do with why I love reading and all that goes with that. I have also loved writing about my thoughts and feelings on a topic, so writing is another passion of mine. Writing truly lets me let go and put myself into print! I love being able to do so. I also have a passion for teaching Math. My reason for this varies a bit from my love of language. I have seen students struggle with Math, and it was something that could be avoided if the instruction was simply done with a different wording, a different way of modeling the process, or different examples for the student to learn. Students all have different learning styles, and when they are exposed to a subject using their strengths, then they can be successful! This is why the first thing I want to do is to get to know my students. What are their interests? What do they enjoy learning about? As I set up a rapport with my students, I can learn how to best help them use the strengths they have to be successful. Over the 25 years I have been teaching, I have seen students who were convinced they were horrible at math to be successful in ways they did not think they could! I have also been blessed to see students make great gains in their reading comprehension and have confidence in their skills with written language.