Ann W.
Private tutor in Plano, TX
Education
Texas Secondary Educator Certificates in English, Language Arts and Reading 8-12 Speech 8-12 B.A. Communications from The University of Texas at Arlington with a minor in Theater Arts GPA-3.5
Experience
-->Tutoring Experience - 2013 to current *Individual and Small Group Instruction with personalized curriculum determined through needs-based assessments, school work, test results, teacher comments and parental observations. -->Teaching Experience - 2005 to 2015 *Head Coach of Nationally Ranked Speech and Debate Team *Taught the following courses: Communication Applications, Debate I & II, English I & II Pre-AP/Honors, Oral Interpretation I & II. *Raised the passing rate of the 9th grade TAKS from 70% to 97% in 2009 *Designed, developed and implemented a unique Reading curriculum for Special Education students, including but not limited to Behaviorally Challenged and Autism Spectrum Disorders. *Created a mentor program for at-risk teen girls with a primary focus of improving self-esteem and communication skills in all areas for greater successes in life, including but not limited to conflict management, interpersonal relationships and employment readiness *Served as Class of 2009 Sponsor, Academic Advisor and Mentor to the Class of 2009 throughout the entirety of their high school career.
Subject Expertise
SAT WritingIB Literature and PerformanceIB Literature and Performance SLKindergarten - 8th GradeLiterary AnalysisLiteratureMedieval LiteraturePersuasive WritingPhonicsPSAT Critical ReadingPSAT Writing SkillsPublic SpeakingReadingSAT Critical ReadingSAT Subject Test in LiteratureSAT VerbalHomeschoolShakespeareShort NovelSpecial EducationSTAARSTAAR EOCSTAAR Grades 3-8Study SkillsStudy Skills And OrganizationSummer TutoringTest PrepVocabularyWorld LiteratureWritingACT English10th Grade Writing11th Grade Reading11th Grade Writing12th Grade Reading12th Grade Writing2nd Grade Reading6th Grade Reading6th Grade Writing7th Grade Reading7th Grade Writing8th Grade Reading8th Grade Writing9th Grade Reading9th Grade Writing10th Grade ReadingACT ReadingACT with WritingACT WritingADDADHDAP English Language and CompositionAP English Literature and CompositionAP PsychologyDyslexiaEnglishExpository WritingFiction WritingGrammar and MechanicsHandwriting
Availability
Weekdays at any time, Saturday in the morning
Can Meet
Up to 20 minutes away at my regular hourly rate, Up to 30 minutes away for a flat fee
Hobbies
The greatest joy I have in being an educator is helping my students overcome their greatest challenge or fear. For some students, the fear of public speaking was so daunting they wouldn't sleep the night before. For others, the challenge of liking, let alone understanding, a story or novel was so difficult they would miss the day we would have a mandatory group discussion over the assigned piece of literature. Creating a comfortable, safe and fun environment for my students is and will always be my number one priority. Comfort allows students to feel safe. Safety allows students to have fun. Whether they give their first speech from the comfort of their desk or if they win a game I created to introduce Edgar Allan Poe, "Who's crazier: Edgar Allan Poe or random relative from my family tree???" I have found that going the extra mile is worth the time when my students succeed. I had the good fortune of seeing both sides of public education as I taught at in two drastically different school districts. Both high schools were in the suburbs of Dallas; one, in a lower socio-economic neighborhood, the second school was in one of the most affluent suburbs in the metroplex. I can’t say the students were WAY better here than they were there nor can I say that it was much easier to work there compared to here. The one thing I can say is that I learned just as much, if not more, from my students. I consider myself lucky to have had the students I did. *I believe in teaching outside of the box. *I believe that teaching &/or tutoring is a calling not a job. *I believe that ego should be left at the door. If you are unwilling to go the distance to help your student, you should be ashamed of yourself. *I believe in teaching students in a manner that suits their needs not vice versa. Yes, it does take more time and more preparation but its what’s best for them. *I believe in not just watching what you say but how you say it. If there’s not a smile on your face and in your eyes, you need to find another career. *I believe that those who worry about how much time it takes to prepare a lesson or complain they didn’t get to eat their lunch should stay as far away from children as humanly possible. *I believe in leading by example. If I want my students to be polite and respectful, then, as the adult, I must be polite and respectful first. The position of, "I'm the teacher/tutor and you WILL do what I say." It's sad (and pathetic) that there are educators in our schools that operate in that manner. If any or all of the above statements resonate with you, I'd love an opportunity to sit down with you and your family. I have a flexible schedule therefore have the availability to work around my students schedules. I also offer online sessions in addition to individual and group sessions.
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