While pursuing my degree in English Writing from Spring Arbor University, I began working as a study group leader and teacher’s assistant, offering in-class support and grading for two English 101 courses. At the same time, I provided proofreading services and instruction for over three hundred undergraduate- and graduate-level students. Because of the number of international students seeking help in language skills, our tutoring staff received ESL training to approach non-western writing styles. Realizing how confusing English can be for foreign students, I became passionate about ESL. I could help students who, though often brilliant, struggled to bridge a communication barrier.

Clear communication is the difference between success and failure. So I have heard anecdotally, time and again, from professionals in virtually every field. If people are unable to communicate their ideas and intentions effectively, the consequences range from wasted time to strained workplace politics. I deeply love literature, but I recognize that language has to be practical in its daily usage. Especially in our modern global economy, good communication skills can open doors. My mission is to help students open them for themselves.

I have seen what is on the other side of those doors. Not only have I worked as a tutor, but after graduation I entered the writing field. I have seen firsthand how writing skills translate into the real world workplace. I have worked in journalism, film documentary, fundraising, copy editing, and marketing. I am excited to use the skills I’ve acquired in tutoring and professional writing to serve students at Inkwell English Education.

Degree: B.A.

Major: English Writing

Special Training: Spring Arbor University Writing Center tutor, teacher’s assistant, grading, ESL training; AFS style (sports journalism) training; CPS courses in Publishing and Technical Writing from Champlain College

Years of Experience: 6

Hero: Madeleine L’Engle

High-Impact Books: Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Ursula LeGuin’s The Dispossessed, Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina

High Impact Lecture: “Darkness as Illumination: God and the Prison-House of Language” by Dr. Brent Cline

Favorite Places I’ve Visited: Rocky Mountain State Park and Guatemala

Hobbies: rock climbing, traveling, reading, making music, drawing

Passion: documentary filmmaking

Favorite Quotation: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain

 

I enjoy sharing my passion for words and my love of books and poetry during tutorial sessions in the office, online, and off-site. I also teach summer writing camps and have conducted classes in cooperation with groups in Michigan such as Homeschool Connections in Rochester and Oxford, New Life Christian Church in Troy, the American Chinese School of Greater Detroit in Birmingham, and Kumon Learning Center. Married since 1975, my husband and I have a beautiful family.

Degree: B.A.

Major: English

Special Training: The Lost Tools of Writing™ intensive, C. S. Lewis Summer Institute, CEUs in classical Christian education

Years of Experience: 30+

Hero: Noah Webster

High–Impact Books: Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer, The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

High–Impact Lecture: “The Power of Language for Reconciliation” by Elie Weisel, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, on Aug. 21, 2008, at Rochester College, MI

Favorite Places I’ve Visited: the Jane Austen House in Chawton, England; the shopping square accessed from a tiny cobbled lane that runs into Grafton Street in downtown Dublin; the breathtaking drive to the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, Greece; the white sand beach at Turks and Caicos; Stratford, Ontario’s Shakespeare festival

Hobbies: collecting antique grammar, spelling, and reading textbooks; breeding Cavalier King Charles spaniels, writing poetry

Passion: connecting deeply with people, helping them to understand themselves and others

Favorite Quotation: “Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing.”–Robert Benchley

I have always been a reader. My high school Honors English teacher inspired my love of reading and writing. She was particularly fond of British literature and poetry, and each month, we were assigned different poems to memorize. As I worked these words over and over again in my mind, I began to appreciate their lasting power in a way I had never appreciated it before. This experience fuels my desire to share the timelessness of poetic writing with my students to this day!

In high school, I found such joy in sharing my reading and writing with my peers. As I began to plan for my future, I realized that I could maximize my strengths and passions as a teacher in the English classroom.

In 2009, I moved to New York to study English Education at New York University, where my teacher training introduced me to a variety of learners from many unique backgrounds. I felt privileged to teach literature to teenagers on the rich backdrop of New York City. I presented on classroom discipline at the Conference of English Educator’s bi-annual assembly in 2013 and obtained AP certification at Manhattan College in August of 2014. In my current post, I teach 9th and 10th grade Language Arts and AP Language and Composition.

Degree: B.S.

Major: English Education 7-12

Special Training: certification in CollegeBoard AP Language and Composition, training in Dual-Language English/Spanish Education, member of National Council of Teachers of English, tutor with New York University’s STEP SAT program

Years of Experience: 3 yrs. in the classroom, many years as a tutor

Hero: T. S. Eliot

High–Impact Books: Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot, Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

High–Impact Lecture: “On the Uses of Liberal Education” by Mark Edmundson and “This Is Water” by David Foster Wallace

Favorite Places I’ve Visited: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Durban, South Africa; Dublin, Ireland

Hobbies: riding bikes, reading poetry, playing violin, knitting

Passion: sharing the timelessness of poetry

Favorite Quotation: “If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”–Ralph Waldo Emerson

For more than half of my life I have been involved in teaching and training, particularly in the language arts. When I worked with adults through the Laubach Literacy program in Wayne County during the ’80s, I also served in two cooperatives, assisting young people with their grammar, composition, and critical thinking skills.

In the ’90s I served as a corporate manager, training a team of associates in communication techniques and networking concepts to increase sales and marketing performance. Over the last decade my focus has shifted to the school population.

I have taught using a classical curriculum model, developed and implemented a “Character Counts” program for preschool and elementary students, and designed various genre writing workshops for middle school students.

I have worked with and tutored students in a wide range of areas — math, remedial reading, choral music, art, history, and ESL. Over the years I have found that I am most enthusiastic when working with young people, especially middle school students. I enjoy influencing their lives positively.

Degree: B.R.E.

Major: Education

Special Training: Hillsdale College Center for Teacher Excellence, ABeka Publications educators’ conferences, Storytelling/Writing Seminar with William Wilder, Storytelling Convention, Ohio Christian Educators Convention, CHEM Educator Conventions, INCH Educator Conventions

Years of Experience: 25+

Hero: Bronte sisters

High–Impact Books: The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise

High–Impact Lecture: Dr. Dell Tackett’s “The Truth Project”

Favorite Places I’ve Visited: Mt. Vernon, Monticello, Hawaii, and Rome

Hobbies: reading historical novels, writing, music, travel, gardening, art, and crafts

Passion: working with children

Favorite Quotation: “O Lord, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!”–Shakespeare’s Henry VI

Awarded an MA in English Literature at Oakland University and a BA in English and Business at Valparaiso University, I am committed to passing on my love of literature and composition. As an undergraduate, I received honors from the business school, including the Boss Award for the top management major of my year. My business plan, additionally, was ranked by Students for Free Enterprise judges for being one of the best written submissions. Simultaneously, I concentrated my English literary studies on modern poetry and the early American novel. Outside of class, I joined the Lighter Literary Journal’s submission board and helped the staff select poems and short stories for publication.

Convinced I wanted to continue my literary studies and become an educator and writer, I moved forward in my English education at Oakland University. During my time in the master’s program, I concentrated my research and writing on modern poetry and and the post-war novel. After graduation, I worked as a freelance copywriter for Paper Tower Studios and published essays for online outlets such as Solidarity Hall. After much work and preparation, I now enjoy a career as an educator in a private classical academy, tutoring with Inkwell English Education when I’m not in the classroom.

Degree: B.S., M.A.

Major: undergrad – business and English; grad – English

Special Training: Tutoring students at ACCESS Office at Oakland Community College

Years of Experience: 3 yrs.

Hero: G. K. Chesterton

High–Impact Books: The Idiot by Fyoder Dostovesky, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

High–Impact Lecture: “Thoughts on Socrates” by Justice Antonin Scalia on 18 October 2007, Valparaiso University

Favorite Places I’ve Visited: Big Surr, CA

Hobbies: reading, attending concerts, sailing, rock climbing

Passion: theology and literature

Favorite Quotation: “Good words are worth much, and cost little.”– George Hubert