I have a Ph.D. in History and 8 years of experience teaching at both the college and high school levels. I have worked as a professor and lecturer at the University of Delaware, Indiana University and Mount Holyoke College. Most recently I taught at The Cambridge School of Weston, a private school emphasizing progressive teaching methods that cater to students' individual learning styles. I seek to foster an intellectual curiosity in students and push them to realize their full potential, to help them discover that they are more powerful than they previously imagined. Toward this end, I encourage students to be active participants in their learning, to think of themselves not simply as students who look to me for information, but as scholars who seek knowledge with which to impact society. In my classes students demonstrate their knowledge through discussion and debate, blogs, museum exhibits, poetry and artwork, in addition to research papers and exams.
Whenever people tell me they didn't like history in school I tell them they just needed the right teacher. History shouldn't be simply the memorization of an endless string of dates and facts. History is the study of people, people who are very much like us. No matter what era or region they live in, people are all motivated by the same basic things: love, power and money. History then, can be more like a drama or a mystery, where you as the historian get to examine historical figures' private personal papers to uncover why they made the choices they did and consider whether you would have done things differently.
In addition to helping students understand, explore and even love history, I can help students with writing, research, test prep, study skills, organization and time management. I have experience designing lesson plans to engage a wide variety of learning styles, including students with dyslexia, slow processing, ADHD and Aspergers. I look forward to sharing my love of learning with you.
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