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Learn More About Teresa's Experience:

drawing When I was in Glasgow High School, my artwork was selected from thousands in Delaware to appear in a book of best art and writing. From there I attended the University of Delaware for Visual Communications. I won four state scholarships and one national scholarship through the PEO. I designed all of the graphics for their materials that year and they showed much of my art in Atlanta at a gallery. Since then, I completed a Certificate in Commercial Art through the Univ of DE and have taken courses at the PA College of Art and Design in Lancaster, as well as freelance classes throughout PA and DE. I am currently writing and illustrating my first children's book. I have taught various elementary art classes to children throughout the years and I am able to teach basic art techniques including shading, proportion, perspective, etc. I primarily enjoy figure drawing and portraiture in pencil, but work with various media. My cousin, Jenny Phipps, is a well-known, successful Dutch painter. She was my first teacher. elementary (k-6th) I previously worked for Brainfuse as an elementary tutor. I am strong in all subjects. On my A.C.T. I was in the top 2 percentile for all subjects but math. English, Writing, Reading, Science, and Art are my strongest subjects. I prefer not to teach math. I will teach some areas of history. I also excel at teaching about world cultures because I am an Anthropology major. I have been asked to join the Golden Key Honour Society. I love to work with children and I am very patient and funny, creative, and able to adapt my teaching style to fit the learning style of the student. I think learning should be fun and I want to instill confidence in my students. I also want them to know how to find answers through various resources in the library. I am able to meet students at the Main library in Oakland. Parents can stay nearby. I am also working on a children's book. I have excellent references. ESL/ESOL I am a Linguistics and Anthropology major, so I am particularly interested in working with non-English speakers. I scored in the top 2% for English and Reading on my ACT test score. In addition to my university studies, I have completed the following courses in ESL studies: Language and Literacy Citizenship: What Volunteers Need to Know, VLW, 2004 Culture and English Language Learners, VLW, 2004 ESL Literacy, i-to-i Language Institute, 2004 Family Literacy: An Intergenerational Approach, VLW, 2004 Orientation to Volunteering in Literacy, VLW, 2004 Supporting Children’s Education, VLW, 2004 Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Boston Lang Inst, 2004 Volunteering in English Literacy Classes, VLW, 2003 Language Families, Coursepal, 2003 Editing for Publication, Millersville University, 2001 Grant Writing Workshop, Pennsylvania Technology Institute, 2001 Write-it-Right Workshop, 1999 Writing for Science and Industry, 1999 ISO 9000, 1999 Writing Basics, Hungry Minds, 1999 Capitalization, Punctuation, and Commonly Misused Words, Hungry Minds, 1999 GED I earned my GED many years ago and then went on to college. When I took my pre-tests, I scored very highly in all subjects, so I didn't need to do anything but wait for the main test day. After earning my GED, I went to the University of Delaware and then to Millersville University and PA College of Art. I am now pursuing a degree in Linguistics and Anthropology with a goal of earning my Ph.D. My daughter, who is now 19, was in a serious car accident a few years ago and couldn't complete regular high school. She earned her GED and is now in her first year of college. She is pursuing a degree in Business and Real Estate Certification. Many people feel a GED "isn't as good as a high school diploma" but I am proof that it can be a start to a strong education and that you can achieve whatever you can dream. I am very supportive and positive and encourage everyone of all ages to get their GED if they were not able to graduate from high school. I'm extremely patient, down to earth, and flexible. I am able to pinpoint learning blocks and work around them in creative ways. A lot of people approach GED training with low confidence and even embarrassment. I am able to work with these issues and help to change negative attitudes into more positive ones. grammar I have worked in communications and publishing for my entire working life. Since my first job at age 16 as a Proofreader for ICC (proofreading government patents) to my job as a writer and copy editor today for Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Prentice-Hall, New England Journal of Medicine, and others, grammar, vocabulary, syntax -- these are my strengths. I support myself as a self-employed person working for publishers, printers, and ad agencies all over the world. I am also a Linguistics major and have always scored in the top 1 to 2% for English, writing, reading, and vocabulary on all tests. I have a portfolio, samples, and many references, including businesses here in Pittsburgh. I am the sole editor for the Giant Eagle Market District Newsletter and I write and edit most of the materials for Pressley Ridge. I have found that most people understand grammar intuitively -- they know when something "sounds right" but they don't know why. The important thing is that they understand when something "sounds right" and when it doesn't. Using correct grammatical terminology is less important than having an ear for correct grammar. I am patient and down-to-earth but very exact. There are few gray areas in grammar -- there is a right way and a wrong way to write most sentences, or at least, a best way. proofreading I have been a professional proofreader for all of my working life. My first proofreading job was at the age of 16. I tested and was accepted as a government patent proofreader for ICC in Newark, DE. From there I learned galley/typeset proofreading and then went on to proofreading for ad agencies, prepresses and printers, magazines and other publishers, and corporations. I also became a writer and editor and have worked now for more than 25 years in the publishing industry in various capacities. I was an editorial manager for a leading production company and have now worked from home as a self-employed copy editor, writer, and proofreader for many years. I have extensive references. Proofreading is more than just correcting spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Proofreaders must look at style consistencies, formatting, space (line space, letter space, word space), use of TM and (R) marks, comma usage, and more. With my background in visual communications and prepress, I am able to teach aspects of proofreading that most instructors lack, such as rules regarding font usage, widows/orphans, white space around graphics, hyphen and word-break rules, etc.