Teacher with a Passion for English

Keith J.

I graduated from Illinois Wesleylan University with a B.A. In English education. When I began teaching in Baltimore County Public Schools, I took graduate courses at both Johns Hopkins University and Towson University to strengthen my knowledge of content and earn a master's equivalency.

I taught all levels of high school English for Baltimore County Public Schools for forty years, retiring in 2011. Having a passion for teaching, I help students understand difficult concepts in interesting and fun ways. Reading and communication skills are the keys to all other subjects, and my strength is my knowledge of grammar, writing, and literary analysis. What I love about working with students is helping them become better readers and writers. One measure of my success in conveying those skills is that during my time in the classroom, my students performed well on state and county standardized tests.

I have also worked as an item writer for both CTB McGraw Hill and Educational Testing Service. Providing me with an opportunity to write items for standardized tests, this experience allowed me to understand how test questions are constructed so I can help students be more successful on high stakes tests.

I have taught American literature, world literature, grammar, vocabulary development, and writing both as a classroom teacher and tutor. As a writing teacher, I taught my students the three phase approach: pre-writing, drafting, and revision. Planning, organizing, and polishing are important aspects of effective written communication.

Students and parents may contact me if you have any questions or need more information about my qualifications to teach a particular aspect of English. I am available any time during the week for tutoring.