Experienced Elementary School Teacher and Tutor

Barbara D.

I'm Barbara! I'm a former elementary and preschool teacher, and I've been tutoring children and adults for the past five years. I love engaging my students with creative lessons so their learning is fun and successful. For example, when I tutor children in reading, I use engaging pictures, objects and words to enliven learning sessions and help the students stay on task.

With adults, I also use creative ways to reinforce teaching concepts so the sessions stay interesting. For instance, when an adult student needs help mastering punctuation, I tailor the subject matter of the essays to that student's interests. This transforms a fairly repetitive topic into an enjoyable exercise.

I graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in history and then went to the University of California, Berkeley, to earn my teaching credentials. For 10 years, I enjoyed teaching elementary school in California and preschool in Tokyo, Japan. After teaching, I received a master's degree in journalism, graduating with highest honors. My journalism jobs have included editing and proofreading for publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle and writing for websites such as USAToday.com.

My areas of expertise include reading, comprehension, writing, punctuation and grammar. I have years of experience in teaching, tutoring and journalism, and I work hard to make students' experiences successful.

I care about my students and tailor tutoring sessions to each person's wants and needs. Please feel free to contact me and explain your goals, interests, learning style and anything else that will add to the success of our lessons. I am easy to reach, quick to respond and happy to set up a tutoring session!