Cynthia
TTT (Teacher Turned Tutor)
For more than thirty years, I taught elementary school as a full-time, part-time and substitute teacher in three states. For the last seven years, I have tutored children in primarily the upper elementary school and middle school grades in math and/or reading. As a certified ESL teacher, I have worked with adults to improve their proficiency in English. I love to read, but didn't as a child, for I was, and still am, a slow reader, but that has no relevance to enjoying the printed page or c...
vocabulary
grammar
prealgebra
I minored in math in college. I have continued to teach math at the upper elementary level in two of the last three years I taught full time. I have tutored math at the beginning of middle school level.
reading
writing
To do anything well, we have to practice. If you want to be a better writer, you have to write. You have to check it. You have to rewrite your piece. Students think if they do it once, that ought to be enough. For some, I can give a starting point. For others, I have to teach the process…few thank you letters are written these days, but to learn how to write a friendly letter is still a skill taught in school. Writing is learned. It doesn't come "naturally" to many people, but I believe with practice, students can be taught to strengthen their writing abilities and skills.
English
ESL/ESOL
spelling
elementary math
elementary science
Sometimes comprehending science means working on comprehension, period. If a student has difficulty comprehending science, perhaps he/she has weak retention skills, or he/she has not found science to be interesting. Hopefully we can find a way to make studying science more valuable, and in the process, increase science knowledge.
elementary (k-6th)
phonics
study skills
ADHD
ADD/ADHD
I am the mother of a grown son with ADHD and have attended seminars and read many articles and books on the subject. I have had several students in my classes over the years who have had some of the same learning styles characterized by ADD/ADHD, and I have had success working with them. I deal with the inattention and focusing struggles with patience and encouragement.
dyslexia
I have had several students with dyslexia and have worked well with their different learning styles. I'm comfortable working orally, reading the work for the student, or doing whatever it takes for the student to be successful. One student's mother wrote out his spelling words on 3x5 cards and then when it was time for his weekly test, he would organize the words according to anything that linked them: rhyming, letters, anything that made sense to him. After putting the cards away, he'd be given the spelling test and the teacher would write the word for him (he also had dysgraphia) and then when he looked at it, he'd make changes or not. Seeing it was helpful to him even if he couldn't write it.
Shaunya B. from Matthews, NC
We have been so happy with Cynthia. She has helped our daughter for the last 13 months with Math. Our daughter has had trouble with Math from the beginning but last year when we moved here we knew we needed to get her help. Cynthia was so easy to work with regarding schedules and we had to change a few times during the year. She always had a smile on her face and you truly felt she wanted to be there. She would encourage our daughter when she was having trouble understanding and celebrate with her when she had successes. She tries to teach math in an interesting way and relates to the real world, when possible. When our daughter started with Cynthia, she was making C's and D's. She is now making A's and B's. The most important thing she taught my daughter was to have confidence in herself, which I believe is the key to success. We are taking a break as of now due to our schedule and Kylie's continued success in Math, but will call her in a heartbeat if and when we feel our daughter is struggling. Cynthia has a huge heart for children and education. I can't say enough wonderful things about her.... Thank you Cynthia for EVERYTHING you did for our family. We will definitely keep in contact. :)
Mary H. from Fort Mill, SC
So glad to have found her, she is great! My son just loves her and has already made progress in the last 3 weeks!
Julie G. from Charlotte, NC
Couldn't be more happy with Cynthia! She is worth every single penny!! She's totally prepared and professional. She was so helpful with the feedback she gave me about our 6 year old homeschooled daughter. I feel like we are receiving much more than a tutor. Highly recommend her. She was recommended to us!
Kim M. from Charlotte, NC
Ms. C. has been a blessing to our family. She started tutoring our 3rd grader in Math last year when she got a C. She spent time with our daughter to learn how she best learns. She has introduced study sheets, games, music and many other methods to help our daughter learn to enjoy Math. We finished 3rd with a high B, and she continued during the summer so we didn't forget what we learned. My daughter's confidence has grown and she continues to show improvement. We are 1 point away from an A! We highly recommend Ms. C. to you!
Michele B. from Charlotte, NC
I really can't say enough about Cynthia; she always comes prepared with a specific achievement goal and activities to practice and measure the goal. She also ensures my son understands the expectations in terms of his behavior and performance. While he was a little nervous at first, he now looks forward to her coming and really understands how this will help him in his studies. We shared the end of year targets with her and she is on working to ensure he meets those targets. She is also very good about spending time with us parents at the end to recap progress, concerns and areas where we should focus with him. We really hit the jackpot with her!
Elizabeth P. from Charlotte, NC
Cynthia was a fantastic tutor for my daughter who was struggling with math in fourth grade. She brought my daughters confidence levels up dramatically. Several times through out the school year my daughters teacher remarked to me that whatever we were doing with her, we should keep it up. I'm very happy that we chose Cynthia as her tutor, she really made a difference.