Joanne
Professional Educator and Writer: Focus on Words and Ideas
I am certified to teach high school English and have taught AP Literature and Composition, American Literature, Publication Design, 7th Grade Literature, British Literature and Shakespeare. I also taught graduate students at Columbia University Teachers College for several years. I work with a number of private tutoring students, including several ESL students, ranging from second graders to college students, to adult learners in the workplace. I assist students with their current studies t...
Theater
vocabulary
grammar
reading
writing
English
ESL/ESOL
literature
proofreading
SAT reading
SAT writing
SSAT
theatre
I majored in Drama as an undergraduate at Yale, but there was no official Drama major, so I took all of my theatre classes in the world famed graduate Yale Drama School. This gave me an opportunity to work in the Yale Repertory Theatre as a bursary student and I made it a point to hang around and learn as much as I could. During the summer after graduation I ran a theatre arts program for underprivileged children aged five through eighteen. Although my career shifted away from the theatre, I maintained an interest and remained involved in the theatrical world to the extent possible. I performed in community theatre, directed my church's Christmas pageants, and was a member of "The Gathering," a group of women writers who performed their own work under the direction of Olympia Dukakis. Most recently I was music director for a production of "Beauty and the Beast" at the school where I was teaching. In 2009 I earned a high score on the Praxis exam for certification as a teacher of Theatre in New Jersey. I have also coached students who were preparing monologues for professional and college auditions. As an English teacher, I have developed great strengths in the interpretation of dramatic literature, and that is a major focus in my work with Drama students. We work toward understanding the playwright's intent and the meaning of his or her words before attempting any performance. Only when an actor understands the text can the character truly come to life.
Microsoft Word
Microsoft PowerPoint
Ruinan L. from New York, NY
I didn't realize that I have worked with Joanne for almost four years before I decided to renew my review of her. All I can think of my experience with her is satisfaction. I am a non-native speaker of English, so in spite of the fact that I am a doctoral candidate, I often need help editing my writing for occasions like term paper, application statement, interview questions, cover letter and etc. On top of Joanne's excellent writing style (native and extremely succinct), she always responded very fast to my request. I have to admit that I have made requests with absurd deadline needs but she always tried her best to get back her editing to me as soon as she could without compromising the quality of the work. Moreover, Joanne is also very tentative to my special request, for example, making my answers to interview questions sound conversational. Recently, I begin to consider asking her to tutor my writing by adding writing tips to her edits as she works on my writing. I have learned a lot by reading her edits over the years but it's always possible to ask her to add more comments about writing for me to learn. In all, I highly recommend Joanne to non-native speakers like me, although the fact that I worked with her for almost four years speaks for itself already.
Sylvia K. from Haledon, NJ
Joanne is very professional in her tutoring. She makes the lessons very easy to understand. Will definitely continue tutoring with her.
Carmel K. from Pittsfield, MA
My son finds her to be smart, patient, and very good at isolating the particular areas where he needs assistance.
Donghyun K. from Short Hills, NJ
Great tutor, she is smart, and she caught most of my problems with English right away. She seems very patient and I learned easier with her. She contacted with my school teacher for my advantage, and seems willing to do all sorts of smallest things like that to improve my skills.
Polina P. from Pittsfield, MA
Joanne was a very professional and intelligent tutor, and I'm glad to have worked with her! Although we only met a few times, she did a wonderful job of helping me feel prepared for the SATs. Besides working with me on grammar and reading comprehension, she taught me test-taking strategies that allowed me to succeed when I took the SATs! I couldn't have received the high score that I did without her help.