Frances

ACT English

ACT Math

ACT Reading

ACT Science

ADD/ADHD

I have both life experience and tutoring experience with people who have ADD/ADHD. My education on working with these students draws heavily from my experiences growing up with a sister who has ADHD, my many opportunities tutoring students with ADD/ADHD and from the vast amount of literature I have studied on the subject of children, teens and adults with ADD/ADHD. I understand the struggle these students have and the fact that many have nearly given up due to constant negative feedback they have received in their educational endeavors thus far. I look at ADD/ADHD as a gift of energy and high intelligence that must be harnessed and trained to work in a world that isn’t at all geared toward accommodating these brilliant, creative minds. For students with ADD/ADHD, I work extra hard to find ways to encourage them and reinforce all that they are doing that is good and right. I also understand that repetition is the key to learning material and am patient with them as I explain the same concepts over as many times as it takes for them to “get it.” I work to focus their attention on what we’re studying by teaching in a manner that makes them active participants in the learning process. For instance, if I need to teach a new skill to an ADD/ADHD student instead of just illustrating the method and writing down the instructions for them, I will have them write down and illustrate what I am telling them. I will frequently ask questions about what we are learning to redirect their attention and assess their level of understanding. I may also incorporate the use of colored pens to help draw their attention to important ideas and concepts, definitions or equations. While most of my students with ADD/ADHD hate it, I insist on following a step by step approach to problem solving in math and science, even though they may be able to look at the problem and solve it in their heads by some other means. I do this because even though they have high intelligence, they often miss some of the basics of math and science that they will need later on when math and science get harder and they can’t do the problems in their heads anymore. At that point it is almost too late to take them back to the basics and build up their skills to the point where they can master the harder math and science problems. Over all my approach to working with ADD/ADHD students is encouraging, engaging, structured (disciplined) and understanding. I am patient with their attempts to get out of doing the work, their complaints about this and that, and their sometimes stubborn refusals to do what I ask them to do. I don’t mind working around these behaviors to get to the point of real learning. I do enlist the parents to help enforce discipline and gain compliance from the students. I also use the reward system at times to help gain compliance and to encourage the students that hard work pays off. In addition to teaching them the specific subject matter, I try to interject lessons on study skills, organization, test taking skills, note taking skills and other areas that I feel the student might be weak in. Though sometimes a challenge, I enjoy the reward of seeing these students learn and watching their grades improve over time. It is always my pleasure to work with ADD/ADHD students, fight through the obstacles, and help them succeed in their studies.

algebra 1

algebra 2

ASVAB

calculus

chemistry

elementary math

elementary science

GED

general music

I have had 7 years of piano lessons plus a semester of piano in college. I have also spent 5 years playing keyboard in our church worship band. I can play from music or improvise from chord sheets. From 7th to 12th grade I played trumpet in our school's concert and marching band maintaining one of the first 3 trumpet positions. I also played trumpet for 3 years in our high school's "big band" style jazz band and later on in my colleges pep band. Music has been my pleasure and my comfort throughout my life. I can think of no greater gift to give a child.

geometry

GRE

organic chemistry

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY In addition to general chemistry, I tutor Organic Chemistry. I have a Ph.D. in Chemistry and have taken Organic 1 and 2, Advanced Organic Chemistry, and Graduate level Advanced Organic Chemistry. I have 12 years experience tutoring Organic Chemistry 1 and 2 and have been able to help many students make it through the maze of Organic functional groups, their compounds, reaction types, mechanisms, synthesis etc. In addition I use models to help students understand and visualize the geometric structure of organic compounds as well as distinguish among conformers, stereoisomers, enantiomers, etc. In Organic Chemistry 2, I help students understand how to read and interpret instrumental outputs, such as NMR, IR, and GC, which provide information that helps identify unknown organic molecules. Organic 2 also steps up the pace of learning reaction types and focuses heavily on multistep syntheses of compounds. The key to learning Organic Chemistry is to learn in an organized systematic manner focusing on the logical progression of reactions based on the principles of Coulombic attractions, thermodynamics and kinetics to predict the outcomes of reactions. While memorization is required, learning by this systematic approach minimizes the amount of material that must be committed to memory. Using this principle and helping with the organization of large amounts of material, I am able to help students succeed in their Organic Chemistry Courses.

physical science

physics

piano

I took piano lesson from the age of 10 until I was 18, a total of 8 years with a private instructor. During those years I became proficient at the piano, in reading piano music, and in basic and intermediate music theory. I played the frequently, mostly for personal enjoyment, and kept up my skills. I ended my private lessons in the summer of 1979 when I graduated high school. Also, in the 7th grade I joined the school concert and marching band and learned to play the trumpet. I continued in the band until I graduated and also joined our "Jazz" band which was of the Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington "Big Band" era style. In band I learned much more theory and also learned more about chords and harmonies and counting and timing especially playing syncopated style music. I was a very good trumpet player and usually sat 1st or 2nd chair. After graduation, As an undergraduate in college I took a one semester course in music theory and also a one semester piano course, which was basically graded private lessons with a piano music professor, with a "recital" of your accomplishments before a 3 judge panel of music professors who critiqued your performance. I got a B in that course. As for the trumpet, in my first two years of college, I played trumpet in the Pep Band that played at sports events and was also the lead trumpet in a dance band that the school had. Throughout graduate school I checked out a piano room at the university so that I could go and play the piano now and then and keep in practice somewhat. Fast forward about 6 years: it is now around 1991 and I have finally finished graduate school and for the first time I put my piano playing skills to public use by playing in our churches contemporary worship band. Here I developed the ability to put the chord theory I had leaned into action as I was called upon to play from chord sheets not written music and to improvise solos and most of what was needed from the piano plus I had the fun of adding in keyboard effects and really creating music for the first time. I didn't learn this all at once, but grew into it over a few years and ended up playing with the band for 5 or 6 years before for health reasons I had to bow out. So of my musical qualifications as a teacher or tutor: I believe my background qualifies me as an introductory or beginner music teacher. What prompted me to try to add piano to my subject list was a tutor request for just that. A mother wanted a beginner teacher for her child. I would fit the bill for parents who have kids they want to just learn the basics and see if they want to invest in long term expensive Expert instruction. I can also fit for students that have little or no knowledge of music or music theory and are taking a beginning college class or high school class. With my skills, experience, education, and knowledge, there is a legitimate teaching role for me for the beginning musician or for a more seasoned musician who just wants some one to transpose and copy down music for him/her. I can't imagine all the scenarios. I saw none until I saw that post today. I would not offer myself as an Expert Piano teacher who could train your child to be a virtuoso, but I'd like the opportunity to seize the opportunities that are appropriate for me.

prealgebra

precalculus

proofreading

PSAT

reading

SAT math

SAT reading

statistics

study skills

trigonometry

vocabulary

ADHD