BACKGROUND:

Growing up in Trinidad, I was instilled with a great respect and natural love for education and its power to shape dramatically the future. When I moved to New York from my small island home, I was very bored and unchallenged in public school, so much so that I found the means to attend private high schools where I would receive a quality education and build my intellectual stamina. I would not have had this opportunity without educators who took chances on me in my middle school and along the way. As a result of their effort and inspiration, my desire now is to infuse as much of what I have learned into the lives of my students in hopes that they may not ever be bored, that they may rise to challenges, that they will have a thirst for knowledge, and that they may be satisfied by the taste of success when that thirst is quenched.

Somewhat of a perfectionist, desiring mastery in all my pursuits and, likewise, from all my students, I set high standards for both myself and my students. When tutoring within and outside class or providing multiple approaches and opportunities for success, I draw from various instructional and scaffolding strategies to maintain student excellence, industry, and effort. I use every teaching resource at my disposal to ensure that students meet my expectations and maximize their potential.

EDUCATION:

My minor in Education at Colby College has fostered a lasting belief in Lev Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and the very important humanistic approach to Education, and life. Consequently, my classroom environment and class culture, rules and procedures, and my actions and interactions with students and colleagues reflect this humanistic approach. My practicum experiences at Boston University inspired my commitment to improving public education for low income students. As I do with my own children, I insist on diligence, industry, proper classroom etiquette, utmost respect for everyone, and tolerance for others, not just in my classroom!

PHILOSOPHY:

Although always passionate about literature, creative writing, and grammar, I have acquired an even deeper appreciation for the rhetorical use of poetic and literary elements as a result of teaching IB English Language and Literature HL and Advanced Placement English, Literature and Language. Now, the academic focus of my instruction emphasizes a balanced survey of literature with a rhetorical study of language. Ultimately, my goal is to provide students with skills necessary not just to graduate high school but to excel in their college and career choices.

While I do set the bar high for myself and all of my students, I am fair in grading and supportive of anyone who needs extra cajoling. My goal is never to water down the curriculum but, instead, to provide both the resources and the strategies necessary for academic achievement in my classroom. I teach by example, for if someone from as humble a background as mine can succeed academically, so can any one of my students—so can you!

FAVORITE QUOTES:

• “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world,” Nelson Mandela.
• “The pen is mightier than the sword…” The Cardinal in Act II Scene 2 of Richelieu by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.