Nora

Certified Tutor

I am a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, where I majored in French and served as president of Bellatrix Science-Fiction/Fantasy Club. I went on to earn my M.A. in French Literature at Rutgers University where I caught the teaching bug by tackling all aspects of instruction for two French 101 classes as a Teaching Assistant.

My passion for education led me to accrue seven years experience as a High School French teacher in New Jersey. Through additional experience in one-on-one instruction, such as Homebound Instruction and private tutoring work in both French and English, I have grown to treasure the degree of individual attention, immediate feedback, and flexibility of approach that tutoring offers. I love incorporating students' interests into exercises and examples, and I specialize in developing mnemonics, songs, and other tricks to help students remember new or challenging information. In addition to offering my students strategies for retaining information, I am committed to helping them understand material by helping them see how new information connects with their previous knowledge or with other subjects.

As a former French teacher, language and literature are my particular strengths. I love helping students tackle and master vocabulary, reading, literature, and writing (in English or French). However, I also enjoy math; a geek to the core, I sometimes work Algebra equations or calculate the angles in a regular shape just to keep my skills in shapes. I can comfortably provide tutoring in Algebra and/or Geometry as well as time-saving strategies for the math sections of standardized tests.

In my off-hours, I indulge in a wide range of interests and hobbies. Since I was ten years old, crafts have held a special place in my heart; embroidery, crochet, and wire-and-bead jewelry claim most of my crafting time, and I design Celtic knotwork-inspired cross-stitched bookmarks. I've enjoyed gardening for nearly as long as crafting, and I love nurturing a vegetable or herb plant from seed to harvest. In keeping with my love of language, I'm also an avid reader. As a fan of science-fiction and fantasy in particular, I have attended and helped plan conventions in Massachusetts and New Jersey since 1994.