• WHAT, WHERE, AND HOW

    Subjects I Tutor:

     

    Reading and Writing for Upper Elementary Students

    Social Studies for Elementary and Middle School Students

    Language Arts and Social Studies for Middle School Students

    Reading, Writing, American History, SAT and ACT Test Prep, and College Essays for High School Students

    Writing for College Students

    Reading, Writing and ESL for Adults

     

    Types of Students I work with:

     

    I enjoy working with all kinds of learners. A few examples:

     

    --A lot of 5th graders do not like writing very much and D was no exception. We worked together consistently through his senior year in high school. He learned the power of revising to strengthen any piece of writing. We revised his college essays so many times it seemed almost too much, until he won both Gates and Questbridge scholarships.

    --Homeschooled 12 year old N did not need much help with her online school assignments, so we spent our first few lessons editing the 200 page novel she had written. Tips on grammar and formatting dialogue helped strengthen her writing. As we got to know each other, our reading and discussions dived into ethics, philosophy and politics and gave us both much to think about.

    --With 9th grader G, a boy with autism and a tremendous desire to prove himself, we met twice a week to work on homework. Reading through chapters of The Great Gatsby and The Natural, we took turns reading and interpreting figurative language. Writing became less overwhelming when we focused on using supporting evidence from the text.

    --For a full year M was too shy to talk to me; she just shook her head or shrugged her shoulders when I asked a direct question. We met once a week from kindergarten through fourth grade and towards the end she was reading out loud with gusto, able to discuss her opinions and even showed me her dance moves on TikTok at the end of the lessons.

    --Already an engineer in her native Ghana, T started over in America with a basic English composition class at our local community college. Outlining, topic sentences, quoting from a text, and concise grammar lessons boosted her writing, her grades, and her self-confidence studying in English.

    --Z, a 6th grader, felt stuck to the point of freezing up on each writing assignment. We started by talking about the assignment, his feelings about what he read, and what stuck with him. After about 15 minutes, I showed him the notes I had taken down as we talked and he realized he did have things to say. He picked up his pen with confidence and we continued to talk out his ideas together as he wrote them down.

     

    Lessons:

    In person at Paramus library

    or nearby in Bergen county

    Zoom

  • ABOUT ME

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    I have been a reading and writing tutor since 2010. I come from a family of teachers, but I took a long, windy path to get there. I studied history at Columbia University and then went to law school. After having children, I remembered my love of children's books and started writing my own manuscripts. After several years, I went back to school to get my teaching certificate.

    Working one-on-one with students, instead of in a classroom, was a choice I made early on. I have seen my students build self-confidence and make tremendous progress when engaged directly. I have worked with four year olds, elementary, middle and high school, college and adult learners. While some of my students are in Ivy League colleges, others are high school students with IEPs or middle school ESL students who have never read a book in English before. I have a large collection of children’s books that I like to loan out to my students.

     I live with my husband and two dogs in Ridgewood, NJ. When not tutoring I am usually reading, writing, or making things out of clay.

     

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    From My Students

    "Linda made learning into something completely different that is called 'FUN!'" D., 4th grader

     

     

    "I learned a lot from the books I read. Reading these books and our assignments out loud has also taught me to be more confident." B., 4th grader

     

     

    "So, a teacher needs to be fun but they still discipline the students. Now what could that mean? Well, simple. It's almost like there is two sides to them. Although they like to joke around and have fun, they still make the students work hard when they need to. I have had this experience with a teacher, and who was it? You!" J., 5th grader

     

     

    "What I see in a good teacher is one who is able to combine a good learning experience with a fun one. I cannot say who was my best teacher, because all of them educated me well. All of these qualities I see in you." E., 5th grader

     

     

    "He got his progress report back and he went up a grade in English. Right away he said, 'That's because of Linda." mom of V., 4th grader

     

     

     

    "The lessons were really fun and I learned a lot from you. I feel more confident in my writing because of you, so thank you." B., 6th grader

     

     

     

     

    "When I seeked guidance regarding my personal essay for a graduate studies program I contacted Linda. She responded back to me that very day! Since then she has been able to help me clearly organize and structure my thoughts into an outline, construct a well written essay, and continued to keep contact with me, revising and perfecting my paper. Without Linda I would have been lost! While working with Linda I realized she is not only very knowledgable and good at her job, but is also very generous and passionate about helping others succeed and achieve their goals. I plan on working with Linda again in the future!" G., graduate school applicant

     

  • CERTIFICATIONS

    TEACHING AND BUSINESS CERTIFICATIONS

    Teaching Certifications

     

    • Certificate of Eligibility With Advanced Standing In NJ K-5

    • Certificate of Eligibility With Advanced Standing in NJ Social Studies

     

    Business Certification

    • Business Registration Certificate in NJ

  • EDUCATION

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    Brooklyn Law School

     

    JD

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    Barnard College, Columbia University

     

    BA History

  • PRICING AND HOURS

     

     

     

     

    $70hr in person at Paramus Library or nearby

    $60/hr online

     

     

     

    I am available during school hours, after school, and evenings Monday-Friday. Saturday 10-2

     

     

     

     

  • GET IN TOUCH

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    Email

    linda@

    lessonswithlinda

    .com

  • OR... LEAVE A MESSAGE