MEET BETSEY

I ATTENDED A SMALL PREPaRATORY SCHOOL, BUT I STILL FELL BETWEEN THE CRACKS. TEACHERS WERE NOT SO CONCERNED ABOUT MY ACADEMICS THAT THEY PROVIDED EXTRA ASSISTANCE BEYOND COMMUNICATING THAT I WAS NOT LIVING UP TO MY POTENTIAL. NO ONE SHOWED ME WHAT THAT POTENTIAL COULD LOOK LIKE, OR ANY IDEAS ON HOW I COULD REACH THAT POTENTIAL. BY THE TIME I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, I WAS PRETTY MUCH CONVINCED THAT I WAS STUPID. I HAD THAT THOUGHT UNTIL A TUTOR BEGAN WORKING WITH ME, BELIEVING IN ME, AND TEACHING ME TO BELIEVE IN MYSELF.

IN MY MID-THIRTIES I DISCOVERED THAT I WAS DYSLEXIC AND THAT I HAD ADHD. THE DIAGNOSIS MADE SENSE OF MANY THINGS.

THERE ARE TWO COMMON TYPES OF TUTORS, THE ONES WHO LOVED SCHOOL AND ARE DETERMINED THAT OTHERS SHOULD LOVE IT TOO, AND THOSE WHO STRUGGLED AND WANT TO PREVENT OTHERS FROM HAVING AS DIFFICULT TIME AS THEY DID. I FALL INTO THE LATER, BECAUSE OF MY HISTORY AS A STUDENT, I AM ABLE TO MEET STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE. THERE ARE NO “DUMB” OR OBVIOUS QUESTIONS, ALL ARE ENCOURAGED.

I HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH DYSLEXIA, ADHD, AND AUTISM AS AN EDUCATOR.

I GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO IN 2004, WITH DEGREES IN HISTORY AND CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION (LATIN CONCENTRATION). THAT FALL I MOVED TO NORTHERN VIRGINIA TO TEACH AT A SMALL CLASSICAL SCHOOL, WHERE I WORKED FOR EIGHT YEARS. MY NEXT TEACHING JOB WAS IN DC, AT BASISDC, FOLLOWED BY A NONTRADITIONAL PRIVATE SCHOOL IN NORTH CAROLINA. SINCE 2012, I HAVE ADDED TUTORING TO MY TEACHING ROUTINE. TUTORING QUICKLY BECAME MY FAVORITE JOB OF ALL. THERE IS NOTHING MORE EXCITING THAN SEEING CHILDREN COME ALIVE WHEN THEY REALIZE THEY HAVE STRENGTHS, AND CAN DO MORE THAN THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD.