Old School Tutoring
with Mary Sahs, ND
I keep hearing about all the folks who manage to make it through their prime education years without actually learning to read or write well enough to be successful in life, hold a decent job, or enjoy a good book. We hear that "Reading is Fundamental" but often see kids who are "left behind." We see people dash off a note to themselves, and later find themselves unable to decipher what they've written!
In my opinion, much of the problem has to do with the devolution of teaching these skills. I started elementary school in 1951. I owe a debt of gratitude to my kindergarten teacher, Sally Davis, for starting me off on the right foot! By the time I graduated from high school in 1964, I was a functionally literate member of society. (I still couldn't do algebra, but that came together later.)
My higher education includes a BS in Electricity/Electronics, a MS in Industrial Technology, and a Naturopathic Doctorate (ND). Throughout my academic experience I have further honed my skills in reading and writing.
Because of this, I would like to offer my professional services as a reading and writing tutor for people of all ages and backgrounds. For a reasonable fee, depending on your personal needs, I would be honored to meet with you regularly to help you or your child upgrade missing skills.
My degrees have nothing to do with Education. Therefore, I have no need for education jargon, "new" curriculum, or cumbersome teaching methods. I simply know how to read and write, and have teaching experience as a graduate assistant and as a workshop/seminar leader in the field of natural health. The evaluations I've received from my students have been very gratifying. In the mid-1980s, I was tested for literacy skills and scored in the 98th percentile on a national test. I also taught my daughter to read, beginning when she was three years old.
Writing is another skill that stays in great demand. The ability to string together a coherent sentence is sorely lacking in many people, as evidenced by articles and "comments" we read online every day, or in the local newspaper. Or worse still, any user's manual you pick up! It would be my pleasure to help you or a loved one learn natural, effective written communication skills.
I'm also quite sure that having great penmanship has not gone out of style. Yes, I know all about computers and texting on phones, but we still need to scratch out a hand-written missive now and then. Nothing is more welcome than a hand-written note of thanks, friendship, or love. Nothing is more practical than a hand-written shopping list. It has recently come to my attention that changing your handwriting can actually change your life! It can change how you perceive yourself, and how others see you. Improving your penmanship may trigger surprising improvements in your life.
If you would like to set up a tutoring schedule with me, or simply get more information about my tutoring programs, please call 810 599-7556 and leave a message with your contact information, or email mary@marysnatural.com
Wishing you well...
Mary
Here's what Michelle Obama said to a group of English schoolgirls on their visit to England:
On what she and Obama tell their daughters to help them achieve their goals: "Read, write, read, read. If the president were here--one of his greatest strengths is reading. That's one of the reasons why he's a good communicator, why he's such a good writer. He's a voracious reader. So we're trying to get our girls, no matter what, to just be--to love reading and to challenge themselves with what they read, and not just read the gossip books but to push themselves beyond and do things that maybe they wouldn't do.
"So I would encourage you all to read, read, read. Just keep reading. And writing is another skill. It's practice. It's practice. The more you write, the better you get. Drafts--our kids are learning the first draft means nothing. You're going to do seven, 10 drafts. That's writing, it's not failure, it's not the teacher not liking you because it's all marked up in red. When you get to be a good writer, you mark your own stuff in red, and you rewrite, and you rewrite, and you rewrite. That's what writing is."