Elizabeth White - Tutors - USApplicants

I predominantly teach:

Application Essays, SATI Critical Reading

I also teach:

Application process, College choice, SATI Writing, SATII Spanish, SATII US History, SATII World History

Experience

I have been a secondary English teacher for five years in the public schools of Brooklyn. I spent my first two years teaching students aged eleven to fourteen and the last three teaching students aged sixteen to twenty. However, I also taught summer school those three years tutoring remedial English for smaller groups of students aged fourteen to twenty.

I believe that a strong commitment to the subject must be matched by a strong understanding of pedagogy so that all students can be reached, both those who love literature and those who struggle with it. Critical thinking should be at the heart of any reading and writing curriculum.

Biography

I am a UK citizen who was born in Peru and educated in the United States. I moved back to the UK in September and have been visiting family in Europe for the last few months - Ireland, Spain, and France. In 2005 I was accepted into a highly selective program for aspiring teachers, The New York City Teaching Fellows. After a summer training session, I began teaching and studying for a master's degree concurrently in what has been the most transformative experience of my life.

Personal Approach

I have been a tutor almost as long as I can remember for my younger siblings, cousins, and uncles, and have worked or volunteered in education since I was thirteen.

I believe that patience, encouragement, and hard work can accomplish almost anything! I carefully analyse where my tutees are starting from, develop a plan to move them forward, and celebrate with them along the way as they improve.

Testimonials

I am pasting a letter of recommendation written by my former principal:

January 5, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter on behalf of Elizabeth White to recommend her to your school. I have been Elizabeth’s supervisor for the past three years, in which time I have come to know and respect her as a most thoughtful educator who is continuously pushing herself to think deeply about how to most effectively broaden opportunities and learning for her students.

Elizabeth has an extremely inquisitive mind and puts tremendous energy into thinking about ways to better engage and better challenge her students. Whether it’s an invitation for professional development outside of the building or an invitation to co-plan with an administrator, department chair, or co-teacher, Elizabeth has consistently jumped at any opportunity she could to push her instruction to the next level. She also takes opportunities to think deeply about individual lessons or strategies without much prompting from her supervisors. For example, our school-wide focus this year has been differentiating instruction. While many teachers have attempted to tackle this topic in their classrooms, there are few instances where the philosophy of reaching all students has permeated a teacher’s everyday classroom practice. Elizabeth, however, embraced this idea and thought deeply about what it meant for her students in her class and for her instruction. When a School Quality Review evaluator came to visit our school, his conversation with Elizabeth about differentiation had a great impact on him, and he singled her out as a teacher who has truly embraced the idea that it is the teacher’s responsibility to determine how to reach and push forward all students.

Elizabeth not only thinks about her own classroom but is interested in thinking of ways to promote intellectual rigor throughout the school. She has consistently taken on the responsibility of organizing workshops for teachers in the building, inviting other teachers to attend trips or other opportunities that she has found, or starting programs in the school that she feels will promote a more scholarly environment for our students. Every time Elizabeth learns something, she finds a way to bring that learning to her own classroom and the school at large. For example, Elizabeth attended a peer mediation workshop a couple of years ago. She was not alone at this workshop, but she was alone in her fierce commitment to training our students in productive methods of dealing with conflict. Since attending the workshop, Elizabeth has garnered support for the program among her colleagues and has started the school’s first successful peer mediation program. Her determination to create positive learning experiences for her students is unmatched.

One of Elizabeth’s distinguishing characteristics as an educator is her passionate love of the subject she teaches and her deep expertise of the subject matter. It is often said that people either go into teaching either for a love of the subject matter or for a love of the children; it is clear that Elizabeth chose this work because of the combination of the two. As English Department chair this year, she has already pushed the department to think creatively and critically about the teaching of their subject in a way that not only prepares students for the testing demands placed on them, but also instills in them a love for reading, literature, and critical thought.

Elizabeth is a fine educator and a true intellectual. Any school would be extremely lucky to have her, and it is without hesitation that I mostly strongly recommend her to your school.

Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions or concerns at rostro@schools.nyc.gov or at (+1) 718 771 4865.

Thank you,

Rebecca Ostro

Principal