Monica

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Monica is a lifelong learner and versatile tutor with a master’s degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University and a B.A. in Humanities from Trinity University. Certified in Texas for Elementary and English instruction, she has decades of experience teaching and tutoring students from first grade through college. Monica’s discovery of her own dyslexia as an adult deepened her empathy for learners with reading challenges and shaped her inclusive approach to teaching. She brings warmth, creativity, and understanding to each lesson. Outside of tutoring, she enjoys writing fiction, mentoring gifted students, and celebrating her leap-year birthday.

Tuesday 1pm to 5pm Central Time, Wednesday 1pm to 5pm Central Time, and Thursday 1pm to 5pm Central Time

Every student has their own learning preference and style, it is up to me as a teacher to meet the student where they are and guide them through the instruction.

I obtained a B.A. in Humanities from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Then, I went to Our Lady of the Lake for Texas Teacher Certification. After I obtained my Texas teacher certification in Elementary Self Contained and Elementary English. I took graduate classes at Our Lady of the Lake and Incarnate Word University in instructional technology. During this time, I obtained an additional Texas Certification in Information Processing Technologies. Then, I took undergraduate courses in accounting from Incarnate Word University. Finally, I obtained a master's degree in English and creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University.

Since October of 2024, I have been tutoring online in a contract position in reading and math. I also am a writer. I regularly meet with other writers for critique sessions where we help each other with writing style, constructive criticism, and editing techniques.

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Monica
$53.00 USD

Subject Expertise

View all collections
All-in-One
All-in-One
Creative Writing
Creative Writing
ELA
ELA
Handwriting
Handwriting
Humanities
Humanities
IB English
IB English
Math
Math
Reading
Reading
Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension
Writing
Writing

My mission

For me, learning is a lifelong practice. The more I learn, the more I realize I have so much more to learn. When I approach teaching and tutoring, I understand that my mission is to embark on a journey with them. I realize as they learn, I will learn as well. I am not there to be someone with all the answers, instead I am there to guide them alone the journey that we take together.

My Story

My life has been like a winding road. I always struggled with learning how to read and write, but at the same time, I still got good grades in school and achieved high honors. When I graduated from college, I taught first grade and then computer skills to elementary school students. Then, my life changed and I worked in accounting. I enjoyed it because I love problem solving and math, but something was missing. I decided to go back to school and I earned a degree in English and creative writing. I discovered that I had a talent for writing and I could read well. I also understood that I missed interacting with students. Today, I am a writer and I work on novels and short stories based in Texas, my home state. I also work as an online tutor.

Cognitive Diversity

How I adapt to students with diverse intellectual needs.

I believe it is very important to meet the students where they are at and to understand how they see the world. When I taught first grade, I worked with at-risk students. I have joined the national tutoring association and obtained their basic level certification which included webinars of learning preferences. On a personal note, when I was in my forties, after I obtained my master's degree, I discovered that I had a high probability of having dyslexia. I was told that I was too old to get a formal diagnosis. However, it made me see everything differently. I now have a greater understanding for students with dyslexia, especially students who are both gifted and dyslexic.

I was a student with high grades in the honors and AP courses. I did very well in school, but I always read very slow and I couldn't understand why. After I obtained my master's degree in English and creative writing, I discovered that I probably had dyslexia. My doctor told me it was too late to get a formal diagnosis because of my age. As I learned more about my learning disability, I gained a greater understanding about students with dyslexia, especially those like me who are exceptional, but still struggle due to a hard to identify learning disability.

When I was in college, I was a mentor at Trinity University for a program called Saturday Morning Experience. I met with a group of four to five gifted students every Saturday morning for a few hours each semester. During that time, I provided a program of enhanced instruction for them. For example, if we did a field trip to restaurant, the students would come back to campus and create a business plan for their own restaurant. (i.e. the name, the location, how many employees, what the menu would be, etc.)

During the summer breaks from Trinity University when I was a student, I was a mentor for a program called Saturday Morning Experience, but it was the summer edition. Two to three mentors would work with a group of around 15 exceptionally gifted students for a summer experience on weekday mornings for a month during the summer. The students went on field trips and created projects based on the field trips. The summer experience was more intensive because the mentors meet with the students more often and each week had a theme, which allow the students to do more in depth projects with more planning and detail.

I have worked with students with ADHD and I have also worked with adults who had ADHD. I've learned that the most important thing to remember when working with someone with ADHD is patience. Almost anything can be a distraction, but with careful observation, a diligent tutor can catch those moments of distraction and refocus the student's attention with the student's preferred auditor or visual cues.

After I obtained my master's degree in English and creative writing, I discovered that I probably had dyslexia. My doctor told me it was too late to get a formal diagnosis because of my age. As I learned more about my learning disability, I gained a greater understanding about students with dyslexia.

Monica Sample Lesson

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